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Prime property buyers in London down by 30%, new data suggests
London’s residential prime property market is seeing fewer buyers than a year ago and stock levels are up by 60%, according to new data. The December market barometer from Douglas & Gordon shows that buyers are down by 30% but prices are holding up with values down only 15% year on year. The firm says that this is an indication that the appetite to move amongst prospective vendors is still there but there is clear evidence to suggest that political uncertainty ahead of next May’s general election is playing on buyers’ minds. It also says that vendors are waiting until after the election to put their house on the market in the hope of greater stability and records a resurgence of gazundering for the first time since 2009. ‘Significantly, the fall through rate is down, so buyers are showing tenacity in securing their property. It’s unlikely to become a common trend however, as most sellers are happy to wait for the return of market stability post-election, although the broadly beneficial Stamp Duty reforms could signal a return of confidence even earlier, said George Franks, sales director. ‘In this new paradigm, when the world economy wobbles, London smiles and, given international deflationary pressures and interest rates remaining low long term, we anticipate next year as being very good for both the prime and emerging prime markets,’ he added. The lettings market is proving to be the polar opposite of sales with applicants up 33% and stock down 30%, indicating that 2015 will sustain the recovery of rental values that has been so eroded in recent years. An uncertain sales market has helped to bolster activity with 26% fewer tenancies ending compared to this time last year, signalling that tenant are staying put, according to lettings director Virginia Skilbeck. She pointed out that at the beginning of December the first phase of the ‘right to rent’ scheme came into force in the West Midlands, whereby landlords will face fines of up to £3,000 if they fail to check on the immigration status of their new tenants. The Home Office says it expects to continue with the phased introduction of the scheme across the UK next year, but she does not expect a decision on whether it will be extended throughout Britain until after the general election in May. ‘Seasonally, the beginning of January is a very busy time in the lettings calendar and with some of our offices having half as many properties available to let compared to this time last year, combined with a surge of applicants registering in the New Year, we can expect to see increased competition for fewer available properties,’ she said. Continue reading
Demand for UK property down 8% since February, new data shows
Demand for homes in the UK has dropped by 8% since February with London seeing an even bigger fall of 28%, according to the latest property hotspots index review. It also shows that within London the borough of Westminster has suffered the most from the real estate slowdown with demand down 42% while Glasgow has seen the greatest increase in demand. The index from online estate agent eMoov monitors the change in supply and demand for the most populated locations across the UK, by monitoring the total number of properties sold in comparison to those on sale. Another area in London where demand is falling is the Olympic Village in Stratford where demand in the four London Boroughs that straddle the development have fallen steadily. Hackney has seen demand fall by 36%, Tower Hamlets and Newham dropped by 35% and 33% respectively and in Waltham Forest it is down 24%. But it’s not all doom and gloom for the South East, the London Borough of Bexley came out top with a 71% demand for property while at 67% Reading has had the second highest demand for property of all UK Hotspots, with Brentwood and Hillingdon also placing in the top 10 with a 60% demand for property. The firm suggests that this highlights the change the proposed Cross Rail development is having on towns due to benefit from its extension, as the commute to London will become significantly easier as a result. Sutton at 65%, Watford at 64%, Guildford at 63% and Medway at 56% also made the top 10 as commuter friendly towns close to the capital. Elsewhere around the country Bristol was at number six but demand for property in the West Country city has still fallen by 3% since February. Brighton also made the top 10 with demand for property at 62%. Demand for property in Scotland as a whole is up by 5% since February and the capital Edinburgh came 49th out of Britain’s hot spots, the highest of the Scottish entries. It was however Glasgow that has witnessed the most drastic turn around, demand in Scotland’s second city rose by a total of 28% since February, the biggest change across the whole of Britain. Demand for property in Hull has risen 26% over the year closely followed by Doncaster and Bradford at 25%. Even Liverpool has enjoyed an increase of 9% in demand however not all of the major players from the North have enjoyed the same success. Demand in Leeds has dropped by 5% since February, Newcastle has dropped by 8% and demand in Manchester fell by 14%. In the East Midlands Derby come out on top with demand up by 3% in comparison to its rivals. At 36% it placed 43rd in the table, 10 places higher than Nottingham and 12 places higher than Leicester. Birmingham has remained almost static in its demand for property throughout the year, however as with London there has… Continue reading
Many UK landlords unfamiliar with new immigration checks
UK landlords do not fully understand the new immigration checks they are being required to undertake and those already doing so are not happy about it, new research shows. Landlords in the West Midlands are already compelled to check the immigration status of would be tenants under a pilot scheme that is set to be rolled out across the country next year. However, as study, conducted by online letting agent PropertyLetByUs, has found that nine out of 10 landlords don’t fully understand the immigration checks and a further nine out of 10 landlords believe that the new immigration legislation places too much responsibility on them. The research also reveals that 100% of landlords intend to rely on their letting agent or reference agency to conduct the checks and 93% of landlords don’t feel confident making the checks themselves. What’s more, over a quarter of landlords think that the legislation will lead to a rise in unscrupulous landlords renting ‘beds in sheds’, a fifth believe it will make it much harder for immigrants to find a property to rent and 10% of landlords think the new legislation will cause homelessness for some immigrants. The vast majority of landlords say they will be much more wary about taking on immigrant tenants. ‘It is clear that landlords aren’t comfortable with the legislation and will be relying on letting agents and reference firms to help them comply with the new rules,’ said Jane Morris, managing director of PropertyLetByUs. ‘The pilot in the West Midlands will hopefully iron out many of the issues and that when the new rules are rolled out nationally in 2015, landlords will feel more comfortable with what is required of them,’ she explained. The firm points out that it is important that landlords prepare themselves for the new ‘right to rent’ checks, as any non-compliance will mean that landlords could face a £3,000 fine. The Immigration Act requires landlords to check whether prospective tenants are in the country legally. Landlords will have to see ‘evidence’, for example a passport or a biometric residence permit, an official form of identification provided by the Home Office. The new rules will require landlords to check whether potential tenants and occupants over 18 have a ‘right to rent’ before entering into a new tenancy agreement. All adults who will occupy the property as their main home, not just named tenants, should be checked. If they turn 18 during the tenancy, no initial or follow up checks are required. These rules apply to new tenancies only. Renewals are excluded if all parties remain the same and there has been no break. ‘The Home Office will carry out checks on individual properties and landlords if they receive information from a workplace, a raid, a tip-off from neighbours, follow up on an immigration application and/or if the landlord has been identified as… Continue reading
