TSI
Second phase of UK custom build fund announced
The second phase of a multi-million pound fund to help aspiring custom and self builders in the UK get their projects off the ground more quickly has been announced. The second phase of the £150 million fund is now open to bidders and will create up to 10,000 so-called ‘serviced plots’ which is land prepared for house building and connected to utilities such as gas and water, so builders can go straight in and build. According to Housing Minister Brandon Lewis the average self build takes two years but those using serviced plots can cut this by up to a year and he believes it will help further unlock the massive potential the custom build industry has to expand. The custom and self build industry currently accounts for around 10,000 new homes every year but the government is backing industry led efforts to double that by 2020. The £150 million fund is open to small builders and community groups as short term loans to help get the land ready for housebuilding. The land can then be sold as individual plots to people looking to build their own home. Lewis said he was determined to ensure as many people as possible could fulfil their custom build ambitions so he has given the green light for the first three bids to proceed to the next stage of assessment. Subject to successful completion three small builders in St Helens, South Norfolk and West Lindsey will receive a share of £850,000 to help provide 41 plots. ‘Custom build should not be something that’s confined to a small and select group of people. Anyone who aspires to build their own home should have the opportunity to do so. We want to see the industry grow significantly and this £150 million fund will help further unlock the massive potential it has to help even more people achieve their ambitions,’ said Lewis. ‘This fund will help create shovel ready serviced plots so small developers and custom builders can get on and build, finishing their projects more quickly,’ he added. Continue reading
Canadian property prices up an average of 6.3%, led by Toronto and Vancouver
Residential property sales in Canada edged upwards 1% month on month in February while sales are now up 6.3% year on year, according to the latest data from the Canadian Real Estate Association. The monthly sales increase was led by Greater Vancouver, the Okanagan region, and Greater Toronto. Gains there offset sales declines elsewhere, with more than half of all local markets having posted weaker sales in February compared to January. Year on year price growth decelerated in February for all housing types tracked by the index except two storey single family homes, which again posted the biggest year on year price gain at 6.63%. This was followed by terraced homes with growth of 4.4%, and single storey single family homes at 4.34%. Price growth remained more modest for apartment units at 2.77%. Price gains varied among housing markets tracked by the index. Greater Toronto saw growth of 7.84%, Greater Vancouver 6.38%, and Calgary with 5.96% posted the biggest year on year increases. Even so, the increase in Calgary was far smaller than gains posted last year and the smallest since December 2012. In other markets from West to East, prices were up compared to year ago levels by between 2% and 2.5% in the Fraser Valley, Victoria, and Vancouver Island, while holding steady in Saskatoon, Ottawa, and Greater Montreal, and falling in Regina and Greater Moncton. The CREA index report points out that the national average home price remains skewed by sales activity in Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, which are among Canada’s most active and expensive housing markets. Excluding these two markets from the calculation, the average price is a relatively more modest $326,910 and the year on year gain shrinks to just 1.5%. ‘A number of buyers across the Prairies stayed on the side lines in February. That’s likely to remain an important part of the national housing story until the outlook for oil prices starts improving. Meanwhile, home sales in British Columbia and much of Ontario are improving,’ said CREA president Beth Crosbie. Actual, not seasonally adjusted, activity in February stood 2.7% above levels reported in the same month last year, but remained 5% below the 10 year average for the month of February, the data also shows. ‘Sales came in below the 10 year average for the month of February in two-thirds of all local markets. That said, the opposite was true in a few large urban markets in British Columbia and Ontario despite a shortage of listings there, which is fuelling prices higher,’ explained Gregory Klump, CREA’s chief economist. The number of newly listed homes fell 2.5% in February compared to January, led by Greater Vancouver, the Okanagan region, and Calgary. New listings in Calgary have retreated in recent months after having climbed sharply toward the end of last year. The national sales to new listings ratio was 52.2% in February. With sales up and new listings down, this marked an increase from 50.4% in January. A… Continue reading
Average new asking prices in UK up 1% in March
The average price of property coming onto the market in the UK increased by 1% or £2,748 this month compared with February but it is a more muted rise than normal, the latest index shows. However, the rise means that the average new seller asking price is just £30 below the June 2014, according to the index from Rightmove. According to Rightmove the upcoming general election could be to blame for the lower than expected rise which was down from 2.1% growth in February. It says that agents are reporting an increase from buy to let investors and this may be due to the forthcoming changes to pensions which means they can cash in their pension pots and there is a lot of interest in using this to buy property. The data also shows that the year on year rate of increase has fallen from 6.6% in February to 5.4% in March and the report points out that high demand and larger buyer deposits are reducing the impact of the new restrictions on mortgage lending introduced in the Mortgage Market Review last year. ‘The distraction and uncertainty of an election typically force sellers to price more keenly, though this is often short-lived. The MMR introduced in April 2014 laid out a much needed longer term framework for responsible lending, but within a year its dampening effects have been muted by high demand outstripping supply in many locations, and by buyers putting down larger deposits,’ said Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst . ‘The price of property coming to market is now just £30 off the record set nine months ago. The MMR has been a positive restraint on what buyers can afford to pay and has assisted in lessening the price rise pace. However, with new build levels remaining low and only a small increase in properties coming to market compared to last month, the supply side is still a critical but missing part of the jigsaw if pent-up demand is to be satisfied,’ he explained. The index report also shows that interest in searching is at an all-time high, with a record eight million enquiries sent to Rightmove agents in the first two months of 2015, and Rightmove’s busiest ever day for activity being recorded towards the end of February. ‘There is still high demand for the right property at the right price with agents reporting that quality stock is selling well despite some election jitters. Rightmove recording nearly 59 million page views in one day suggests that home movers have a confident outlook, while remaining choosy about what they will buy. Attractive long fixed term mortgage rates are obviously another great boost to positive sentiment,’ Shipside said. ‘While some of the heat has been taken out of the market by limiting loan criteria and size through the MMR and the subsequent actions of the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority, controls limiting buyer affordability appear not to be restraining… Continue reading
