Posts with tag: average house price

Nationwide’s Price Index Changes to Reflect More Automated Valuations

Published On: July 7, 2015 at 9:26 am

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Nationwide is changing the methodology used to compile its house price index from next month, with more reliance being placed on data submitted by mortgage applicants.

Nationwide's Price Index Changes to Reflect More Automated Valuations

Nationwide’s Price Index Changes to Reflect More Automated Valuations

This is due to Nationwide no longer conducting physical valuations of some properties for which it is considering offering mortgage loans.

The small print of its latest house price index, released last week, details the change: “We will continue to follow the same type of statistical approach (known as ‘hedonic regression’) to calculate house prices.

“However, as a result of planned changes to our mortgage application process we may no longer commission physical mortgage valuation reports for all cases and so in future will source more information from customer application data.

“As we may not have complete or consistent information for a number of property attributes (floor area, type of garage and number of bathrooms), these variables will no longer be used in the index.”1

The new methodology will still respect the old house price indices produced by Nationwide, although the index says that there will be some joining factors – small changes in data – which will be conducted to allow historical comparisons.

In the future, Nationwide will still produce monthly UK house price data and a regional breakdown every quarter. The data will include a broad analysis of prices across all properties and prices relating to two types of mover: first time buyers and owner-occupiers.

Nationwide will also publish quarterly figures based on different property types, and on new and existing homes.

1 https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/7/nationwide-changes-price-index-to-reflect-more-automated-valuations

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Worst Housing Shortage for Four Decades

Published On: June 11, 2015 at 3:43 pm

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Property price growth in the UK accelerated for the fourth consecutive month in May, as the shortage of homes for sale hit the worst level in around four decades, a study revealed.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said that its price gauge rose to 34 from 32 in April. Economists at Bloomberg had expected a reading of 36. In London, the measure leapt

Worst Housing Shortage for Four Decades

Worst Housing Shortage for Four Decades

to the highest in almost a year.

Price rises were fuelled by the continuing pressure on supply that many estate agents expected to see improved after the Conservative general election win.

Chief Economist at RICS, Simon Rubinsohn, says: “There had been some hope that the removal of political uncertainty would encourage more properties onto the market, but the initial indications are that this is not proving to be the case.

“It is hardly surprising that prices across much of the country are continuing to be squeezed higher, with property set to become ever more unaffordable.”1

Property sales were down 14% in May from the previous year, LSL Property Services and Acadata discovered in a separate report. The average house price in England and Wales rose 0.4% to a record £277,178, up 4.5% on the year earlier.

Estate agent Adrian Gill comments: “The general election did ruffle some feathers, but as we return to smoother ground, it’s becoming clear that there’s a more structural problem holding back the market and that the lack of properties on the market is starting to choke off activity. Price rises will only speed up if housing supply doesn’t put pedal to metal.”1

In May, the price index for London increased to 27% from 24% in April, RICS uncovered. The expectations measure for the next three months also grew to 49 from 12.

Aside from the South East of England, the strongest price growth is forecast for the North West, which is expected to benefit from George Osborne’s northern powerhouse plans to devolve powers to the region.

1 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-10/u-k-house-price-growth-quickens-as-supply-shortage-intensifies

UK Property Prices to Rise 25% in Next Five Years

Published On: June 11, 2015 at 12:40 pm

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Property prices in the UK are expected to increase by 25% in the next five years and become even more unaffordable due to a huge shortage of houses for sale, a leading organisation has cautioned.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) revealed that the supply of properties for sale, measured by the average number on a chartered surveyor estate agent’s books, has dropped to the lowest level since records began in January 1978.

Furthermore, the anticipated post-general election supply boom has failed to emerge, with the North West and London experiencing the sharpest fall in instructions compared to April.

The average stock of properties per surveyor is now 52, down by around 12% since the start of the year. Meanwhile, new buyer inquiries rose at their fastest rate in over a year. As a

UK Property Prices to Rise 25% in Next Five Years

UK Property Prices to Rise 25% in Next Five Years

consequence, house prices increased further in May at a quicker pace than in April, found RICS.

Economists have indicated that prices will rise again now that the Conservative Government is in power. Earlier this month, Chief Economist at F&C Investments, Steven Bell, said boom conditions have returned to the market.

Last week, Halifax’s Housing Economist, Martin Ellis, warned that housing supply “remains extremely tight.”

He continued: “The imbalance between supply and demand is likely to continue to push up house prices over the coming months.”1

The Halifax and Nationwide both found the average house price to be £195,000-£196,000.

Chief Economist at RICS, Simon Rubinsohn, says: “There has been some hope that the removal of political uncertainty would encourage more properties onto the market, but the initial indications are that this is not proving to be the case.

“As a result, it is hardly surprising that prices across much of the country are continuing to be squeezed higher, with property set to become ever more unaffordable.”

He adds that feedback from RICS members “points to prices at a headline level rising by another 25% over the next five years.”1

He says that this suggests there is no real confidence amongst members that the Government will deliver effective measures to boost new supply.

The chartered surveyor, Frost Partnership in Ashford, Surrey, told RICS: “Listings are in very short supply, which is pushing up asking prices to unrealistic levels in some cases.”1 

However, Christopher Green of Curzon Land in central London, which specialises in prime property investments, was pleased with the election result, telling RICS: “The market has gained an immense amount of optimism now that the socialist spectre has been removed for the next five years.”1 

But tenants are also receiving some bad news – RICS members are also forecasting rent rises averaging around 3% in the next 12 months. The group says this reflects the fact that demand for rental accommodation is continuing to grow.

“Contributors [to the study] anticipate that rents will rise across all parts of the UK over the next three months, with expectations most elevated in the East Midlands and the South West,”1 RICS concludes.

1 http://www.martinco.com/news/2015/06/10/uk-house-prices-will-rise-25-in-next-five-years/?utm_campaign=Social%20Media&utm_content=15884523&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter#.VXlHQlupr8t