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Average house prices in British seaside towns up over 30% in 10 years
House prices have increased by 32% across British seaside towns over the past decade, amounting to £440 per month, according to the latest research. The annual Halifax Seaside Town Review revealed average house prices have grown from £166,565 in 2006 to £219,386 in 2016, equivalent to an average increase of £440 per month. Scottish seaside towns dominate the list of areas with the greatest price growth, with seven of the top 10 located in Aberdeenshire, which for much of the period has been well served by growth in the oil and gas sector. Fraserburgh has seen the greatest house price growth with a rise of 139%, from £63,540 in 2006 to £151,719 in 2016, equivalent to a monthly increase of £735. In Macduff, average property value doubled from £66,226 to £133,567 or 102%, followed by Peterhead up 95%, Cove Bay up 94% and Newtonhill up 91%. Brighton recorded the greatest increase in value outside of Scotland with prices up 59% from £214,863 to £341,235 over the decade. Other seaside towns in England with the best price performance include Whitstable in Kent up 53%, Shoreham on Sea in West Sussex also up 53%, Leigh on Sea in Essex up 52% and Truro in Cornwall up 50%. Despite the growth of property values in Scottish seaside towns over the past 10 years, nine of the 10 most expensive seaside towns in Britain are on the South coast with eight in the South West. The most expensive seaside town is Sandbanks in Poole, where the average house price is £664,655. Sandbanks knocked Salcombe off the top spot, a position which Salcombe, in the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, has had since 2010. Other most expensive seaside towns located in the South West include Padstow with an average price of £443,396, Dartmouth at £401,361 and Fowey at £379,003. Aldeburgh in Suffolk at £439,379 and Lymington in Hampshire at £426,112 are the most expensive seaside towns outside the South West. ‘Seaside towns are highly popular places to live, offering sought after scenery, weather and lifestyle which no doubt come at a price. They also attract those looking for holiday properties, which add upward pressure on house prices, which our research shows have increased by an average of £440 per month since 2006,’ said Martin Ellis, housing economist at the Halifax. Despite the price performance nine of the least expensive seaside towns are in Scotland. There is a marked difference in price at top and bottom end of the scale, with the least expensive town Port Bannatyne on the Isle of Bute at £77,132. Seven of the least expensive are in western Scotland, including Girvan at £91,912, Campbeltown at £91,938 and Saltcoats at £93,479. Newbiggin by the Sea in Northumberland at £81,259 is the least expensive seaside town in England. The research found 11 seaside towns in total with an average price below £100,000. ‘Over the 10 year period, coastal towns north of the border… Continue reading
Prices rise in Dublin but fall elsewhere in Ireland
Residential property prices in Ireland increased overall by 7.1% in the 12 months to April 2016 and were up by 0.3% month on month, the latest official figures show. This compares with no change in March and an increase of 0.6% recorded in April of last year, according to the data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), and the market is still open to some volatility with prices rising in Dublin but falling elsewhere. In Dublin residential property prices increased by 1.6% in April and were 4.6% higher than a year ago. Dublin house prices increased by 1.9% in the month and were 5% higher compared to a year earlier. The data also shows that Dublin apartment prices were 1.1% higher when compared with the same month of 2015. However, a CSO spokesman said it should be noted that the sub-indices for apartments are based on low volumes of observed transactions and consequently suffer from greater volatility than other series. The price of residential properties in the rest of Ireland decreased by 0.6% in April compared with an increase of 0.3% in April of last year. Prices were 9.5% higher than in April 2015. It means that house prices in Dublin are 33.1% lower than at their highest level in early 2007 while apartments in Dublin are 41.5% lower than they were in February 2007 while overall prices in Dublin are 35.2% lower than at their highest level in February 2007. The price of residential properties in the rest of Ireland is 35.8% lower than their highest level in September 2007. Overall, the national index is 33.3% lower than its highest level in 2007. John McCartney, director of research at Savills, pointed out that price growth in Dublin has accelerated steadily over the first four months of the year, as predicted by the firm. ‘Price growth slowed in Dublin last year as tighter mortgage lending forced people into renting. However, this slowdown was always going to be temporary. The shift to renting has forced up rents, attracting investors who are now scrapping to buy properties and driving up prices. As this continues the Dublin market may become increasingly like London with expensive properties, many of which are owned by investors,’ he explained. He said that with tighter mortgage lending introduced in February 2015, many people were priced out of the Dublin market and bought properties in Wicklow, Meath and Kildare. This drove strong price increases in those counties last year, but he added that this has diminished their attractiveness, and increasingly, families are weighing up the cost savings against the longer commute and choosing to stay renting until they can assemble the deposit to buy in Dublin. Looking ahead, Savills says Dublin house price inflation will heat-up further in the coming months. ‘The only thing preventing stronger inflation in today’s figures was the strong growth recorded 12 months ago. However, prices slowed sharply from last May, meaning that next… Continue reading
Land agent suggests UK govt target of a million new homes by 2020 is achievable
Land agent Aston Mead has hit back at those who have doubted the ability of the UK to build a million new homes by 2020. The pledge is at the heart of the government’s landmark Housing and Planning Bill, which received Royal Assent earlier this month. However, a recent survey of owners and directors of 389 house builders across England indicated that just over half, some 51%, thought the target would not be met. Aston Mead land planning director Adam Hesse said there is a danger that the planning pessimists out there will create a self-fulfilling prophecy. ‘A million homes by 2020 is perfectly possible as the Home Builders Federation have stated quite clearly. But it will need conviction and commitment, as well as further government policies in favour of development, and help to speed up the planning process,’ he explained. He pointed out that there have already been huge increases in output, with build rates on large sites doubling since 2010. There were more than 180,000 new homes delivered in 2014/2015, with this year’s figure expected to be higher still. ‘By 2019 the big companies will be building double what they did six years ago. Now we need to speed up the momentum even further, so that we ensure we reach the target of one million new homes by 2020,’ he added. Despite his optimism, Hesse believes that the industry needs to see more land coming through the planning system, and processes that support both large and smaller house builders. ‘Several significant advances have happened already. Brownfield sites will now automatically be approved for building, with £10 million worth of funding to help local authorities prepare them. There are also plans to relax the planning rules for smaller house builders, enabling them to gain automatic planning permission on suitable sites. And changes to the section 106 agreement will enable developers to provide affordable homes to buy, instead of affordable homes for rent,’ Hesse explained. He added that it is local councils, who are the largest landowners in the country, which will be key to the success of this project. ‘They must get up-to-date housing plans in place, ensuring that they are robust and evidence-based,’ he said. He also pointed out that councils should review their planning application process and the conditions attached to planning which represent such a major challenge for developers. Plus they need to streamline their planning processes and improve communication so that once approved, building can get underway quickly. ‘For their part, house builders are already investing in their supply chains and have taken on tens of thousands of new workers to ensure there is the capacity and skills required. All we need now is the conviction and commitment to carry it off,’ Hesse concluded. Continue reading
