Investment
Most UK borrowers reach mortgage freedom day
Home borrowers in the UK have reached the time of year when they will have earned enough to pay off the annual cost of their mortgage, research shows. Based on the average annual mortgage repayment cost of £7,584 and the average net annual income of £26,023, lender the Halifax has calculated that home owners with a mortgage will have today earned enough on average to cover their mortgage payments for the rest of 2016. Mortgage Freedom Day this year occurs just a day later than in 2015 and is the result of average annual mortgage repayment edging up by £17 during the year. Rental Freedom Day, on the other hand, comes 16 days later on the 05 May, again a day later than in 2015. However, there is a wide variation in Mortgage Freedom Day across the country, with home owners in Scotland and Northern Ireland achieving this on 12 March, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber on 25 March, the North West 26th and the North the 27th. Mortgage Freedom Day for Londoners doesn't arrive until 26 June, three months later than in northern England. Regionally, the North was the first to achieve Rental Freedom Day on 05 April this year, just ahead of Yorkshire and the Humber on 09 April and the East Midlands on the 13th April. Tenants in London have to wait until 13 July. ‘For most home owners mortgage payments are the biggest outgoing every month. Knowing they’ve earned enough to pay off their mortgage for another year should be a reassuring thought. On the other hand, those who rent will need to work a further couple of weeks to have earned enough to cover their annual rental cost,’ said Craig McKinlay, Halifax mortgage director. At local authority district level, new borrowers in West Dunbartonshire recorded the earliest Mortgage Freedom Day in 2016, on 21 February. Eight of the 10 earliest Mortgage Freedom Days this year take place in Scotland, including Inverclyde and East Ayrshire, both 23rd February, and North Lanarkshire on the 25th February. The remaining two local areas are Copeland in Cumbria on the 27th February and Blaenau Gwent on 02 March. Home owners in South Bucks have to wait until the autumn for Mortgage Freedom Day which will be the 12 September, followed by Hammersmith and Fulham on 21 August, Brent in North West London on 19 August and Ealing on 08 August. Continue reading
Research shows over 35,000 high end home to be built in London in next decade
Over 35,000 prime homes are set to be built in London over the next decade, a rise of 40% compared to 2014, new research shows. The combined sales value of these properties is estimated at over £77 billion, and when combined the total floor space of these homes comes in at over 40 million square feet, far greater than the area of the whole of the City of London at 30.7 million square feet. These new homes, well out of the affordable range, will be built on 196 sites that span the breadth of the city, according to a report from global design and consultancy firm for natural and built assets Arcadis. It says that this ‘significant growth’ on the previous year demonstrates the extent to which the capital’s high end residential market is still viewed favourably in spite of the rapidly evolving UK housing market. The report also says that rising construction costs and growing land values have seen input costs rise, while a softening in demand due to successive stamp duty reform combined with economic slowdown in countries such as China has seen buyer interest ease. As a consequence, some investors may eventually reposition these assets away from prime housing and into premium office space, mixed use or even a greater number of smaller homes as they look to markets that offer a greater margin, it suggests. In terms of location, it is Chelsea and Fulham that have seen the greatest level of investment, followed by the Southbank and around the City, and the report says that this is evidence that the prime London property market is not confined to the West End but is now widely diffused across the capital. Some 10,914 homes are due to be built in Chelsea and Fulham, followed by 8,863 in Southbank, 5,898 in City and Fringe, 1,960 in Victoria and Pimlico, 1,754 in Midtown, 1,600 in Docklands, 1,104 in Kensington, 933 in Bayswater and Paddington, 589 in Mayfair and 427 in St John’s Wood. The total sales value of the homes to be built in Chelsea and Fulham is estimated at £20 billion, in City and Fringe at £7.3 billion, in Mayfair at £6 billion, in Belgravia at 5.6 billion, in Victoria and Pimlico at £5.1 billion, in Midtown at £4.7 billion, in St John’s Wood at £4 billion, in Kensington at 3.7 billion and in Knightsbridge at £2.4 billion. ‘Since around 2009, the value of prime residential property in central London has seen dramatic rises, making it one of the hottest markets in recent memory. So, it is hardly surprising that we have seen ongoing interest from investors all over the world,’ said Mark Cleverly, Arcadis head of commercial development. ‘What is interesting, though, is the continuous geographical spread we are seeing. Prime housing is springing up around regeneration areas and on the outskirts of the financial district, suggesting the days of the West End… Continue reading
Irish property market recovery leads to boost in planning applications granted
In yet another sign that the residential property market in Ireland is recovering, planning permission for new dwellings increased by over 95% in the final quarter of 2015. The data from the Central Statistics Office show 4,017 applications were permitted compared with 2,057 units for the same period in 2014, an increase of 95.3%. A breakdown of the figures shows that the permissions were granted for 2,754 houses in the fourth quarter of 2015 and 1,905 in the fourth quarter of 2014, an increase of 44.6%. In terms of apartments some 1,263 units were granted compared with 152 units for the same period in 2014, an increase of 730.9%. One off houses accounted for 22.7% of all new planning permissions granted in the final quarter of 2015, the data also shows. The total number of planning permissions granted for all developments was 4,470. This compares with 3,504 in the fourth quarter of 2014, an increase of 27.6%. Total floor area planned was 1,468 thousand square metres in the fourth quarter of 2015. Of this some 40.9% was for new dwellings, 46.8% for other new constructions and 12.3% for extensions. The total floor area planned increased by 94.7% in comparison with the same quarter in 2014. Planning Permissions for new buildings for Agriculture increased to 420 on the quarter compared to 165 permissions in the same quarter of 2014. Continue reading
