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Em Morley

Average First Time Buyer Home in London is £300,000

Published On: May 11, 2015 at 11:30 am

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The average price paid for a property by a first time buyer in London has exceeded £300,000 for the first time.

In the rest of the UK, the average price for the same buyer is just £155,782.

First time buyers in the capital must also raise a deposit of over £67,000, compared with £25,890 elsewhere.

Average First Time Buyer Home in London is £300,000

Average First Time Buyer Home in London is £300,000

Data from Your Move and Reeds Rains indicates that although the average starter home in London is now £304,205, around 9,100 first time buyers purchased a home in the capital in the first quarter (Q1) of 2015.

This figure was 11,700 in Q1 2014, but the average starter home was £266,497 then. However, the amount of first time buyers is likely to grow again, as high-end buyers tail off.

The latest House Price Index from Land Registry reveals that property prices in the capital are beginning to steady, at a slight 0.2% rise in the last month.

However, this will not help aspiring buyers, who saw a huge increase last year, meaning the annual price rise is 11.3% and the average house price is £462,700. This is two and a half times the average value in England and Wales of £178,007.

London’s resilient prices mean that outer areas, which offer better value for money, are benefitting from more buyers. More expensive boroughs of the capital are barely seeing rises above inflation.

The best performing areas of the capital in the last year were Newham, up 19% to an average of £291,364, and Greenwich, up 18.8% to £353,926.

The worst area was Kensington and Chelsea, where average prices increased 5.2% to just under £1.3m.

The borough saw the highest property price growth during the coalition government, at just under 48% in five years. Two other Conservative areas, the City of London and the City of Westminster, experienced increases of over 40% in the same period.

Just three Labour constituencies were in the top ten property price performers, Tooting and Islington North, both up 38.2%, and Tottenham at 35.7%.

The only places surpassing London’s rises are the commutable and fairly inexpensive areas of Thurrock, Hertfordshire and Reading, which have all experienced increases of 13%.

 

London’s New Developments with On-Site Schools

Published On: May 11, 2015 at 10:56 am

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London has experienced a dramatic squeeze to school places due to its rising population. This year, one in six primary school children did not get into their top choice of school.

However, new housing developments in the capital could help, as many are including on-site schools.

King’s Cross

King’s Cross Academy is a new primary school within one of London’s biggest regeneration schemes. The school is beneath the 14-storey Plimsoll Building, which includes 255 new apartments.

The school is now taking applications for two reception classes and a 26-place nursery, which will open in September. 420 places will be available at the academy, which will share buildings with Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children, and all children will be taught sign language.

The developer, Argent, says that families from nearby Islington are now considering King’s Cross. They are drawn to the school and family-orientated features, such as fountains in Granary Square and Gasholder Park, opening later this year.

Emyr Fairburn, headteacher of the school, predicts that 25% of pupils will live in the new apartments. He is pushing for partnerships with businesses such as Google, Waitrose Cookery School and Eurostar.

Fairburn says: “Many are from homes with no outdoor space.

“The children can see the station through our huge windows. Train drivers will be coming in for talks and pupils will be able to visit Paris, as we’ve adopted French as a main language.”1 

Kensington and Chelsea

Kensington and Chelsea is the worst area in the UK for school places. Just 61% of children in the borough received their top choice. However, 210 new primary school and 26 nursery places will be available from September 2016, when the £16m Kensington Primary Academy opens a reception class.

St Edward, in partnership with the council, is building the school at the 375 Kensington High Street development, where homes cost upwards of £925,000.

Wandsworth

Schools in Wandsworth have been so oversubscribed that from September 2016, the council is abolishing the sibling priority rule.

Taylor Wimpey has recently been approved a new Battersea development in the Nine Elms area. 290 private and affordable homes will be built, alongside a new building at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, including a new early years centre. The school is the Evening Standard’s flagship for the Get London Reading campaign.

Growing demand

The Government predicts that the country will need 200,000 more primary school places by 2020. The locations of these spots may lead families into areas they would not have looked at before.

Dalston was recently named the coolest place to live, and could attract more families, as Telford Homes has partnered with the Holy Trinity Primary School at the Vibe housing scheme to build a primary school that will open next year.

The Ferrier Estate in Greenwich is being transformed by Berkeley Homes’ Kidbrooke Village, a £1 billion regeneration project. The new neighbourhood will include Wingfield Primary School, and is opening seven years earlier than planned.

Barratt Homes has recently gained planning permission for a development in Kingsbrook, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. 2,450 new homes will be built, alongside two primary schools and hopefully a secondary school, potentially opening by 2019.

