TSI
Average rents in England and Wales fall by 0.2% month on month
Average rents for homes to let across England and Wales fell 0.2% in May month on month and now stand at £792 per month, according to the latest index data. This compares to a long term average monthly rise of 0.4% over every May since the recession but they are still up 1.8% over the last 12 months, the data from the buy to let index from Your Move and Reeds Rains shows. However, on an annual basis rents have seen half the annual rate of rental growth seen at the start of 2016, when in January this stood previously at 3.6%. According to Adrian Gill, director of lettings agents Your Move and Reeds Rains, the number of properties to let coming on the rental market has disrupted the normal dynamics of supply and demand. ‘Landlords escaping a much larger stamp duty bill by completing their purchases before 1st April have now finished their repairs and paperwork, with these homes to let competing for tenants in May and into June. That short term mismatch has made May an exceptional month, with excellent deals available for some prospective tenants,’ he explained. He believes that overall the tax changes to the buy-to-let industry will discourage some property investors, and most of the properties that became available to let in May will have been planned purchases brought forward from later in the year. ‘The net effect will not be more properties to let, quite the opposite. If new regulations and taxes produce a drought of homes to let, then the overall shortage of housing in the UK will only bite harder for tenants. Meanwhile, this heightened shortage and possibly higher rents as a result could also protect landlords somewhat from the financial effects of more punitive rules and regulations,’ Gill pointed out. A breakdown of the figures show that rent rises in London have slowed to just 1.0% over the year to May 2016. This compares to a peak seen in September 2015 when rents in London were 11.6% higher than a year before at the time. By contrast, the East Midlands have witnessed rent rises of 7.3% over the year, followed by the West Midlands with 5.5% annual rent rises and the East of England with 3.6%. All 10 regions of England and Wales have seen rents in May higher than a year ago. However the joint slowest annual rent rises have been in Wales and the South East, both seeing rents rise just 0.5% over the last 12 months. London also leads the negative trend on a monthly basis with average rents in the capital falling 0.7% between April and May, a faster drop compared to a more modest drop of 0.2% in the month before. London is followed by the East Midlands where rents are 0.6% lower than a month ago and Yorkshire and the… Continue reading
Hove named as most desirable place for young professionals to buy a home
The seaside town of Hove is the most desirable location to buy a home in England and Wales for young professionals for the second year in a row, according to the latest research. It is the BN3 postal district in the town on England’s south coast that tops the research from Lloyds Bank with neighbour Brighton’s BN1 postal district coming in as the seventh most popular place to live for aspiring 25 to 44 year olds. Attractive factors include a diverse population, the availability of music venues, theatres, independent shops, bars and restaurants, and the fact that it is under 70 minutes train ride to London, have made Brighton and Hove one of the most sought after places for young professionals to live. London itself continues to prove popular with young professionals, with 16 of the 20 areas with the most property sales to this group being located in the capital. Some 10 of these areas have a SW post code and include locations such as Wandsworth, Wimbledon, Battersea, Balham and Clapham. Away from south London, the most popular areas for young professionals are Hampstead, Kilburn, Paddington and Islington while the RG1 area of Reading is the 20th most popular place for aspiring young urbanites, drawn by a combination of Reading’s short commuting time to London, close proximity to technology businesses and the planned opening of Cross Rail in 2019. Beyond London and the South-East, Didsbury in south Manchester is the most popular hotspot for young professionals. This bustling area has become a magnet for commuters due to its proximity to Manchester city centre and major motorway networks. Around the regions, the other popular hotspots for career minded young people include the CB4 area of Cambridge, West Bridgford in Nottingham, Jesmond in Newcastle, Cardiff Central in Wales and Broomhill in Sheffield. However, on average young professionals pay a premium of £88,000 for a home in the most popular postal districts compared to the wider city or town in which they are located. But the average house price in the most popular postal district of BN3 is £33,972 lower than in the whole of Hove at £352,718 compared to £386,690. In other areas of London the price premium is considerably larger. In the W4 district of Chiswick the average house price of £866,492 is £390,388 higher than in local area district of Hounslow. And, in the N1 area of Islington houses are trading at an average premium of £267,891 compared to the whole of the Islington borough. Even outside London young professionals face hefty prices for a home in the most popular areas. In Didsbury homes trade at a premium of £106,383 compared to Manchester at £266,105 compared to £159,722. In Clifton the average house price of £397,599 is £132,163 higher than in Bristol as a whole and in Harborne they trade at a premium of £101,592 compared to the whole of Birmingham. The three most expensive areas for young professionals all command an average… Continue reading
Residential sales fall in Canada after previously setting all time monthly record
National home sales in Canada fell in May after setting an all-time monthly record the previous month with a decline of 2.8% recorded, the latest index data shows. The figures from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) also show that the national average price has increased by 13.2% year on year but when Greater Toronto and Greater Vancouver are excluded this drops to 9.1%. Sales activity dropped in about 70% of all markets, led by those in British Columbia and Ontario where the number of homes listed for sale has fallen to multi-year or all-time lows. ‘National sales activity is still strong, even after coming off the record levels of the past couple of months. But, there are housing markets where sales continue to reflect a cautious mood among homebuyers and uncertainty about the local economy,’ said CREA president Cliff Iverson. According to CREA’s chief economist Gregory many of the housing markets in BC and Ontario that led the monthly decline in national sales are also places where months of inventory have fallen to all-time lows. ‘This suggests a lack of supply may be starting to rein in sales amid a continuation of strong housing demand,’ he explained. While nine of the 11 markets tracked by the index posted year on year price gains in May, price growth among housing markets continues to vary widely. Greater Vancouver recorded the biggest rise at 29.7% then the Fraser Valley at 31.7%. Next was Greater Toronto where prices rose by 15% year on year, while in Victoria they rose 13.9% and in Vancouver Island by 9.5%. By contrast, prices fell by 3.9% in Calgary and by 2.3% in Saskatoon. There were smaller year on year prices rises in other locations. In Regine they increased by 3.4%, in Ottawa by 1.3% and in Greater Montreal by 1.9%. Home prices in Greater Moncton recorded their tenth consecutive year on year gain, up 8.2%. The index report also points out that the national average price continues to be pulled upward by sales activity in Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, which remain two of Canada’s tightest, most active and expensive housing markets. The actual, not seasonally adjusted, national average price for homes sold in May 2016 was $509,460, up 13.2% year on year. However, if these two housing markets are excluded from calculations, the average price is a more modest $375,532 and the year on year gain is trimmed to 9.1%. But the report explains that even then, this reflects a tug of war between strong average price gains in housing markets around the GTA and in British Columbia versus flat or declining average prices elsewhere in Canada. Indeed, the average price for Canada net of sales in British Columbia and Ontario in May 2016 was down 0.7% year on year to $310,007. The index also shows that the number of newly listed homes fell by 3.2% month on month and new supply was down in about two thirds of all… Continue reading
