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Bristol Council receives funding to tackle rogues

Published On: August 10, 2017 at 9:51 am

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The Home Office is attempting to improve standards in the private rented sector in Bristol, by giving Bristol City Council £321,750 to combat rogue landlords and protect tenants.

This funding has come from the Controlling Mitigation Fund and is designed to improve sector conditions over the next two years. It is hoped this will take place by allowing the council to carry out intelligence work in order to identify and stamp out criminals in the city.

Inspections

Around 1,200 property inspections are planned for the next two years, but the council is urging tenants to come forward should they have concerns over the condition of their rental property.

Partners working with the council’s private housing team will include Avon and Somerset Police and Immigration Compliance Enforcement. These firms will work together to identify properties likely to have high levels of exploitation and trafficking.

In 2016, Bristol City Council was awarded money from the Department for Communities and Local Government in order to carry out similar work targeting criminal landlords. During this time, the private housing team inspected 153 individual properties, served 20 enforcement notices and carried out four prosecutions.

Bristol Council receives funding to tackle rogues

Bristol Council receives funding to tackle rogues

Tackling Criminals

Paul Smith, cabinet member for homes, noted: ‘Across the city people are finding it increasingly difficult to access decent, affordable homes. In Bristol we are working hard to tackle criminal landlords and through this extra funding, we expect to see a reduction in the number of these criminal landlords letting out poor quality accommodation and exploiting tenants.’

‘Making sure that everyone in Bristol has a safe, comfortable place to call home, is one of our key priorities, and we are doing all we can to make this a reality. We intend to use all enforcement powers at our disposal where appropriate.’[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/8/council-receives-fresh-funds-to-tackle-rogue-landlords

 

 

House Price Growth Grinds to a Halt, Reports RICS

Published On: August 10, 2017 at 9:19 am

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The July 2017 Residential Market Survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) shows that house price growth is grinding to a halt at the national level.

However, the organisation does note that regional patterns once again display a mixed picture. Alongside this, sales activity continues to lack momentum, with the number of new buyer enquiries and agreed sales remaining slightly down.

For now at least, the expectations of the country’s surveyors suggest that this subdued backdrop is unlikely to change significantly.

House prices

The average house price growth level slipped from +7% to just +1% in July, suggesting that prices were unchanged over the period. This is the softest reading since early 2013.

Nevertheless, this national figure conceals diverging trends across parts of the UK. Indeed, house prices remain quite firmly on an upward trend in some locations, led by Northern Ireland, the West Midlands and the South West.

In contrast, prices continue to drop in London, with the rate of decline broadly matching that of the previous three months. At the same time, house prices in the South East fell further, recording the weakest level of growth for this region since 2011.

House Price Growth Grinds to a Halt, Reports RICS

House Price Growth Grinds to a Halt, Reports RICS

Looking ahead, near-term price expectations continue to signal a flat trend over the coming three months. Over the next 12 months, 28% of surveyors expect to see a rise in prices, although this is the lowest reading since last July. Again, London continues to see the most cautious 12-month projections relative to all other parts of the UK.

Sales prices vs. asking prices

In an extra question included in July’s survey, respondents were asked to compare sales prices to asking prices over the past two months.

Nationally, for homes marketed at more than £1m, 68% of surveyors reported sales prices coming in below asking prices, with 33% responding in the up to 5% below category, and 26% answering between 5% to 10% below.

For homes listed at between £0.5m and £1m, a combined 57% of contributors noted that sales prices were coming in lower than asking prices, with the most popular answer being up to 5% below (37%).

Finally, for homes marketed at less than £0.5m, the largest share of respondents (49%) said that sales and asking prices were at the same level, although a still substantial 37% stated that sales prices were under.

Housing market activity 

New buyer enquiries were very slightly down in July compared with the previous month, by 4%. This extends a trend of which buyer demand has failed to see any meaningful growth going back to November 2016.

In line with this, newly agreed sales dropped again (although only marginally), meaning that this indicator has now been negative for five consecutive months. That said, reasonable growth in property transactions has been seen in the South West over the last two months.

