Posts with tag: UK housing

New UK property listings fell by over 13% in August

Published On: September 12, 2017 at 8:53 am

Tags: property,property listings,UK housing

The number of new property listings coming on to the market fell by 13.1% in August in comparison to July, according to new research from HouseSimple.com.

Traditionally, August is a quiet month for sellers marketing their properties, but even taking this into account, new properties listed for sale during the last month were down by 5.9% on the corresponding month in 2016.

New Listing Falls

According to the research, Coventry and Winchester saw the largest falls. However, two-thirds of towns and cities saw a fall in new properties being marketed month-on-month.

Other locations seeing a larger fall in supply levels were Salford, Oxford and Durham, where levels were down 28.5%, 25.6% and 25% respectively.

On the other hand, the areas seeing the largest rises in supply were led by Darlington, Falmouth and Warwick, where listings increased by 29.9%, 28.6% and 28% respectively.

In the capital, 30 out of 32 boroughs saw a fall in new listings during the last month. Richmond saw the largest fall of 42.2%. Only Bexley and Sutton recorded an increase in property supply, with rises of 17.4% and 8.4%.

New UK property listings fell by over 13% in August

Concern

Alex Gosling, Chief Executive of HouseSimple, noted: ‘August tends to be a quiet month for property transactions and new sales instructions. Not surprisingly, supply fell substantially as the country went on its summer break but few people will be concerned by the drop off in new listings. More of a concern is the 5.9% drop off when comparing last month with the corresponding month in 2016. Supply continues to be a major issue.’

‘The property market needs a strong September after a subdued period since the general election. Hopefully a line will have been drawn under the first half of the year, concerns about economic conditions will have dissipated, and buyers and sellers will come back from their summer break with renewed confidence to move forward.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/new-property-listings-uk-13-august-latest-figures-show/

New housing starts in England reach greatest level since 2008

Published On: August 25, 2017 at 9:10 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: housing starts,property market,UK housing

The latest Government figures reveal that housing starts in England have reached their greatest level since 2008.

During the year to June 2017, 164,960 new builds were started – a 13% increase year-on-year. In addition, completions increased by 11% to £153,330.

Housing Market

Private starts increased by 16% during the period to hit 139,140, whilst housing association starts fell slightly by 2% to stand at 24,220.

In terms of completions during the year to June, these increased by 12% to reach 125,550. For housing associations, completions rose by 6% to hit 26,170.

Quarterly figures show some declines, with overall new build starts falling by 3% to 41,180 during June as opposed to March 2017. June quarter completions were 2% higher at 40,310.

Private starts quarter-on-quarter were stable at 35,570, while starts for housing associations dropped by 19% to reach 5,280.

New housing starts in England reach greatest level since 2008

Healthy

Murray Smith, MD of residential property sales and development consultancy SiteSales, noted: ‘The statistics reflect what we knew, in that completions on projects commenced pre- Brexit would be healthy, while the post-vote hiatus in the industry and an uncertain market has withheld starts in recent quarters.’

Housing and Planning Minister Alok Sharma also said: ‘It’s vital we maintain this momentum to deliver more quality homes in the places that people want to live. Our housing white paper set out an ambitious package of long-term reforms to do just that.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/english-housing-starts-reach-highest-level-since-2008.html

UK property values to increase by 1% in 2017

Published On: May 24, 2017 at 9:35 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: house price growth,landlords,UK housing,UK property

A new piece of analysis suggests that UK property price growth will amount to just 1% during 2017, as the slowdown since summer 2014 continues.

In central London, where the slowdown has been more prominent, prices are predicted to fall slightly over the course of the year. Looking ahead however, values here could rise by 14.2% by 2022, according to the research from international real estate firm Knight Frank.

Property Price Rises

The firm’s research indicates that prices will rise across Britain by 2.5% in 2018, 3% in 2019 and 2020 and by 4% in 2021.

In the capital, with prices falling by 1% this year, values are expected to rise by 2% next year, 2.5% in 2019, 3% in 2020 and 5.5% in 2021.

Rents are forecasted to continue their steady rise – increasing by 1.4% this year, 2% in 2018-2021 to reach a cumulative 9.8%.

However, the report highlights the uncertainty surrounding the performance of the UK property market, such as Brexit and the slowdown in economic growth.

UK property values to increase by 1% in 2017

New-Builds

A recent slowdown in market activity can be attributed to a lack of available properties to purchase, which in turn has put more focus on the delivery of new-build homes across the UK.

Data from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) indicates that the number of new properties being built over recent years has increased. This said, levels are still way below those required to meet current demand.

The report reads: ‘The shortage of housing stock available to buy coupled with ultra-low mortgage rates have put a floor under pricing across the UK, but the question of affordability is becoming more pressing in some areas, especially as lenders still expect sizeable deposits from buyers.’[1]

‘As the UK moves closer to Brexit, any economic uncertainty could have a knock-on impact on the housing market, especially if wage growth and employment levels across the country are affected.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/uk-property-prices-set-grow-just-1-2017-recover/

Flats see largest increase in pricing since 2009

Published On: May 22, 2017 at 11:33 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: average house prices,house prices,landlords,property prices,tenants,UK housing

The most recent research from the Halifax has shown how different property types have increased in price during the last seven years.

Data from the report indicates that flats have seen the most prominent rise- increasing in value by 53% during the last seven years. This was in comparison to 39% for all property types.

