Posts with tag: property prices

Fall in asking price reductions

Published On: June 22, 2015 at 5:02 pm

Author:

Categories: Property News

Tags: ,,

Gone are the days when offering alluring charm to a house vendor could lead to a reduced selling price, according to a new survey.

Research from property portal Zoopla has found that a British home sells for just 6.05% under it’s original asking price. This represents the lowest level in the past five years.

Discounts

Despite the lower discounts, the research found that 31% of homes currently on the market have had their asking price reduced at least once since being originally listed. This alone amounts to in excess of £2bn in reductions from houses and flats currently for sale in the UK.

The top-ten areas of the UK with the highest percentage of property with cut asking prices are in the North of England. Rotherham tops the pile, with 43.6% of all properties listed. Preston (43.2% and Barnsley (42.3%) came in second and third.

Full listings of the top-ten areas with the greatest proportion of homes with asking price reductions were:

Top 10 Areas With Highest Proportion of Asking Price Reductions
Rank Area % of Homes on Market Reduced Average Price Reduction (%) Average Price Reduction (£)
1 Rotherham 43.6% 7.4% £11,193
2 Preston 43.2% 6.8% £14,235
3 Barnsley 42.3% 7.4% £10,331
4 Wolverhampton 41.2% 7.0% £11,236
5 Blackpool 38.9% 9.8% £14,017
6 Chesterfield 38.8% 6.5% £12,494
7 Blackburn 38.6% 7.9% £12,437
8 Wakefield 38.5% 7.2% £14,465
9 Wirral 37.8% 6.4% £15,643
10 Huddersfield 37.2% 6.4% £12,740

[1]

Fall in asking price reductions

Fall in asking price reductions

Bargains

With regards to the areas where the greatest reductions are currently to be found, Blackpool (9.8%), Manchester (8.3%) and Bradford (7.9%) are the best regions for bargain hunters. London (7.4%) also features in the top-ten, with discounts in the capital exceeding £75,000 on average.

The top-ten places with the largest asking price reductions were found to be:

Rank Area Average Price Reduction Average Price Reduction (£) % of Homes on Market Reduced
1 Blackpool 9.8% £14,017 38.9%
2 Manchester 8.3% £15,437 31.2%
3 Bradford 7.9% £11,120 32.2%
4 Blackburn 7.9% £12,437 38.6%
5 Coventry 7.6% £17,317 31.0%
6 Liverpool 7.5% £12,990 34.8%
7 Pontefract 7.5% £12,254 36.9%
8 Rotherham 7.4% £11,193 43.6%
9 London 7.4% £75,154 23.0%
10 Barnsley 7.4% £10,331 42.3%

[1]

‘Buyers may be disheartened by the decrease in the typical discounts on offer but can take cheer from the fact that almost a third are listed today below their original asking price,’ said Lawrence Hall, head of communications at Zoopla. Hall feels that, ‘despite ever-increasing house prices, there is still room for some good, old-fashioned negotiating.[1]

However, he also notes that, ‘one the flip side, vendors can be pretty confident of achieving close to their initial asking price. Zoopla has a unique feature on its website that allows potential buyers to track their original asking prices and subsequent reductions.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/discounts-on-property-at-five-year-low.html

 

 

Yorkshire property prices soaring

Published On: June 18, 2015 at 12:24 pm

Author:

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: ,,

Yorkshire has experienced the largest property price jump outside the South East of England over the last year, according to new data released today.

Research from property website Rightmove indicates that the average cost of a home in the county is now £174,000, an increase of almost £6,000 on the same period last year. Rightmove suggests that the lengthening imbalance between supply and demand is forcing average prices up.[1]

Post-election surprises

Taking England as a whole, the number of properties listed for sale was down 8.5% on the same period last year, with last month also seeing a 3.9% fall in supply of new homes. This has surprised a number of experts, who felt that supply would surge following the outcome of the election.[1]

Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, described the fall in supply as, ‘unanticipated.’ He went on to say, ‘agents report that the election surprise has given a boost to market sentiment, driven by more certainty about future economic and taxation policies.’[1]

‘While would-be buyers have been able to respond quickly to these events, many potential sellers have so far failed to come to market,’ Shipside continued. ‘This has pushed up some of the asking prices of those properties that have been marketed, meaning that buyers are faced with paying a new average record price high for the more limited choice available.’[1]

