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Average asking prices in UK stabilise in third quarter of 2014
Average asking prices in the UK residential market stabilised in the third quarter of 2014 after nine months of consistent growth, according to the latest figures. The average asking price rose by just 0.85% in the quarter but despite this small increase, the average asking price was the highest on record at £265,545. Unusually, the Greater London market was subdued in the third quarter of the year as it tempered following the huge growth recorded in the first half of 2014, according to the data from Move with Us. The region, surprisingly, wasn’t the strongest performing in the third quarter, seeing the fourth largest percentage growth in Britain at just 1.03%. A moderate rise in the average asking price combined with lengthening selling times indicated average asking prices in the Capital may have settled at £466,147 for the time being. The East Midlands saw the highest percentage growth in the average asking price, which reached £192,787 in the third quarter. This rise is, however, still relatively small at 1.36%. The average asking price dipped in just two regions in a quarterly comparison, in the North East by 0.10% to £154,073 and in Scotland by 0.22% to £161,937. Despite this quarterly drop, the average asking price in both regions grew marginally in a yearly comparison demonstrating stability. ‘The last three months have signalled a shift from the first half of the year, with average asking prices stabilising in most British regions after months of consecutive growth.’ said Robin King, director, Move with Us. ‘However, this didn’t stop prices hitting the highest figure on record with an average asking price £265,545 for Great Britain. In the Capital the market experienced an uncharacteristic slowdown in the third quarter of 2014 and for the first time in years didn’t have the highest percentage increase in the average asking price,’ he added. A breakdown of the figures show that despite expectation of strong price increases expected for the Greater London market, the average asking price levelled in the third quarter for the first time since November 2012, finishing the quarter at £466,147. Year on year, however, the average asking price in the region has increased £87,636 or 18.8%. The average asking price in the South West peaked at a record high of £282,093 in July. It then adjusted downwards slightly and stabilised in August and September, sustaining the increases seen in the second quarter of 2014. By the end of the third quarter the average asking price in the region was £281,985, just £1,043 or 0.37% higher than the second quarter of 2014. In the South East, the market experienced a slight downward adjustment in August, despite a growth of £11,144 between April and July. This is not unexpected on the back of such strong price increases. By September, prices were rising once more albeit at a slower pace in the region and at the end of the third quarter the average asking price in the area was £344,414, the highest on record. This… Continue reading
Million pound plus home sales reach record high in the UK
The number of property sales worth at least a million pounds in the UK is at a record high, according to latest research from Lloyds Bank. There were 6,143 million pound property sales in the country in the first half of 2014 which is equivalent to 33 transactions everyday over the period. The 6,143 million pound property sales in the first half of the year represented a 46% increase compared to the same period in 2013 when sales totalled 4,198. Indeed, million pound home sales have grown by 345% since the first half of 2009, when sales in this market segment were at their lowest point in the past decade. However, while million pound home sales outperform the rest of the market, they are still a very small share of the overall market. The 46% increase in million pound home sales in the first half of the year significantly outpaced the 26% increase in the sale of properties below a million pounds over the period. Despite this large increase, the sale of million pound properties accounts for just 1.3% of all national residential sales although this share has more than doubled since 2009. But even in London, million pound sales account for just 7.6% of all sales. There were 1,360 homes sold for at least two million pounds in the first half of 2014, some 43% higher than over the first six months of 2013 when the number of sales totalled 949. Homes selling for at least two million pounds accounted for 22% of all million pound plus home sales in the first half of 2014. This proportion had edged down marginally from 23% in the same period a year earlier. As a proportion of all sales, homes sold for over two million pounds account for just 0.22%. Some 70% or 4,259 of all million pound home sales in Britain during the first half of 2014 were in London. The capital is followed by the South East with a share of 16% or 1,096 and the East of England at 6% or 109. All regions have recorded an increase in sales in 2014 compared to the same period a year earlier. The largest percentage rises in million pound home sales were in the North East with a rise of 150%, the West Midlands with an increase of 100%, South West up 87% and the East Midlands up 80%. In the two regions with the largest concentration of million pound sales, London and the South East, transactions rose by 47% and 41% respectively. The research also shows that close to a quarter of all million pound homes sold in Britain during the first half of 2014 were in the prime property locations of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster at 13% and 10% respectively. Cheshire East and the City of Edinburgh recorded the highest number of million pound sales outside southern England. ‘The number of homes sold for at least a £1 million is at a record high, with this sector… Continue reading
Private rental prices in Britain up by 1% year on year, latest index shows
Private rental prices paid by tenants in Great Britain rose by 1% in the 12 months to September 2014, the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics show. A regional breakdown of the figures show that rental prices grew by 1% in England, by 1.4% in Scotland and by 0.2% in Wales. Since January 2014, the annual rate of change in Wales has fallen below that of England and the Great Britain average. The annual growth rate in Scotland continues to be higher than both England and Wales. Rental prices increased in all the English regions over the year to September 2014, with rental prices increasing the most in London with growth of 1.5%. Private rental prices in England show three distinct periods: rental price increases from January 2006 until November 2009, rental price decreases from December 2009 to November 2010, and increasing rental prices from December 2010 onwards. Of these three periods, 2008 showed the largest rental price increases. When London is excluded, England shows a similar pattern but with slower rental price increases from around January 2011. Rental prices excluding London grew by 0.8% in the same period. The ONS said that the difference is due to the higher inflation in rental prices experienced in London when compared to the rest of the country and its large weight in the Great Britain index. The large weight that London has in the overall index reflects its high average rental prices and its large volume of private rented property. The Index of Private Housing Rental Prices (IPHRP) measures the change in price of renting residential property from private landlords and is currently an experimental index. The index is published as a series of price indices covering Great Britain, its constituent countries and the English regions. IPHRP measures the change in price tenants face when renting residential property from private landlords, thereby allowing a comparison between the prices tenants are charged in the current month as opposed to the same month in the previous year. The index does not measure the change in newly advertised rental prices only, but reflects price changes for all private rental properties. Continue reading