Increases

Flats have typically increased in value by £1,008 per month, from the £159,292 recorded in the final quarter of 2009, to £243,936 in the last three months of 2016.

Terraced homes saw the next biggest rise over the period, increasing in value by 43% over the seven years. On the other hand, detached homes saw the smallest increase, of 19%.

Much of the rise in the price of flats since 2009 can be attributed to the major increase in flat prices in London, where values have risen by 65%. In addition, flats make up 48% of all sales of property in the capital, in comparison to the UK average of just 11%.

The average price of a flat in London currently stands at £398,038, with the price in the rest of the UK much lower at £167, 144. In fact, should London be excluded from the data, terraced homes saw the greatest increase over the period (41%), followed by flats (35%).

Regional Rises

By region, flats have been the best performing property type since 2009 in five of the eleven regions assessed. These were:

North- 31%
North West – 37%
South West – 33%
Yorkshire and the Humber – 30%
Scotland – 21%

Terraced houses rose quickest in:

London – 73%
East Anglia – 46%
East Midlands – 35%

Six in ten property transactions are for terraced or semi-detached properties. This said, semi-detached homes have risen in popularity with first-time buyers, making up 30% of purchases in 2016 – a rise from 28% in 2009.

Flats see largest increase in pricing since 2009

Affordability

Averaging at £215,690, terraced properties are the most affordable property type in the UK. This was followed by semi-detached homes (£225,070) and flats (£243,936).

Outside of London, flats are most affordable (£167,144) followed by terraced housing (£185,116).

Martin Ellis, Halifax housing economist, said: ‘Nationally, terraced and semi-detached homes are the most affordable and popular homes with buyers accounting for 60% of sales during 2016. However average price growth for flats, helped by the London market, have outperformed all other property types since 2009.’[1]

‘There has been an increasing trend for first time buyers to choose semi-detached homes over the past seven years, whilst terraced homes have shown a decline in popularity. The rise in the age of a typical first time buyer may partly account for this change in preference towards the family-friendly semi,’ he added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/flat-prices-up-over-50-since-2009.html

UK property supply falls by 4% in April

Published On: May 12, 2017 at 8:49 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: landlords,property,property market,supply,UK housing

The most recent UK Property Supply Index from HouseSimple.com suggests that property supply fell by 4% during April.

According to the report, a combination of poor weather and political uncertainty has put sellers off from marketing their accommodation over the last month.

Factors

Supply dropped by 4% at a time when one would expect the number of new listings to increase.

This could be due to a number of factors, such as the triggering of Article 50, the announcement of the General Election and the particularly cold weather.

The most prominent falls in supply were found in Runcorn, where levels were down by 33.9%. Doncaster also saw significant falls of 31.1%.

In order to compile its Property Supply Index, HouseSimple assessed data from over 500,000 listed properties to see the number of new properties on the market each month. This data looks at over 100 major towns and cities across the UK and across all London boroughs.

UK property supply falls by 4% in April

Capital Rises

In London, supply increased by 1.5% during April, though there were variances across boroughs. For example, Lewisham saw new listings rise by 76%, whereas Haringey saw supply slide by 21.2%.

Alex Gosling, CEO of online estate agents HouseSimple.com, noted: ‘The property market doesn’t like uncertainty and triggering Article 50 and announcing a snap General Election shortly after is a huge amount of uncertainty for sellers to digest. The good news for the property market is that this Election doesn’t appear to be a close-run affair so it’s likely that any negative impact on the property market will be short-lived.’[1]

‘If the market is a little slower up until the General Election on June 8, then it’s likely after the result is known, there will be a boost in supply, with sellers looking to find buyers before the summer kicks in and everyone heads off on holiday. But if sellers need to move then they shouldn’t hold off until after the Election hoping that market conditions will change radically after the result,’ Gosling added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/property-supply-fell-4-in-april.html

New property listings up by more than 10% in September

Published On: October 5, 2016 at 8:40 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: housing market,landlords,new property listings,UK housing

New property listings in Britain rose by more than 10% month-on-month during September.

In fact, more than two thirds of UK towns and cities experienced a rise in supply, according to latest research conducted by online estate agent House Simple.

Increases

Total supply rose by 10.4%, with the largest increases reported in Basildon, Essex, where supply rose by a substantial 68.1%. London saw a rise of 16.5%.

Hereford also saw a massive increase, with supply up by 58.3% and in Lichfield, there was a rise of 53.5%. In Hemel Hempstead, property listings were up by 52.2% and in Truro 48.3%.

At the other end of the scale, supply in Falmouth, Cornwall slipped by 27.5%. Other notable falls were evident in Sutton Coldfield (-25.8%), Ely (-22.9%) and Stockton on Tees (-22.2%).

New property listings up by more than 10% in September

Post-Brexit high

The property market in the UK continues to defy predictions of post-Brexit chaos, returning to some kind of normality following the traditional summer drop.

Alex Gosling, chief executive officer of House Simple, noted: ‘The figures don’t show an uplift in new listings after a typically slow August. The more than 10% boost in new properties is evidence of a resilience in the housing market that many didn’t expect. Many clearly believe that the market is strong enough to sell in despite the ongoing political uncertainty.’[1]

‘What was a sellers’ market before the European Union membership referendum vote and buyers’ market in the initial months after it may now be somewhere in between. This is no bad thing,’ Mr Gosling added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertywire.com/news/europe/new-property-listings-10-uk-month-month/