A sustained deterioration in the flow of fresh property listings coming onto the market continues to hamper activity, with new instructions dwindling for the 17th consecutive month in July.

Consequently, average stock levels on estate agents’ books remain close to record lows, limiting choice for potential buyers. The lack of stock is once again a dominant theme mentioned by surveyors to be holding back the market (with political uncertainty also cited frequently).

Going forward, respondents are not anticipating activity in the sales market to gain impetus at this point in time, with both three and 12-month expectations virtually flat. Notwithstanding this, the outlook seems a little more positive for some parts of the UK.

Lettings market

In the private rental sector, the quarterly (seasonally adjusted) figures are also consistent with a somewhat subdued picture.

Indeed, although tenant demand continued to edge higher, it did so at the slowest quarterly pace going back almost 20 years.

Meanwhile, landlord instructions declined, with 8% more surveyors noting a drop (rather than a rise) in listings.

Rent price expectations are now only very modestly positive for the coming three months. Over the next 12 months, rents are projected to increase by a little under 2% across the UK. Expectations remain firmer for the coming five years, with surveyors forecasting rent price growth to average just over 3% per year.

The Managing Director of West One Loans, Stephen Wasserman, comments on the latest survey: “Political and economic upheaval, alongside the ongoing supply versus demand issue, is continuing to plague the property market, damping buyer and investor demand. Despite today’s figures painting another downcast picture of activity, the housing market is resilient, and we’re optimistic that while we may continue to see a few stutters in due course, the overall market will grow in time.

“The bridging sector in particular has been flourishing in recent months, as those looking to capitalise on quick sales can do so with the flexibility and speed that this unique type of financing offers, and we expect this trend to continue.”

The RICS’ June 2017 report can be read here: /uncertainty-housing-market-sentiment/ 

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More people coming to rely on private rental sector

Published On: August 10, 2017 at 8:52 am

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A new investigation has revealed that a generation could be priced out of the housing market, with homeownership levels set to slide further out of reach for younger people.

The survey of 2,000 UK adults from LetBritain indicates that 39% of UK adults lack the sufficient finances required in order to obtain the type of property that they currently want. As a result, they are forced into the rental market.

For those in London, this figure rises to 49%.

Generation Rent

The majority of renters questioned said that they blame the Government for not showing enough support to their efforts to get onto the property ladder. 61% said they felt the Government wasn’t doing enough to support Generation Rent, with 64% saying that they feel life will get worse for renters during the next five years.

In order to combat this, 27% of tenants said that they have plans to invest in the buy-to-let sector, by investing in a cheaper property in an alternative location from where they wish to live.

This was particularly common amongst Londoners, with 42% of people in the capital stating they would buy a property in another part of the UK, in order to benefit from another rental income.

More people coming to rely on private rental sector

More people coming to rely on private rental sector

Reliance

Fareed Nabir, CEO of LetBritain, observed: ‘With more and more people across the UK coming to rely on the private rental sector, the results of the research are concerning. Whilst many renters are working hard to enter the property market, they clearly do not feel the government understands the issues faced by tenants.’

‘Interestingly, the findings show that Generation Rent is now increasingly looking to buy properties outside of their chosen place of residence so they can still get onto the property ladder without having to sacrifice the location or quality of the property they wish to live in,’ Nabir added.[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/8/a-growing-number-of-people-are-coming-to-rely-on-the-private-rental-sector

 

 

The Premier League of House Price Growth

Published On: August 10, 2017 at 8:15 am

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With the Premier League returning this weekend and turning 25 next Tuesday, online estate agent eMoov.co.uk has ranked the teams based on annual house price growth in their local area.

The alternative league tables also look at how some of the biggest footballing rivalries match up head-to-head where the property market is concerned.

The last 25 years

Over the past 25 years, the average UK house price has soared by 302%.

Across the 20 teams in the Premier League this year, the average house price stands at £272,447, having risen by 4.55% since the last season.

Although homes in Premier League locations cost over £50,000 more than the UK average (£220,713), the higher price of property means that growth rates are marginally trailing the UK over the last year (4.67%).