Shipside describes this as, ‘the price of political certainty.’[1]

Yorkshire property prices soaring

Yorkshire property prices soaring

Rises

Property prices in Yorkshire have increased substantially, but the average home still costs less than in all other parts of the country, apart from the North East, where prices average at £144,000. Across both England and Wales, the average property on the market is more than twice as costly as those in the North East of England at £294,351.[1]

Shipside feels that the market is set for a surge during the second-half of the year, stating, ‘it all seems set-up for an active second-half housing market in 2015, barring any external shocks to the economy. However, it remains to be seen whether stretched buyer affordability can reach sellers’ post-poll pricing.’[1]

‘The new Government and other stakeholders now need to urgently deliver more new-build homes, to stop asking prices being pushed further up.’[1]

[1] http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/business/business-news/house-prices-grow-faster-in-yorkshire-than-anywhere-else-1-7308747

 

 

UK property price increases slow in April

Published On: June 16, 2015 at 12:22 pm

Author:

Categories: Finance News

Tags: ,,

Official data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released today shows that UK house price growth slowed in the year to April, with a reduction in rises recorded in the capital part of the reason.

The ONS figures indicate a rise of 5.5% in the twelve months to April, in comparison to a 9.6% increase in the year to March. This is the slowest annual property price growth since December of 2013. The ONS clearly stated that, ‘the pace of annual house price growth fell across the majority of the UK in April 2015.’[1]

Capital pains

Despite rising by 4.3%, this was the lowest recorded increase in London for over two-and-a-half years. Jonathan Samuels, chief executive of Dragonfly Property Finance, said that, ‘if, as this report suggests, the extent of the drop-off in annual prices between March and April is due to the price slowdown in London, this underlines quite powerfully the extent to which the capital can skew the UK average.’[1]

More encouragingly, Samuels went on to suggest, ‘while annual London prices fell below the UK average for the first time in nine years in April, I wouldn’t expect them to stay there for long.’[1]

UK property price increases slow in April

UK property price increases slow in April

UK increases

In the twelve months to April, property prices rose across the UK, with Northern Ireland recording the largest rise of 8.8%. Prices in England increased by 5.8%, with Scotland showing a rise of 2.2% and Wales 1.3%.[1]

Month-on-month, UK prices dipped by 1.3% from March, with the average property price now £271,000.[1]

 

[1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33148004

 

Longer commutes could equal lower costs

Published On: June 15, 2015 at 11:40 am

Author:

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: ,,

An interesting report from online estate agent e.Moov has suggested that property owners working in London could cut their costs in half, if they are prepared for a longer commute to the capital’s main train stations.

Location to station

The location of a property is proving to be the most important factor for investors. With average price houses in the capital standing at £588,000 however, purchasing property in London means that preferred locations are being sacrificed in favour of affordability.

With a timely commute proving inevitable for many owners, the e.Moov research looks at how investing in more further afield regions can save investors money.

e.moov looked at areas around London’s key train stations, then looked at other regions with roughly double the commute into the capital. Their findings could tempt many to consider increased travel times for the benefit of more money in their pockets.

Kings Cross

Commuters into Kings cross from regions such as Edgware face a commute time of around 33 minutes. Property prices in this area average at £443,772 but commuters willing to travel just under an hour to work may be tempted by homes in Peterborough, where costs are £190,000.

Waterloo  

A direct commute from Southampton to Waterloo takes just one hour and ten minutes. Prices in the city average at £248,000 and the region is a popular location for retirees. However, with savings above £300,000 on regions such as South Wimbledon, where a commute to Waterloo still takes 35 mins, doubling the travel time seems a viable money saving option.

Longer commutes could equal lower costs

Longer commutes could equal lower costs

Victoria

Commuting from the east side of the capital is proving more popular with increase in developments such as the C2C line and a rise in affordable property in places such as Essex. Kent is also proving a popular location in which to invest and an area such as Rochester offers a commute of 51 minutes into London, with property prices averaging at £226,000.

This is in comparison to regions such as Walthamstow, where commutes to Victoria average at 34 minutes. A property in Rochester is £143,650 cheaper than the average price for a home in Walthamstow.

