Tag Archives: css
Demand for homes in UK up by 9% in second quarter of 2015
Demand for homes in the UK has increased by 9% in the last three months with London commuter areas seeing a surge and some parts of the north also on the up. Locations including Watford, Reading, Aylesbury and Guildford now dominate the top 10 in demand spots, according to the second quarter data from online estate agent eMoov. While the north of the country has 60% of the coldest spots, some have seen demand rise, most notably North Tyneside up by 62%, Sunderland and Dudley both up by 32%, and South and North Lanarkshire in Scotland up by 29% and 26% respectively. The data also shows that Bristol is one of the hottest demand spots outside the south east with demand up 10% since the first quarter of the year. Durham at 12% has seen demand fall by 30% over the course of a year, making it the second coldest spot in the nation. Rochdale and Northumberland, both at 17%, have also continued to cool, moving both locations up the table of coldest spots in June. In Scotland as well as North and South Lanarkshire seeing a rise in demand, Fife is up 22% and Highland is also up 22% since the first three months of the year. Westminster in London has also continued to decline, dropping a further 10% in demand and two places, making it the third coolest whilst Ealing has witnessed the largest fall in the last three months, with demand down by 36%. Brent and Hounslow also fell by 4% and Oxford is the only commuter zone to see a decrease, as demand fell by 8%. Since the second quarter of Medway has seen the biggest increase with a rise of 70% in demand. Scotland has also performed strongly over the course of the year with Fife up 42%, South Lanarkshire up 22% and North Lanarkshire up 15%. The annual top 10 also includes Wiltshire up 48%, Sefton up 45%, Bedfordshire up 38%, Tameside up 25%, Bolton up 18% and Bradford up 16% while at the bottom are Calderdale and Westminster both with a fall of 58%, Ealing down 47% and Aberdeenshire down 40%. ‘The UK property market definitely seems to have experienced a post-election bounce. With demand up 9% nationally, people are clearly more confident about buying now that the next five years of government has been decided,’ said the firm’s chief executive officer Russell Quirk. ‘It’s interesting to see the demand for commuter zone property continuing to grow. With London demand falling, property owners wanting to see an increase in their property price, might want to sell up and head a few miles out of the capital,’ he added. Continue reading
Prime country house values in UK fall in second quarter of year
Average prime country house values in the UK increased by just 0.9% between April and June and annual growth is down to 2.3%, the lowest for two years, according to a new analysis report. It is an indication that any expectations of a post-election price jump in the prime market were unfounded, says the report from real estate firm Knight Frank. The report points out that one of the key reasons price growth remains subdued, despite the election of a majority government and the removal of the threat of a mansion tax, is the fact that the prime market is still absorbing the recent changes to stamp duty. The change, which came into effect in December, has resulted in higher purchase costs for properties worth more than £1.1 million. Knight Frank says there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that some buyers are factoring the increased cost into offers, resulting in some price adjustments. ‘Additionally, while there was a release of pent-up demand in the weeks immediately following the vote as buyers who had adopted a wait and see approach prior to the election returned to the market, rising stock levels, which peaked to their highest level all year in May, helped to mitigate any significant jump in property values,’ said Oliver Knight of the firm’s residential research team. He also pointed out that the greater political certainty afforded by the election result means there is a more positive outlook for the residential property market as a whole. ‘Interest rates remain at record low levels, economic growth is steady and mortgage rates are competitive,’ he added. Meanwhile, during the second quarter of the year prime city markets continued to outperform more rural locations, with notable price growth in Bath, Bristol and Winchester among others. Prime urban property markets are now, on average, 2% above their 2007 peak, while neighbouring village and rural locations remain 13.2% below peak levels. Continue reading
Research reveals how many people find problems with their home after moving
Some 20% of British people feel that they have compromised when finding a new home with those renting more likely to be unhappy than buyers, new research has found. They feel they like their home less than when they moved in and the reasons include not liking neighbours, finding the property too small and finding the upkeep too much. The poll by AA Home Membership found that 29% discovered a lot of problems after moving in and the same number didn’t get on with their neighbours while 26% confessed they moved in as the property was affordable rather than because they liked it. The research also found that 25% found the property too small after living in it for some time and 21% found it needed too much upkeep while 13% found it no longer suitable as their circumstances had changed. The results also showed some big differences between homeowners and tenants. Some 26% of tenants said they’d grown less fond of their home compared to 17% of home owners. Tenants were more likely to live in homes which had unexpected problems and not get along with their neighbours. Home owners on the other hand, were more likely to struggle with the upkeep of a property and have changing circumstances such as children leaving home which made their property less suitable. The cost of the property was the most commonly re-evaluated aspect cited by 32% and 27% said they had to compromise on either the location or the size of the home they chose. Some 19% moved somewhere that needed more work doing to it than they had originally planned and 18% had fewer bedrooms than they wanted. A quarter of those who made a compromise were unhappy about having to do so. Those aged 18 to 24 were the most fussy with 31% of them saying they made a compromise begrudgingly. ‘It must be quite disheartening to find that your home is not all you hoped it would be. Some issues such as property maintenance and anti-social neighbours may only become apparent over time and may not have been a cause for concern when the householder chose the property,’ said Helen Brooker, head of AA Home Membership. ‘It’s pretty common for people to have to compromise when looking for somewhere to live as after all, not many people can afford their dream home. Even if you find your ideal property, the housing market is so competitive there’s no guarantee you’ll get it,’ she explained. ‘Others, particularly those who are looking for somewhere to live with a partner, may find that they have different tastes and opinions and may find it difficult to agree on what they want,’ she added. Continue reading