Premier League table 

When looking at this year’s 20 Premier League teams where house price growth is concerned, it’s Manchester United that returns to its former glory, with the highest increase in the league, at 8.58%, and an average property value of £262,997.

Although Burnley struggled to stay up after promotion last year, the Lancashire team is flying high where house price growth is concerned. The team lost out to the top spot by the smallest of margins, with prices having risen by 8.57% in the last year. Despite this, Burnley is home to the most affordable property value in the league, at just £77,525.

The North West also takes third place in the league, with Manchester City seeing prices climb by 8.08%. Leicester flies the flag for the East Midlands, with an increase of 7.76%, and newly promoted Brighton performs well, as the best team in the south, after prices rose by 7.12% annually.

The Premier League of House Price Growth

The Premier League of House Price Growth

Coincidentally, the two teams to open the footballing season in last week’s charity shield are also home to the lowest rate of price growth. A tough year for the London property market means that Chelsea and Arsenal are the only two teams to see annual house price growth slump below 1% (0.40%), with Newcastle heading straight back down into the third relegation spot (1.39%).

Footballing rivalries 

Arsenal vs. Tottenham

Despite Arsenal seeing the lowest level of price growth in the Premier League, its rival Tottenham has seen prices rise by 4.5% in the past year.

But with its temporary move to Wembley this year, it could be a different story at the end of the season, with Brent – home of Wembley Stadium – having seen growth of just 0.90% annually.

Elsewhere in London, West Ham’s new home at the London Stadium means that it’s enjoyed the second highest rate of growth of all the teams from the capital, at 4.11%.

Crystal Palace vs. Brighton 

Crystal Palace has also enjoyed better growth than both Chelsea and Arsenal (3.46%), however, Brighton’s promotion revives one of the stranger footballing rivalries, and the Seagulls come out on top, with prices growing more than double that of Crystal Palace in the past year (7.12%).

Man United vs. Liverpool 

As already stated, although Man City is home to the cheaper average house price (£161,611) in the Manchester derby, United enjoys the higher rate of growth (8.58% to City’s 8.08%) – enough to also beat bitter rival Liverpool, where annual growth stands at just 3.55%.

South Coast 

Bournemouth and Southampton will face off in the Premier League again this season, having drawn in their last encounter. It’s a fairly close run where house price is concerned too, with Bournemouth edging it at 5.26%, to Southampton’s 4.18%.

But, despite their fall from footballing grace, it’s Southampton’s traditional rival Portsmouth that has enjoyed the best performance in property terms, with prices up by 7.40% in the last year.

Newcastle vs. Sunderland

There was no Tyne-Wear derby last season, after Newcastle’s relegation to the Championship the season before. But, despite the Magpies winning promotion back to the top flight, the Black Cats were woeful last season and, as a result, will be applying their trade in the Championship this coming season.

House price growth in the two areas mirrors their respective performances, with Newcastle seeing prices creep up by 1.39%, while Sunderland has seen values drop by 3.30% year-on-year.

Burnley vs. Blackburn

Despite their fall to League One, Blackburn is still on top of Premier League rival Burnley, with prices up by a huge 11.47% in the last year, to Burnley’s 8.57%.

Cardiff vs. Swansea 

Although a league separates the two in footballing terms, Cardiff outperforms Swansea in the Welsh derby for property price growth, with prices up by 5.80%, compared to 4.46% in Swansea.

Oxford vs. Swindon 

Again, one league currently separates old-time rivals Oxford and Swindon, and, despite a price tag of £414,659 – nearly double that of Swindon’s £210,052 – Oxford comes out on top in both football and property terms, with prices up by 6.40% annually, to Swindon’s 6.05%.

The Founder and CEO of eMoov.co.uk, Russell Quirk, comments on the alternative Premier League: “Although it’s unlikely the table will look like this at the end of the season, it does demonstrate that, while there are pockets of the UK currently seeing a decline in price growth, there are also areas all over the nation enjoying very healthy increases in values.

“It’s also interesting to see how rival areas are performing differently, particularly those in close proximity to each other. Although neighbours, Liverpool and Manchester are seeing different rates of growth, the higher-end London clubs have seen prices stall whilst the capital’s peripheral teams are doing well, and Newcastle and Sunderland are seeing opposite fortunes in price growth terms.”

