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Em Morley

How Much Has Your Property Price Changed in the Last Decade?

Published On: June 29, 2015 at 5:53 pm

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Categories: Property News

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Residential property prices in Kensington and Chelsea have increased by 88% in the last ten years, representing the fastest price growth of any part of the country.

How Much Has Your Property Price Changed in the Last Decade?

How Much Has Your Property Price Changed in the Last Decade?

Contrastingly, house prices in Durham dropped 41% in the same period, a new map by estate agent Savills has found.

International investors’ attraction to London alongside high demand and 23% job growth in the past three years has pushed prices to new highs, far above the peak of 2007.

However, in most parts of the UK, property values are still below the record highs observed in the last boom, indicating a slow economic recovery for some northern towns.

Data from the Land Registry reveals that house price growth in England and Wales slowed in May, with no average price rises in the month.

The average price in May was £179,696, close to April’s £179,817 and just above March’s £178,007. The annual growth rate was 4.6% in England and Wales, the lowest rate for 15 months.

Despite London’s stalling market in the last six months, the capital still boasts the strongest annual price growth of any region.

Chief Economist at IHS Global Insight, Howard Archer, comments: “We suspect that housing market activity will continue to improve amid generally supportive fundamentals and reduced uncertainty following the general election.

“Meanwhile, a shortage of properties coming onto the market is currently exerting increasing upward pressure on house prices.

“Nevertheless, the upside for housing market activity and prices is expected to be constrained by more stretched house prices-to-earnings ratios, tighter checking of prospective mortgage borrowers by lenders and the likelihood that interest rates will start rising gradually from the first quarter of 2016.”1 

Use Savills map to work out how much the average house price has increased in the last ten years where you live: https://savills.cartodb.com/viz/f7961954-a7b2-11e4-90c2-0e4fddd5de28/public_map

1 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/11700282/Mapped-How-much-has-your-house-price-moved-in-10-years.html

Average London House Price Now Over £475,000

Published On: June 29, 2015 at 4:51 pm

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Average London House Price Now Over £475,000

Average London House Price Now Over £475,000

The average house price in England and Wales is now £179,696, 4.6% higher than a year ago, revealed Land Registry data.

Property prices rose in London and the South East by 9.1%. The average price of a home in the capital is now £475,961.

Around the country, average prices are much lower. In the North East, the average property is £100,295, in the North West the average is £114,312, in the West Midlands it is £137,185 and £246,552 in the South East.

The amount of house sales also increased by 16% in 2014 compared with 2013. Land Registry found that 912,001 sales were completed in 2014, but this number has dropped since the start of 2015.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rightmove’s Industry Domination Expected to Expand

Published On: June 29, 2015 at 3:56 pm

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Categories: Landlord News

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Online property portal Rightmove dominates the industry and is expected to expand further, according to finance website The Motley Fool.

Rightmove's Industry Domination Expected to Expand

Rightmove’s Industry Domination Expected to Expand

The site says that it is common for one company to dominate in the internet market, such as Google, Facebook and eBay in their individual sectors.

The Motley Fool explains: “But although Rightmove is the biggest online property portal by traffic, it still faces stiff competition from Zoopla. Innovations ranging from calculating the distance to the nearest railway station and archived listings have helped Zoopla to stay in a strong second place position.

“But Rightmove’s dominance is set to strengthen with the rise of OnTheMarket. Traditional estate agents, concerned about the duopoly of online portals and the rise of online estate agents, have launched their own competitor portal, OnTheMarket.”

The website continues: “Agents listing properties on OnTheMarket are only allowed to list on one other portal and with Rightmove being the busiest, it is Zoopla that loses out. OnTheMarket also refuses listings from online-only estate agents.

“Zoopla, which still managed to grow revenues by 10% in the six months to the end of March 2015, saw the number of its members fall by 16%.

“The worst may yet be to come, as Zoopla could see more traffic move to Rightmove, given that Zoopla no longer has a comprehensive listing of properties for sale.”

The Motley Fool also notes that corporate firms Countrywide, LSL Property Services and Foxtons have not signed up to OnTheMarket. It concludes: “This should mean that OnTheMarket will fail to build enough of a presence and instead actually strengthen Rightmove’s dominance, as only Rightmove will be able to attract listings from all agents.”1

The Motley Fool tips Rightmove shares over Zoopla and recommends shares in Countrywide, LSL Property Services and Foxtons, saying that they are under-valued.

