Uk
Buying a home near a British stately home costs on average £40,000 more
Buying a house close to one of Britain's many stately homes can cost on average £41,000 more than in neighbouring areas, but they also grow in value, new research shows. The average house price in an area with a stately home was £319,203 in May 2015 compared to an average of £277,990, a premium of £41,213 or 15%, according to a study by UK lender, the Halifax. Indeed, it found that some 76% of postal areas with stately homes have higher house prices than neighbouring locations and overall prices command a premium relative to the surrounding area in 54 of the 71 stately homes covered in this survey. Homes close to Kenwood House in Hampstead Heath currently command the highest premium of £770,023 or 120% in cash terms, followed by Ham House in Richmond upon Thames at £513,918 or 116% and Ightham Mote in Sevenoaks at £231,230 or 82%. Outside southern England the areas with stately homes commanding the highest premiums are Tabley House, Tatton Park and Peover Hall and Gardens, all in Knutsford in Cheshire, with an average house price premium of £181,517 or 83%. In all, there are 14 areas with stately homes where properties trade at an average premium of at least £150,000. They include Winterbourne House and Garden in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham at £162,551 or 91%, Highclere Castle, setting of the TV drama Downton Abbey, in Newbury at £155,532 or 44% and Chatsworth House in Bakewell at £154,063 or 89%. The research also found that owners of properties in areas close to Britain's many stately homes have seen the value of their home rise by an average of £89,506 over the past decade, from £229,697 in 2005 to £319,203 in 2015. The 39% increase in the average property price is equivalent to a monthly rise of £746. In cash terms, the average price growth of £89,506 in areas with stately homes is more than twice the national increase of £39,311 or 22%, which has grown from £178,016 to £217,328 in 2015. Average house prices in nearly all stately home areas in the survey increased in the past decade. The largest price growth was in the area of Kenwood House at £822,810 or 140%, followed by Ham House at £451,123 or 89%, and Hatfield House in Hatfield at £228,367 or 71%. The only area to record a fall in average price since 2005 is Coleraine in Northern Ireland, home to Downhill House and Mussenden Temple at a fall of 10% or £12,977. However, there are 17 areas with stately homes where properties trade at a discount to neighbouring areas. The largest discount compared to average house prices is around Wimpole Hall in Royston, where prices are typically around £50,000 or 13% lower than in the county of Hertfordshire. This is followed by Saltram House in Plymouth with values £40,903 or 18% lower, and Osborne House on the Isle of Wight lower by £32,071 or 16% despite the house being… Continue reading
Research suggests UK home owners over 50 with a mortgage could get a better deal
One in three home owners in the UK aged over 50 still have a mortgage and many have never tried to renegotiate for a better deal, new research shows. Mortgagees in this age group have still got around £50,000 to pay and one in 14 think they have been prevented from moving their mortgage to a more competitive deal because of their age. The research by the Saga Equity Release Advice Service also shows that of those home owners in their 70s who still have a mortgage on average they have £40,000 to pay. While many of those in their early 50s still have years of working life to chip away at their debt, around one in seven people in their 70s are faced with having to use their weekly pension to pay off what’s owed instead of using it to enjoy their retirement as they had planned. Saga says that shopping around for a new mortgage could help people pay it off quicker but one in 10 over 50s say they are concerned about their lenders maximum borrowing age and it appears they are right to be worried as 7% say they have been prevented from moving their mortgage to a more competitive deal because of their age. ‘Millions of older homeowners have found themselves abandoned by mortgage lenders and stuck in uncompetitive deals because of the unfair age restrictions that many lenders have in place,’ said Alex Edmans, head of retirement at Saga Personal Finance. ‘If these people had access to a better deal they wouldn’t have to pay as much back each month which would leave them with more money to enjoy their retirement. For those in retirement struggling to meet their monthly mortgage costs it may be worth considering a lifetime mortgage to help ease the burden of the monthly repayments,’ he explained. ‘This may not be suitable for all, so it is well worth speaking with a specialist adviser, who would consider all alternatives and review whether any state benefits could help provide some relief. It is also extremely important that people discuss their options with their family or loved ones and we advise our customers to do this before taking out a lifetime mortgage,’ he added. Continue reading
Research shows fewer homes being built on greenbelt in England
The number of new homes built within the greenbelt in England halves over the last 10 years after peaking in 2001, new research shows. Less than 100,000 have been built on these type of open spaces, which are meant to prevent urban sprawl into the countryside, since 1995, but most are in the area around London. The research from real estate firm Countrywide also shows that the 96,000 greenbelt land homes built in the last decade made up 3.5% of the 2.7 million homes built in England. However, demand for new homes and a shift in development southwards saw 48% of all greenbelt development occurring around London in 2014 while four areas, Blackpool, Gloucester, Burton and Morecambe, have seen no new house building at all since 2011. A breakdown of the figures shows that the number of new homes built on greenbelt each year has halved since the early 2000s, falling from a peak of 6,700 homes in 2001 to 3,248 in 2014. The trend started before the downturn too. Despite a 36% rise in the number of homes built in England between 2001 and 2007, the numbers built on greenbelt fell by 46%. Last year just 3,250 homes or 3% of all homes were built on greenbelt, down on 2013 and the long run average. Over the last five years development on greenbelt has increasingly been on land surrounding growing cities in southern England, which the firm says reflect the demand for housing and a wider trend of new home delivery concentrated in the South of England. In 2014 the 1,575 new homes built on London greenbelt, accounted for 48% of all greenbelt development in England, up from 38% a decade ago. London has also seen the most homes built on greenbelt since 1995 at 39,100. Local authorities can grant permission for development in the greenbelt in special circumstances where the benefit from development outweighs perceived harm to the greenbelt. While there is debate, and conflicting guidance about specifics, broadly these may include significant economic benefits, replacing buildings and in some instances housing or other social need. ‘While development is generally prohibited within the greenbelt a small number of homes are given permission to be built. Many of these development sites would be at odds with common perceptions of greenbelt. Rather than picturesque countryside being concreted over, these sites were either brownfield, infill schemes or unused land with little amenity value,’ said Johnny Morris, group research director at Countrywide. ‘Sustained pressure, particularly in the South, to get more homes built and government plans to take a tougher line on local authorities with out of date plans, will likely see more homes built on greenbelt in future years. Just returning to the rates of development on greenbelt seen in the early noughties would yield an extra 5,000 new homes a year,’ he explained. ‘Research by Countrywide published earlier in 2015 showed around the 80 railway stations in… Continue reading