Project Director at Barratt Homes, Darren Farmer, says: “The new schools and facilities will make Kingsbrook a desirable location for families.”1

Dagenham has had a problem with school places recently, but All Saints School has recently begun a £7.1m renovation project. The Catholic school for 11-18-year-olds will take 300 more pupils by 2020 in the new three-storey building, including four science labs and a food technology room.

Year 11 pupil Holly Boyes says that her school is now happier: “Being in a better, brighter environment helps your learning.”1

Headteacher Kevin Wilson also thinks the school has been transformed: “There’s a really positive feeling among staff and students.”1

Their future

Young families are attracted to these new developments, as schools provide a solid foundation for their children’s futures.

Mabs Alam, 38, and Shamsun Nahar, 35, have bought a three-bedroom terraced house at Arboretum in Epping, Essex, after having their six-month-old child.

Higgins Homes has rebuilt St John’s Church of England School at the project.

Shamsun says: “We knew we’d found the perfect place. We’re hopeful our daughter will benefit from living in a secure neighbourhood.”1

1 http://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/property-news/new-homes/guide-londons-new-build-developments-site-primary-schools

 

 

 

 

Wealthy London Homeowners Drop Asking Prices

Published On: May 11, 2015 at 10:01 am

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Homeowners in the luxury central London market cut asking prices, as they feared a Labour government.

Almost 40% of all property types in the prime central London sector sold below their marketed value in the first quarter (Q1) of this year, as vendors unwillingly lowered their asking prices.

Gazundering has not been seen so strongly in this market since 2012, when the country was emerging from the recession. Boroughs such as Belgravia, Kensington and Chelsea, Mayfair, and Knightsbridge experienced determined buyers looking for further price cuts at the point of sale.

Wealthy London Homeowners Drop Asking Prices

Wealthy London Homeowners Drop Asking Prices

New research from Lonres on the first three months of 2015 revealed that 64% of properties that had already been reduced in asking price, dropped the value again when the vendor was close to completion.

As the outcome of the general election has been more certain than anticipated, it is believed that this market will begin to pick up again.

The study also found that 72% of estate agents in central London witnessed a rise in price cuts in Q1 2015, and the average saving for buyers on homes worth over £1m was £240,000.

Managing Director of Douglas & Gordon estate agents, Ed Mead, says: “High-end central London has been dramatically affected [by uncertainty surrounding the election]. Volumes are down over 50%.”1

Savills estate agents also discovered that price reductions and a decline in demand caused a 5.2% drop in values over the six months to the end of Q1.

Managing Director of Rokstone, Becky Fatemi, says that price cuts indicated concerns over a Labour government, but that sellers accepted that values were too high.

She comments: “The froth has come off the market.”1 

The homes experiencing price reductions sold for 88% of their original asking price, the Lonres report claimed, and properties were on the market for an average of 32 days.

Director of Lonres, Anthony Payne, explains: “The high-end property market is an emotional place. The sale price is not based on any logic but merely my house is nicer than the one down the street.

“However, we found that if you discounted your home you would sell quicker than someone who did not but would inevitably need to bring the value down to the sale level further down the line.

“Interestingly, it’s the captains of industry, who make very clear decisions in their business world, who become emotional when selling their home and take it personally.”1

1 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/11589652/Panic-selling-and-gazundering-hits-the-luxury-homes-market-in-London.html

Where are the Largest New Builds in the UK?

Published On: May 11, 2015 at 9:33 am

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The biggest new build properties in England are Wales are within the Home Counties, found new research.

The most spacious new build homes were found in Surrey Heath, a local authority including Camberley and Bagshot. Houses and flats in the area are an average of 203.3 sq. metres, or 2,188 sq. ft.

It is believed that construction firms build in these parts due to high demand from households moving from London into the commuter belt aiming for better value for money.

Where are the Largest New Builds in the UK?

Where are the Largest New Builds in the UK?

The other places in the top five are also around the capital. Elmbridge came second, an area often called broker belt due to the high number of City of London financiers living in towns such as Esher and Weybridge. South Buckinghamshire, Maldon and Guildford came third, fourth and fifth correspondingly, revealed analysis from Savills, based on data from the Department of Communities and Local Government.

The large house builders who construct most of Britain’s new homes are focusing on the South East for the high demand and consequent high sales prices.

Small new build properties are often in urban areas and the larger homes in rural parts, found Neal Hudson, an analyst at Savills.

He continues: “However, there are much larger average property sizes within the greenbelt-constrained Home Counties, even compared to adjoining rural areas.

