Uk
Lack of off street parking means a home takes longer to sell in big UK cities
Properties in resident parking zones in the UK can take twice as long to sell as homes with off street provision, particularly in some of the biggest cities, new research has found. An analysis of property sales data for the last 12 months shows that properties with off-street parking provision take on average just 25 days to sell compared to 50 days for properties in areas where parking restrictions exist. Highlighting the parking permit postcode lottery in different parts of the country, the survey conducted by Quick Move Now reveals that lack of parking availability in the North West is the main motivation for moving to a new property as 34% of vendors in this area opt to sell up and move home due to parking concerns. A quarter of households in London and the South-East have decided to sell up and move house due to parking concerns, but in contrast only 2% of vendors in the East Midlands have similar worries. In addition, just 10% of home owners in Wales and 12% in the South West decide to sell up and move due to parking problems. These findings follow research that shows 62% of councils issue parking permits. Birmingham and Manchester head the list of the highest annual parking permit charges in the UK followed by the London Borough of Islington. Whilst the national average cost of an annual car park permit is £59.17, Birmingham City Council and Manchester City Council both charge £750. The research suggests that parking is a bigger reason for putting a property on the market than lack of space, crime, distance to work and neighbour. Indeed, a recent survey by The AA suggested that almost one in four drivers in London put off making car journeys in order to avoid losing their parking space and almost 20% of drivers nationally say they always worry about being able to find a parking space as they approach their home. And with car ownership increasing by almost 600,000 in the last year according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, this situation is set to become more and more acute. ‘Our findings show that properties with off-street parking provision sell in half the time and are very attractive to prospective buyers. With no guarantee of being able to park outside, or even near, their property, and a postcode lottery determining the cost of on-street parking permits, parking is a real issue for a large proportion of UK home owners,’ said Danny Luke, Quick Move Now managing director. ‘While it's an inconvenience for many home owners, issues with being able to secure an on-street parking space near their property can make many homes completely inappropriate for families with young children or older home owners who are beginning to struggle with mobility. This becomes an even more significant problem when you consider the current UK property shortage,’ he added. Luke pointed out that Manchester city council charge 12 times the UK average… Continue reading
Top end property prices in Hong Kong set to fall by 15% this year
Stock market volatility and the interest rate rise in the United States has dampened investment sentiment in the property markets in Hong Kong, according to a new report. Overall the luxury sector prices remained broadly steady, with apartment prices on Hong Kong Island and Kowloon recording some mild declines, says the latest briefing report from Savills World Research. In the fourth quarter of 2015 primary sales rebounded after the quiet summer months but secondary sales declined further, and total transaction volumes of 10,000 were the lowest since 2002. The report suggests that prime residential prices are on course to decline by 15% this year, with little positive news expected in the short term. The data shows that sales sale on Hong Kong Island declined by 36% quarter on quarter in the final three months of 2015 while prime apartment prices fell 0.9%. However, there was still a 9.3% price growth over the year as a whole. Mid-Levels, with the highest concentration of primary launches and future supply among all districts, saw prices remain relatively stable in the last quarter of 2015, with an 8% increase overall for the year. Supported by a few house sales on the Peak in the fourth quarter townhouse prices remained stable over the quarter and recorded an 8.3% increase overall in 2015. Luxury transaction volumes in Kowloon and the New Territories also fell heavily by 62% and the report says this was due to a lack of significant new launches over the quarter, with most first-hand transactions coming from the remaining units of projects launched earlier in the year. Luxury prices in Kowloon declined by 1.4% while prices in the New Territories remained largely stable. ‘With investment sentiment dwindling, and few market highlights, many purchasers held off making investment decisions. This, coupled with the increasing number of newly completed luxury units being made available for lease amid declining rents, caused some potential purchasers to switch to the leasing market to avoid uncertainties over the next one to two years,’ the report explains. Mass residential prices declined by 2.9% across the board in the fourth quarter of 2015 and the report says that unlike previous declines in 2012 and 2013 which were in response to various restrictive government measures and thus short lived, the residential market seems to have turned a corner, due to the uncertain economic environment, a further possible rate hike and a potential tightening of funding to reduce capital outflows. In fact, while developers in general achieved satisfactory sales of primary projects in the quarter with 4,606 primary units sold, a 32% increase from the third quarter, this was mainly through providing more incentives, steeper price discounts, or both. The result was that the secondary market was frozen out and the 5,563 secondary transactions recorded, as well as the 10,169 total transactions recorded, were both all-time quarterly lows since 2002. Global economic uncertainties, stock market volatility and fears of further capital outflows from the local banking… Continue reading
Average asking price for a home in England and Wales passes £300,000
The average asking price of a home in England and Wales has surpassed £300,000 for the first time as demand soars and supply remains tight, the latest index figures show. New homes put on the market averaged £303,190 this month, up 1.3% on the previous month and up 7.6% compared to the same month a year ago, according to the data from Rightmove. The property portal’s monthly report says that the challenges facing both first time buyers and those trading up are highlighted by a 50% increase in just 10 years which means that new seller asking prices have increased by £100,000 since March 2006. And the 1.3% price jump in March at £3,903 is the second highest at this time of year since the 2008 credit crunch with the price growth momentum spreading north and west with six out of 10 regions setting record price highs this month. The data also shows that London no longer leads the growth with prices standing still as an average asking value of £644,045 but they are up 11% year on year. ‘While the start of 2016 has seen an encouraging but modest uptick in the number of properties coming to market, demand and momentum have combined to push prices over £300,000,’ said Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst. ‘On average 30,000 properties have come to market each week over the past month, up by 3% on this time last year, but there are insufficient numbers of newly listed properties in many parts of the country to meet demand,’ he explained. ‘The rebound from the housing market downturn has been driven by underlying demand, greater availability mortgage lending, and the economic recovery. The release of this pent-up demand and the shortfall in housing supply are resulting in insufficient availability of affordable stock in many locations,’ he pointed out. Shipside said that the result is that more first time buyers and would-be trader uppers are finding themselves ill-equipped to cope with current house prices given the tighter lending criteria and average earnings lagging well behind house price growth. A breakdown of the figures shows that asking prices monthly growth was led by the South West taking the average to £292,251 and up 6.8% year on year, followed by the West Midlands with monthly growth of 2.5% to £204,140 and annual growth of 5.5%. This was followed closely by the North East with monthly growth of 2.4% to £148,484 and annual growth of £3.7% while Yorkshire and Humber saw month on month growth of 1.9% to £173,947 and year on year growth of 3.2%. The South East saw monthly growth of 1.8% to £399,680 and annual growth of 8.1%, the East of England monthly growth of 1.6% and annual growth of 9.7% to an average of £326,836 and the East Midlands and Wales both saw monthly growth of 1.4% taking the average asking price to £189,819 and £174,046 respectively. Shipside pointed out that three out of the top four… Continue reading
