Housing Market
News covering issues affecting the UK residential property market, house prices, interest rates and buying and selling trends.
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Property sales market shines north of the border as London struggles
Do you run or work for an agency in the North? Then you may be heartened by the latest property sales figures from Your Move and Reeds Rains. They show that, while London and the South East are facing an alarming and continuing slump in sales, the north is proving much more resilient. The number of transactions in the North increased by 10% over the past three months (February to April) and increased by 6% in the North West, 7% in Yorkshire and Humberside, 6% in the West Midlands and 13% in Wales. In contrast, the two companies say, transactions in London have plummeted by 19% over the past three months in Greater London, and 7% in the South East. West Midlands property sales The figures also underpin what developers have known for some time – that Birmingham and the West Midlands are the property hotspots of the UK at the moment. Not only are transaction increasing, but house prices in the region are up 5.1% so far this year, while neighbour Shropshire has seen prices increase by 7.1% over the same period. “The market remains resilient and there’s encouraging activity in the North, but we need to urgently address…
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Build-to-Rent investment set to triple by 2021
Nearly a quarter of all the UK population will be living in rented accommodation in just five years’ time according to Knight Frank, driven largely by a huge expansion in build-to-rent (BTR). Investment by the City in BTR is set to rise to £70 billion by 2021, the report reckons, up from the current £25 billion. Some 65% of this money is being and will be spent in London, Knight Frank discovered after interviewing the key 26 investors in BTR. “The strength of the UK PRS sector has grown demonstrably in recent years. As consumer demand for affordable, flexible accommodation continues to rise, PRS is firmly establishing itself as a key opportunity for institutional grade investment, due to its long-term potential,” James Mannix, Head of Residential Capital Markets at Knight Frank Knight Frank’s report also reveals that 68% of renters expect to be renting in three years’ time rather than moving on to the property ladder, helping increase the number of private renters to 5.79 million. Current trends Other trends driving this, it says, include the costs of Stamp Duty when buying a property, the needs of young professions to be more mobile as they move around the UK with…
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L&G lays into agents as its first build-to-rent development opens
Legal and General (L&G) has opened its first build-to-rent (BTR) scheme in the UK at a site overlooking the River Irwell in Salford, Manchester (pictured, right) where tenants will pay no moving in fees and a significantly-reduced deposit compared to traditional lets. The insurer, which is one of the UK’s best-known financial firms, set itself directly in competition with traditional letting agents and property managers at the launch. “For too long renters have found themselves at the mercy of expensive moving fees, unresponsive managers, and private landlords who often want to minimise upkeep costs and maximise rents,” says Dan Batterton, BTR Fund Manager at LGIM Real Assets (pictured, left). The Salford BTR development, called the Slate Yard, officially opened today and the first tenants are due to move in later this week, where L&G claims they will enjoy a lifestyle that many home owners would struggle to achieve. Build-to-rent As well as a fee-free move into the property and a low deposit, the building is served by a 24-7 on-site maintenance and management team, has free WIFI and free membership of a car club. L&G says these benefits will save tenants approximately £150 a month. Electricity and heating for the building…
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Rents drop across the UK as government measures hit landlords
Rents are tumbling across many parts of the UK according to the latest rental index from referencing firm HomeLet, whose Chief Executive has questioned the wisdom of recent government measures to reduce landlord appetite for investment. HomeLet says rents fell in the UK by 0.3% last month, the first time this has happened since late 2009 and that rents in London have dropped by 3% over the past year from £1,572 a month last July to £1,502 a month in May. “May 2017 saw average rents nationally fall for the first time in eight years when the economy had suffered the shock of the financial crisis,” says Martin Totty, Chief Executive of HomeLet (pictured, left). “[Our] rental data suggests landlords are now facing a difficult balancing act between ensuring rents are affordable for tenants in a low real wage growth environment whilst covering their own rising costs. “Tenants will still need a vibrant and growing rented sector to provide them with property options at the time of their choosing. “Any constraint to the supply of rental properties, because landlords are unable to achieve the reasonable returns they require, cannot be in the long term best interests of tenants, especially if,…
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Mandatory three-year tenancies questioned by leading lettings agent
The UK’s largest lettings agency Belvoir has set itself against all the mainstream political party manifestos and the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) by questioning the need for mandatory three-year tenancies. The Conservative Party seeks to “encourage landlords to offer longer tenancies as standard” while Labour goes much further, saying it will “make three-year tenancies the norm with an inflation cap on rent rises”. The Liberal Democrats advocate “longer tenancies of three years or more with an inflation-linked annual rent increase built in to give tenants security”. But Belvoir’s latest lettings index shows that 43% of tenants who rent through its branches stay for between 13-18 months, 29% for between 19-24 months and only 18.2% for more than two years. ‘Question the need’ “Looking at the manifestos of all political parties it would seem that all are looking to introduce three-year mandatory tenancy agreements although [our] figures question the need for this as our tenants can already rent with confidence, and most opt to leave when they wish to do so,” Belvoir says. But not all landlords agree with Belvoir’s point of view. As we reported last week, one of London’s largest Build to Rent landlords recently scrapped deposits…