Liverpool Street

A seemingly short hop across the capital from areas such as Shepherds Bush to Liverpool Street can still take 30 minutes. Property prices in Shepherds Bush average at nearly £700,000. However, commuting from places such as Ipswich, despite taking roughly 1 hour to Liverpool Street, can save vast amounts of money in terms of home prices. Property costs in Ipswich average at roughly £220,000, less than a third of the average home in Shepherds Bush.[1]

Changing trends

eMoov’s founder Russell Quirk, suggests, ‘we’ve seen the commuter trend move from the outer London boroughs to surrounding areas outside of the capital. Who’s to say this won’t continue as house prices in these new commuter zones catch up with their new found demand?’[1]

Quirk continued by saying, ‘although an hour’s commute might seem a lot, when you consider the money you save for 25 to 30 extra minutes on the train and how much more you get for your money, it could really make sense.’[1]

 

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/doubling-your-commute-could-halve-your-property-costs.html

 

UK property asking prices rise again

Published On: June 15, 2015 at 9:51 am

Author:

Categories: Property News

Tags: ,,

Confidence seems to have returned to the UK property market following the election, with some asking prices in London increasing by over £10,000 in the last month.

The latest Home.co.uk price index shows that average property price rose across England and Wales for the fourth straight month. However, the report also shows that the supply of property for sale was behind demand in every area apart from Greater London.

Increases

Property asking prices increased by 2% over the last month in the Greater London region and by 1.1% overall throughout England and Wales. This increase takes the average annual home price appreciation for England and Wales to 5.9%, with further price rises predicted for this year.[1]

Freed from the threat of political uncertainty, the prime central London market has not yet regained the momentum lost in the past eighteen months. Property prices are seemingly stagnant, with flats in some areas spending up to 50% more time on the market than they did in June 2014.[2]

Furthermore, time on market data also shows an increase in momentum in Scotland, Wales and the North of England during the last 12 months. However, southern areas have also indicated slight increases in marketing times, with greater house prices lessening demand.

UK property asking prices rise again

UK property asking prices rise again

Relentless

Doug Shephard, director of Home.co.uk, said that, ‘whilst 2015 is looking like a much better year for the northern regions, Scotland and Wales, hopes that the market in London and surrounding southern regions might slow to a more sustainable pace, have been swept aside by further relentless price rises.’ Shephard feels that this will, ‘create significant cause for concern at the Bank of England.’[3]

‘For the time being the key economic drivers of ultra low interest rates and low supply of property for sale remain,’ he continued. ‘Buy-to-let landlords and first-time buyers alike are able to borrow very large sums to purchase property at very low rates of interest. And this situation looks set to drive prices higher in the near term,’ he added.[4]

 

[1] http://www.propertywire.com/news/europe/uk-asking-prices-growth-2015061210623.html

 

 

New buyer enquiries increase again

Published On: June 12, 2015 at 9:57 am

Author:

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: ,,

The latest RICS UK Residential Market Survey has been released and reveals that property prices rose again during May.

34% more surveyors saw prices increase during the month, with the Nationwide Building Society suggesting that the average price of a property is now over £195,000. However, supply was found to have dropped for the fourth consecutive month, with 19% of surveyors reporting a dip in new instructions.[1]

In spite of the fact that new buyer enquiries increased by 14% during May, many people questioned for the report said that they felt surprised of the lack of supply following the Tory election win. With the North West and London seeing the most increased slide in May, the bigger picture points to the fact that UK listings have not seen any substantial growth since mid 2013.

There was a different story in the lettings market, where tenant demand continued to increase. After a fifth straight month of growth, respondents feel that rents will rise across the UK during the next three months. In addition, the survey found that the most substantial rises are thought to be in the East Midlands and in the South West.

New buyer enquiries increase again

New buyer enquiries increase again

Unaffordable

RICS’’s Chief Economist Simon Rubinsohn commented that, ‘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. 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.’[1]

Rubinsohn continued by saying that,’ the feedback we are getting in the survey, which points to prices at a headline rising by another 25% over the next five years, suggests that there is no real confidence that the measures necessary to deliver a meaningful boost to new supply will be put in place anytime soon.’ He feels that, ‘away from the South East, the strongest price growth is anticipated in the North West which is envisaged to benefit economically from the focus of the government on developing the Northern Powerhouse centered on this area.’[1]

 

 

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/new-buyer-enquiries-increase-at-fastest-rate-in-over-a-year.html