“This reflects the pressure London puts on surrounding housing markets and the price premium for space at the top end of the market within a commutable time from central London.”1

The local authority spaces with the smallest new build homes in 2014 were Oxford, Bournemouth, Reading, Newham and Islington.

Oxford traditionally has a poor housing supply that does not match the high demand in the area. The other four areas are densely populated; therefore new builds tend to be flats and not larger family homes.

Homes have become larger since before 1991. The 2012-13 English Housing Survey revealed that the average floor space of properties built between 2002-12 is much bigger than older houses (96 sq. metres).

Around the country, large house builders include Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, Barratt Homes and Redrow. Galliard and Berkeley concentrate on London and its surrounding areas.

Take a look at The Telegraph’s interactive map that indicates the average size of new builds in 2014 by local authority area. Click on yours and compare the size to the rest of England and Wales.

Find the map here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/11589947/Mapped-where-the-biggest-house-in-the-UK-are-being-built.html

1 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/11589947/Mapped-where-the-biggest-house-in-the-UK-are-being-built.html

 

 

What does the election result mean for housing?

Published On: May 11, 2015 at 9:20 am

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After much intense speculation, extremely close opinion polls and feverish campaigning, the results of the general election are in.

Compilers of opinion polls were left looking rather sheepish as the Conservatives gained enough support for a shock majority victory. With high-profile political casualties already confirmed, what will another five-years of David Cameron in office mean for the UK’s housing market?

We already know that the Tories plan to extend their Right to Buy scheme into housing association properties. It is thought that this will apply to an additional 1.3 million families.

Additionally, there are plans to introduce a Help to Buy ISA to assist more first-time buyers to get onto the primary step of the property ladder. The government will give deposit savers £50 for every £250 saved in a Help to Buy ISA, up to a maximum of £3,000.

What does the election result mean for housing?

What does the election result mean for housing?

 

The Conservatives have also pledged to build 200,000 new properties specifically for first-time buyers under the age of 40%, with a subsidised discount of 20%. There is also a promise for a £1bn brownfield regeneration scheme to create sites for an additional 400,000 houses.

 

Without the need to appease any coalition partners within Government, it is likely that the Tories will implicate further changes to both welfare reform and housing support during the duration of their next five years in office. This said, the shock result has been widely welcomed within the housing sector. Many private landlords were openly concerned by Labour’s proposals to change tenancy laws and introduce rent capping. Many others were concerned about the introduction of a mansion tax to fund new housing.

 

Despite the result being received favourably across much of the property market, there remain a number of problems to address for the new Government. Demand far outstripping supply of homes, spiralling rents and thousands of unoccupied properties are just a few of the issues Mr Cameron will have to address. How successfully he does this will go a long way to defining his second, post-coalition term.

Landlords think tenancy deposit rules aren’t useful

Published On: May 9, 2015 at 9:56 am

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A new survey of over 200 landlords from the Tenancy Deposit Scheme suggests 90%[1] would say they are satisfied or extremely satisfied with their tenants.

The figures show that just over half of landlords asked would say their tenants were of a satisfactory quality, with more than a third saying that they were very satisfied.

 

Landlords think tenancy deposit rules aren't useful

Landlords think tenancy deposit rules aren’t useful

 

Qualities

Some of the measures that tenants were assessed against were general upkeep of the property, prompt rent-payment and general assistance with the landlord. The vast majority of landlords said that their tenants’ behavioral qualities were satisfactorily consistent. Just 14% of landlords asked felt the quality of their tenants had decreased in the last year[1].

Tenancy deposit worries

In the same survey, the landlords questioned were asked about their thoughts on tenancy deposit protection. The results did not make excellent reading for the Government. Half of landlords thought the protection was of benefit to the rental sector, with almost one-third describing it as a hindrance to their duties.

The recordings also suggest that just four in ten landlords believe that Alternative Dispute Resolution, which is used to end tenancy deposit disputes, could be useful in solving other housing related issues.

Within the 200 plus landlords asked, over 40% have over ten years experience, with another 40% having between two and ten years.[1] The majority were investment landlords, or landlords letting to achieve financial security. 12% of landlords questioned saw the role as their career. [1]

Positive signs

CEO of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme Steve Harriott was encouraged by the findings and their reflection of the relationship between tenants and landlords. Harriott said that, “These findings from our first national survey of landlords show a positive picture of landlord and tenant relations that is very welcome. It augurs well for the private rented sector.[1]”

[1] http://caridonproperty.co.uk/2012/11/30/one-in-three-landlords-think-tenancy-deposit-rules-are-hindrance/