Uk
Annual rent growth in UK outside of London up almost 5% in final quarter of 2015
Average annual rent growth across the UK, excluding London, was 4.9% for new tenancies signed during the final three months of 2015 than in same period of 2014, the latest index data shows. It means that the average monthly rent outside of London now stands at £739 while in the capital rents increased by a much larger 8% year on year in the final quarter of 2015, taking the average to £1,523. The HomeLet rental index shows that after London the biggest annual rise was in the South East at 7%, followed by 6.4% in the East Midlands, 5.7% in East Anglia and 5.5% in the South West. In Scotland annual rental growth was 3.2%, in Yorkshire and the Humber it was 3.1%, in Wales it was 2.3%, in the North East it was 1.9%, and in the West Midlands 1.7%. The biggest annual fall in monthly rental prices was in the North West with a decrease of 5.1% while Northern Ireland recorded a fall of 0.6%. The data also reveals that Brighton, Bristol, Edinburgh and Newcastle recorded the largest increase in rents last year amongst the country’s largest towns and cities. Rents in Brighton and Bristol were, on average, 18% higher than on new tenancies agreed in 2014, taking them to £1,078 and £904 respectively, while rents were up by 16% in Edinburgh and Newcastle to £891 and £518 respectively. Martin Totty, chief executive officer of HomeLet parent company Barbon Insurance, pointed out that 2015 was a year in which rents on new tenancies were up compared with 2014 in almost every area of the country. ‘While we saw a moderation in the rate at which rents increased during the final months of the year, and even some falls in a number of regions, the sector overall has continued to see strong demand,’ he said. He also explained that rents in London have continued to rise more quickly than in most areas of the country, but not at quite the pace of 2014, while average rents outside of the capital rose more quickly last year than in 2014. ‘As a result, we saw a narrowing of the rent inflation gap between London and the regions last year,’ he added. Continue reading
Asking prices in UK still going upwards, latest index shows
The average asking price England and Wales has increased by 8.2% year on year while the total stock of property had dropped to a new record low, according to the latest residential index. Month on month prices increased by 0.3%, the highest such rise observed for January since the onset of the financial crisis and is at odds with the normal seasonal trend, the data from Home.co.uk shows. The index report says that growth in the property market is due to a lack of supply and low mortgage rates and the typical time on market is 117 days across England and Wales, nine days less than in January 2015. Despite a small uptick in supply, the total number of properties on the market has fallen to a new low. Just over 386,000 properties are currently for sale, some 47% less than in 2008. This trend looks set to dominate the UK property market in 2016, the report says. ‘Sellers know full well that there is a shortage of supply and therefore see no need for cautious pricing. Consequently, prices jumped nearly a percentage point over the last month in Greater London, which corresponds with an additional £15,000 on the average home value,’ said Doug Shephard, director at Home.co.uk. All the regional property markets have shown significant improvements in marketing times over the last year. The biggest improvements were in the South East and East of England where competition is fierce and these two regions also experienced the largest price hikes outside of Greater London in 2015. ‘We expect that home values in these regions will rise further this year before cooling as prices become out of reach of most buyers, thereby subduing demand. Perhaps surprisingly, the next best improved markets in terms of reductions in median time on market were the formerly lacklustre North East and Yorkshire regions,’ Shephard explained. ‘This serves as a strong indication that a recovery, until now notably absent, is beginning to take place in these regions as properties begin to move through the market more quickly and the supply demand balance tips in favour of the vendor,’ he pointed out. ‘We expect the first significant price rises post-crisis to be observed in these regions in 2016. The recovery in home values in the West and East Midlands is already well underway and their marketing times continue to improve. We expect increased price rises in these regions this year due to a combination of increased scarcity and buyer demand,’ he added. Shephard also pointed out that the North West property market is also showing signs of incremental improvement and is expected to see price rises in 2016 higher than last year. ‘It is interesting to note that Greater London heads up the four regions which have the least improved marketing times over the last year. Overall, the London market appears to be in a mature post-recovery phase where the breath taking price hikes of the last six years have… Continue reading
New report challenges development in London to consider regeneration
London needs to build some 50,000 new homes a year over the next 20 years and some of this requirement can be accommodated by increasing the density of existing places, including local authority housing estates, it is suggested. Many such estates require updating and this can be done in a way that creates many more homes, a significantly improved living environment for existing and future residents, and better value for local authorities, according to a new report. This would be achieved by rebuilding estates in a street based pattern, fully integrated into the urban network of neighbouring streets, says the analysis by real estate adviser Savills which highlights the potential to deliver more housing by increasing density in well-connected areas as well as the benefits of building sustainable urbanism. The report estimates that at least 54,000 and up to 360,000 additional homes could be accommodated within existing local authority housing estates through a new approach to estate regeneration. It assumes that every existing resident would be re-housed under the same terms on the new streets. The report proposes a new ‘complete streets’ model, based on a permeable and well-connected streetscape, which Savills says would improve density and achieve a better outcome for all existing and future residents and greater value for local authority stakeholders. Many of London’s local authority housing estates were built at a time when London was depopulating, so were not built at optimum density. The report estimates that, had they been built in the 1960s and 1970s to the same density as complete streets, they would have housed a further 480,000 households. But, the report argues, low density has not equated to a higher quality of place in the majority of cases. Many of the capital’s estates were constructed in a manner that means they are cut off and poorly integrated with the rest of London and neighbouring local communities. The conventional approach to estate renewal, often controversial at a local level, is based on replacing the existing site with new high-mass blocks and towers in a similar layout but at higher density, which does little to improve the neighbourhood or create new place value. Savills has modelled this ‘contemporary regeneration’ approach against a ‘complete streets’ alternative, based on a detailed study of six estates across London. The alternative, ‘complete streets’ model proposes rebuilding estates in a street-based pattern, fully integrated into neighbouring streets and community. The analysis estimates that approximately 1,750 hectares of London’s estimated 8,500 hectares of local authority housing estates might be capable of regeneration using this approach. This could private somewhere between 190,000 to 500,000 homes, representing an increase over the number of existing homes of between 54,000 and 360,000. And because this approach creates opportunities for mixed use development and is fully integrated into the broader city, it also creates greater life chances and employment… Continue reading