1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/rightmoves-dominance-set-to-grow-further/

Right to Rent Pilot Leads to Only One Fine

Published On: June 29, 2015 at 2:59 pm

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Categories: Landlord News

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The right to rent immigration checks on tenants by letting agents and landlords implemented in the West Midlands since early December has lead to only one fine, revealed a report from the Daily Telegraph.

Right to Rent Pilot Leads to Only One Fine

Right to Rent Pilot Leads to Only One FineDaily Telegraph.

The newspaper says that the penalty was “issued to a landlord, who is appealing the near £2,000 sum, according to sources.”1 

The Telegraph, alongside many in the property industry, expect the right to rent checks to be rolled out nationwide this year, however, the Government is awaiting a full assessment of the pilot.

Last week, property consultancy Daniel Watney LLP said that the checks are “unworkable, ludicrous and disproportionate”.1

An immigration charity, the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, also revealed that it is working with other organisations to evaluate the pilot scheme when it ends formally this week.

The pilot has been in operation in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. Since its introduction, landlords and agents in these parts of the West Midlands have been required to check the immigration status of all new adult tenants, sub-tenants and lodgers entering new tenancies.

Sections 20-37 of the Immigration Act 2014 state that landlords or their agents must check the immigration status of all new adult tenants.

Failure to comply with the rules or provide accommodation to illegal immigrants could result in a fine of £1,000 per tenant and £80 per lodger. These penalties could increase to £3,000 and £500 respectively for repeated offences by landlords and agents.

1 https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/6/immigration-check-pilot-project-produces-…-just-one-fine

Property Prices Still Below Pre-Downturn High

Published On: June 29, 2015 at 1:58 pm

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Property Prices Still Below Pre-Downturn High

Property Prices Still Below Pre-Downturn High

The average property price in England and Wales is still below the pre-downturn high recorded in November 2007, according to the Land Registry.

It reveals that the annual price rise of 4.6% in the year to May 2015 brought the average house price to £179,696, compared to the peak of £180,990 of November 2007.

London and the South East experienced the strongest growth in annual property prices; both with increases of 9.1%. The East and North East saw the greatest monthly rises of 1.6%.

Wales was the only area to witness an annual price drop, with a 0.6% fall. It also experienced the largest monthly price decline of 1.7%.

The amount of completed house sales in England and Wales fell by 12% to 59,311, compared to 67,321 in March 2014. The number of properties sold for over £1m also dropped, by 6% to 842, from 893 the previous year.

The Land Registry’s Price Paid Data includes over 62,100 residential property sales in England and Wales lodged for registration in May 2015. The most expensive sale last month was in London SW3 for £10,050,000 and the cheapest was in Copeland, Cumbria for £10,000.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARLA Criticises Additional Licensing Scheme in Wales

Published On: June 29, 2015 at 12:55 pm

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ARLA Criticises Additional Licensing Scheme in Wales

ARLA Criticises Additional Licensing Scheme in Wales

The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) has criticised plans to form a private sector licensing scheme in Cardiff, as it arrives just before Wales introduces a compulsory licensing scheme for landlords and agents.

The obligatory licenses cover the whole country and will be administered by Cardiff City Council.

The Managing Director of ARLA, David Cox, says that it is “illogical” to launch a new additional licensing scheme so close to the introduction of the Welsh Agent and Landlord Licensing Scheme (WALLS).

He continues: “We would strongly argue that Cardiff Council should allow WALLS to be implemented and properly evaluated before creating potentially an entirely unnecessary secondary layer of local licensing.

“Indeed, it is important to remember that imposing multiple layers of additional compliance on landlords will only increase the costs of operating a rental portfolio, which in turn will result in a reduction in supply of properties in the designated area and thus increased rents for tenants.”1

Cox wrote in a letter responding to a consultation by Cardiff on its plans to introduce the additional licensing scheme. He says that ARLA is questioning the Council’s lawful ability to do so.

1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/arla-hits-out-at-citys-plans-for-additional-licensing-scheme/