Uk
UK rents rise the most in the West Midlands, latest data shows
Tenants in the West Midlands have seen rents increase the most with the latest data showing 59% have seen a rise in September, the highest of all regions in the UK. This is compared to 22% of letting agents in London noticing rent increases since last month, and a UK average of 32%, according to the monthly private rental sector report from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA). The survey also found that renters in the East Midlands are likely to be most successful when finding a rental property, with an average of 272 managed properties per member branch, compared to the UK average of 182. However, London has the lowest number of managed rental properties, with only 124 properties managed on average per branch, despite the huge population which ARLA says proves that the issue of supply is plaguing the capital. Demand for rental properties is the most prominent in the North West, with agents registering on average 40 new prospective tenants per branch in September, the most out of all regions. Demand continues to be prevalent in the South with ARLA agents in London, South East and the South West all registering an average of 39 new prospective tenants per branch. Agents in the East Midlands and Scotland are seeing the least number of new tenants coming through their doors. Tenants in the East of England seem the happiest, as they stay in rented homes for the longest duration, with most staying for 20 months at a time. However, those living in the North West only tend to live in each property for an average of 15 months at a time, perhaps explaining why it has the highest prospective tenants per branch. The report also revealed that rental properties in London have an average of six viewings before they’re let, the highest amount of viewings out of all regions in the UK. This could be down to the battle for space in the capital and the fact that as soon as a property goes on the market in London, many people flock to see it straight away to fight the competition of other renters. This is compared to properties in the East of England being let after an average of three viewings. ‘It’s interesting to see how tenants across the country are affected in different ways when it comes to the rental market; each region has its own issues, whether it’s lack of suitable housing, no available housing at all, or over inflated rent prices,’ said David Cox, ARLA managing director . ‘It’s a surprise to see that those renting in the West Midlands are suffering from rent increases the most, when many of us would automatically think tenants in London would be the most prone to rent increases due to the competition in the capital,’ he explained. ‘The rental property market remains a significant… Continue reading
Spain is seeing a spectacular turnaround in its higher end property market
A renewed confidence amongst buyers, low prices and the Spanish banks’ willingness to offer competitive mortgages is attracting increasing numbers of new buyers in the country, according to a new analysis. In Spain’s major cities, international buyers are now beginning to compete against local buyers to secure the best properties in prime locations, according to the report from Lucas Fox covering the first six months of 2015. Indeed, Spain is seeing a ‘spectacular’ turnaround in its property market, according to the firm’s founding partner Alexander Vaughan. The report says that Barcelona is expected to be the most significant year of recovery for the prime residential property market in the past seven years. Prices have stabilised in the past 12 to 18 months, and international interest for turnkey properties is forcing up demand, alongside renewed confidence amongst local buyers. In Maresme, whereas in previous years local buyers accounted for as little as 20% of Lucas Fox’s sales enquiries, this figure is now closer to 50% and there has been a substantial increase in the number of sales transactions to local clients. The report also says that on the Costa Brava, sales in the first half of the year have been dominated by Northern European buyers with British, French, Swiss, Dutch and Scandinavian buyers being the most active. On Ibiza, while national averages of property prices continued to decline slightly throughout 2014 and are levelling off in 2015, average prices in Ibiza have seen increases since the start of 2013. In Marbella, sales have increased across the region, leading to a shortage of good quality properties in prime locations. Turnkey projects are selling so fast that Lucas Fox is seeing regular price increases of new off plan properties coming onto the market while in Valencia, the first quarter of 2015 has seen an increase of 14% for property re-sales. Madrid continues to attract more and more investment from both national and international investors. Lucas Fox data suggests that 60% of clients buy for investment purposes and 20% for the so called golden visa that allows non-European Union citizens to live in the country if they invest in real estate. Continue reading
Prime central London prices still falling
Prices in central London’s prime residential market fell 0.3% in October, the steepest monthly decline since the summer of 2010, and annual growth slowed to 1%, the lowest rate since October 2009. This latest data from real estate firm Knight Frank means that the firm has revised 2016 forecast for the sector down to 2% from 4.5%. According to Tom Bill, Knight Frank’s head of London research, even although it has been 11 months since the Chancellor raised stamp duty for properties worth more than £1.1 million, the consequences have only come into sharper focus in recent weeks. ‘The spring selling season was overshadowed by the general election and, after a seasonal lull in the summer, the autumn market has been the first reliable test of sentiment since the stamp duty increase. Autumn is typically a more active time of year but the final months of 2015 have been marked by a standoff between buyers and sellers,’ he explained. ‘There is a degree of nervousness around global economic events such as the China slowdown and the fact some markets have experienced strong price growth in recent years, but the stand-off primarily comes down to the arithmetic of higher stamp duty rates,’ he said. ‘Buyers calculate it will take them longer to recover the extra stamp duty expense in house price inflation and expect a lower asking price, something vendors are not always willing to concede,’ he added. The figures also shows that the number of exchanges in the three months to September was 17% lower than in 2014. Meanwhile, the number of new prospective buyers was 30% down on the same period in 2014. ‘However, despite the stand-off, there are signs some vendors have realised demand has cooled since the stamp duty increase and where asking prices have come down the market is operating in a normal manner and tapping into underlying demand that remains resilient,’ Bill concluded. Continue reading