How is your team’s property market performing?

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Property prices near London Olympic Stadium have soared in 5 years

Published On: August 9, 2017 at 11:45 am

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London is currently playing host to the World Athletics Championships, evoking great memories of the superb Olympic Games in the summer of 2012.

Now, interesting new research has examined how average property prices in the 14 postal districts of East London closest to the Olympic Stadium have fared since the Games.

Gold-Medal Rises

The investigation from the Halifax has revealed that average prices in these regions have risen from £286,683 in September 2012 to £470,687 in April 2017- an increase of 64%.

This rise has outperformed London as a whole during the last five years. Since September 2012, the average property price in the capital has risen by £160,986, or 38%, to hit £584,190.

Of the 14 boroughs closest to the Olympic Stadium, Walthamstow saw the strongest growth, with average property prices doubling in five years. Values have risen from £238,348 to £479,421 – a rise of £241,073 or 101%.

Five other regions have seen price rises of over £200,000 in the last five years, namely Homerton, Clapton, Shoreditch, Dalston and Leyton.

Property prices near London Olympic Stadium have soared in 5 years

Property prices near London Olympic Stadium have soared in 5 years

Regeneration Boost

Martin Ellis, Housing Economist at the Halifax, noted: ‘Hosting the 2012 Games welcomed major regeneration to boost areas close to the Olympic Park in East London. Large scale infrastructure investment in the existing tube networks, an international rail station and now Crossrail have not only created jobs in the area, but improved options for people to move around the capital.’

‘This has enabled home owners in the 14 postal areas closest to Olympic Park to celebrate their own victory as a result, as the average value of their homes has risen by more than £4,000 per month since the Paralympic Games ended in 2012. Not only has this area been reinvigorated as a community, but average property price growth in this part of East London has raced ahead of England, Wales and even Greater London as a result.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/areas-london-around-olympic-park-see-prices-soar-since-2012-games/

 

 

UK property listings fall for second successive month

Published On: August 9, 2017 at 11:01 am

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New property listings in the UK have slipped for the second successive month since the General Election, according to new research.

Data released from online estate agents HouseSimple indicates that new listings fell by 1.6% in July, following a fall of 1.9% in June. This suggests that the expected boost to the market following the election has not materialised.

Uncertainty

Many property sellers put off marketing their properties before the vote, but the resulting hung Parliament and continuing Brexit uncertainty is still deterring both buyers and sellers from the market.

Of the 100 towns and cities covered by the HouseSimple Index, more regions saw an increase in supply in July compared to June. However, supply as a whole fell across the country, led by a 30% month-on-month slip in Newquay and 25.6% drop in King’s Lynn .

On the other hand, Dundee saw new listings almost double to 96.9% in July, while Truro in Cornwall saw a rise of 55.2%.

In London, supply fell at more the twice the rate of the UK average during July, down by 4% compared to figures seen in June. Outer boroughs saw the largest rises, with Redbridge and Sutton recording rises of 22.7% and 13.2% respectively.

UK property listings fall for second successive month

UK property listings fall for second successive month

Limbo

Alex Gosling, Chief Executive Officer of HouseSimple, observed: ‘Right now it feels like sellers aren’t really sure what to do. There is so much negative press around Brexit and very little confidence in the Government after such a calamitous election campaign; and fear and uncertainty is weighing heavily on house price growth.’

‘We were expecting to see a late spring boost in new properties being listed in June and a stronger than usual early summer, but neither has materialised. Sellers are in limbo. However, it does already feel like a semblance of normality is starting to return to the market, and by the end of the summer the election will be a distant memory so we could well see a strong September in terms of activity,’ he continued.

Concluding, Mr Gosling said: ‘At the end of the day, life goes on, and the message to anyone thinking of selling is don’t delay a move simply because you’re worried what the market is going to do next. If your property has dropped 5% to 10% in value, it’s likely prices will have dropped in the area you’re buying. If you see a place you want, then try and negotiate with the seller to factor in that drop.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/new-property-listings-fall-uk-second-month-row/