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Govt lettings squeeze drives up rents as landlords exit
The number of properties available to rent has fallen and prices are rising as the government’s recent Stamp Duty and tax allowance changes take their toll on the the lettings market, says franchise giant Belvoir. “Belvoir’s Q1 rental index, which is prepared for us by property expert Kate Faulkner, has identified some interesting trends, which we believe are a direct result of recent changes to BTL legislation,” says Belvoir’s Chief Operating Officer, Dorian Gonsalves. This includes that the number of landlords bringing between six and ten properties to the market has declined while the number of landlords bringing up to three properties to market remained static. Dorian says the reasons for this include additional Stamp Duty for buy-to-let property buyers and the radical changes to the way mortgage interest tax relief is calculated, which has reduced or cancelled out profits for many landlords. Lettings To counter these measures, Belvoir says, landlords are seeking the highest rental prices for their properties and driving up rents across the UK which have risen year-on-year by 5.75%. “Since 2008 [when Belvoir began its index] rents have moved broadly in line with wages and large movements over and above +/-5% rarely happen,” says Belvoir’s Chief…
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General election reduces ALL housing market indicators
Not many agents have thanked Theresa May for holding a general election during the crucial summer months, and now the extent of the damage being caused by the campaigning is laid bare. All the UK’s housing market health indicators fell last month which, according to NAEA Propertymark which compiled the figures, is “most likely down to uncertainty triggered by the snap General Election starting to take effect, as buyers put their plans on hold until the result is clear”, it says. House hunter number fall This includes the number of house-hunters in the market which fell by 4% to 381 per branch, property supply per branch which dropped by 8% to 36 per branch, and the number sales agreed per branch. This fell from ten per branch in March to eight in April. This is the third April in a row during which politics has conspired to dampen down the housing market after last year’s EU Referendum – which had the hardest impact on the market – and, before that, the 2015 General Election. For example, during the EU Referendum the number of house hunters dropped to 325 per branch, 17% lower than the current figure of 381. “Periods of…
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Buy-to-let tax squeeze should be “scrapped” says high profile Tory peer
A former Tory grandee has criticised the government’s recent buy-to-let tax tax squeeze, describing it as “ill conceived”. Former Tory vice-chairman and shadow Vice Secretary to the Treasury Lord Flight (pictured, right) has called for the government to scrap many of the recent taxes on landlords and “provide the support needed to the individuals and small businesses who make up the vast majority of the country’s landlords”. Stifling investment His comments were made on the Conservative Home website over the weekend, in which he also calls for the recent hike in Stamp Duty on buy-to-let purchases and reduction in reliefs to be scrapped because they are “stifling investment, as anyone could have predicted” and catching out “natural Conservative voters”. “The decisions to impose a stamp duty levy on the purchase of homes to rent out, coupled with restricting mortgage interest relief to the basic rate of income tax and the decision to tax a landlord’s turnover rather than profits, are causing many landlords simply not to invest further in much needed new homes to rent; or even to consider leaving the sector altogether,” he says. “The mortgage interest restrictions need to be scrapped, and the stamp duty levy needs also…
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Large London landlord scraps tenant deposits
A London Build to Rent landlord which owns the former Olympic athlete’s village in London is to stop asking for tenant deposits. Get Living London, which is also due to open a site in Glasgow and rents out approximately 1,500 homes at its East Village London site (pictured, right) says its tenants will no longer have to pay any deposit. Tenants can also sign up for a more secure three-year tenancy and already do not have to pay any fees at any point in their tenancy. “Where we have led – with no fees and longer tenancies – others have followed. We hope deposit-free renting becomes the norm,” says Get Living London CEO Neil Young (pictured, left). The company has also scrapped any fees and tenants are able to break their tenancy agreement after six months without penalty. But tenants do pay interest at 4% on any overdue rent and must also pay for the apartment to be cleaned when they move out, its sample contract says. Also, the deposit-free deal is only available to tenants who pass referencing, the cost of which is paid by Get Living London. Get Living London is also to return existing tenant deposits, worth…
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Letting fees ban will be forgotten, says Generation Rent
Campaigning group Generation Rent says it is worried that Theresa May’s manifesto promise of a letting fees ban is likely to be kicked into the long grass by the hung parliament and the pressures of Brexit negotiations. The government’s consultation on the ban closed on 2nd June. Generation Rent says it is concerned that, despite all-party support for a lettings fee ban, is believes the legislation is likely to “fall down the political agenda”. General Election It also says renters were a key reason for the Conservative’s poor performance during Thursday’s General Election. It has looked at the results and concluded that 20 of the 32 seats that the Government lost were areas where there is an above-average proportion of voters who are renters. This includes some of the election’s more high-profile upsets such as Portsmouth South, Reading East, Battersea and Croydon Central, where former housing minister Garvin Barwell’s lost his seat. Barwell didn’t have to worry about getting a job after the election, though, unlike many other Conservative MPs voted out during the election. He is now Theresa May’s new Chief of Staff. “As the Prime Minister prepares her legislative programme, she should bear in mind that most of the…
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