house prices
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Housing Market
Static lending rates may fuel house prices
Residential property prices in the UK will almost certainly continue to rise next year after the Bank of England implied the first interest rate rise may not happen before 2017, according to Savills. With borrowing costs set to remain low, the company forecasts that UK home prices will rise by an average of 17 per cent over the next five years, led by gains in the South East of the country, with an increase of 21.6 per cent, while properties in the North East will appreciate by only 12 per cent over the period, Savills said. The forecasts are based on interest rates staying below 4.5 per cent, but it is now expected that the base rate may only increase to 0.75 per cent in around 2017. “If interest rates rise too quickly, mainstream house price growth will be quickly be curtailed,” said Lucian Cook (left), Head of UK Residential Research for Savills. “On the flip side, if rates remain low for too long, there is a risk that prices will rise too far, creating affordability issues further down the line.” Property prices in London, which have increased more than other parts of the UK in recent years, are expected…
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Housing Market
House prices set to rise
Residential property prices look set to increase by an average of £60,000 over the next five years, hitting more than £320,000 in 2020, according to Cebr, the Centre for Economics and Business Research. The economic forecaster expects the average price of a home in the UK to reach £263,000 this year, up 5.6 per cent on last year, but believes that the market offers further room for growth of 3.5 per cent in 2016, with further annual price rises of in the region of 4 per cent in the four years that follow. If accurate, these price hikes will take the average price of a UK home to £321,600 during 2020 – £58,600 more than the average residential property price in 2015, according to Cebr. Nina Skero, CebrEconomist and main author of the report, believes that capital growth will be primarily fuelled by a growing “reduction in the number of properties being put on the market” as a result of low levels of housebuilding, as well as other factors such as an ageing population and the rising cost of moving up the property ladder. He commented, “The price gap between a first-time home and a larger family home has skyrocketed…
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Housing Market
The growing supply-demand imbalance is pushing up residential property prices
Residential property prices look set to increase further this year, as demand from buyers continues to heavily outstrip the supply of homes coming on to the market, the latest residential market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has revealed. The report shows that while 44 per cent more chartered surveyors saw prices rise in July, the supply of homes coming onto the market continued the drop with 22 per cent more surveyors reporting a decline in fresh instructions. Furthermore, the shortage of housing inventory worsened further during July, with the average volume of homes for sale per surveyor falling to an all-time low. As a result, all areas of the UK are now expected to witness property price growth over the next 12 months, with the greatest level of confidence currently being seen in East Anglia and Northern Ireland. RICS expect home prices to be pushed higher on the back of the growing supply-demand imbalance, with 41 per cent of members expecting prices to continue to appreciate over the next three months. Increasing prices does not appear to have deterred buyer interest, with new purchaser enquiries growing for the fourth consecutive month, with 25 per cent of…
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Housing Market
House prices stable as transactions dip
The latest house price data from the Land Registry shows that house prices in England and Wales remained stable on a monthly basis, despite figures from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) revealing that there was a drop in transactions. Although prices remained flat overall on a monthly basis, there were parts of England and Wales that saw rises, led by London where the average price of a home appreciated by 0.7 per cent month-on-month. On an annual basis, the Land Registry data revealed that prices rose by an average of 4.6 per cent in the year to May 2015 to £179,696. Again, London led the surge, with prices in the capital increasing by 9.1 per cent year-on-year. “Land Registry data shows that house prices are continuing to march upwards with London and the South East seeing the greatest annual growth,” said Brian Murphy (left), Head of Lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB). “The trend is not deterring homebuyers, as mortgage approvals are also at their highest since the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) was implemented according to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA). But it does mean that the average borrower is taking out a bigger loan than at any point since…
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Housing Market
Transactions fall across England and Wales
The number of residential property transactions in the three months to January fell by 18 per cent at an average of 71,090 a month compared to the corresponding period a year earlier, the latest figures from the Land Registry show. The data also reveals that the average price of a home in England and Wales dropped by 0.8 per cent in March, following several months of slowing activity. The figures, which are based on sold prices, put the average price of a property at £178,007, 5.3 per cent higher than in March last year. The month-on-month decline in property prices reflects the fact that inquiries from prospective homebuyers has fallen in recent months, while mortgage lending has dropped. Despite the overall decline in prices, two regions, London and the south east of England, did record month-on-month price increases of 0.8 and 0.2 per cent respectively. In contrast, the north east of England witnessed a 4 per cent fall. On an annual basis, double digit price increases continued to be recorded in London and the south east, but growth was far more modest in other regions, while in the north east prices fell by 2.9 per cent year-on-year. The highest property…
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Housing Market
Political leaders vow to tackle housing crisis
High residential property prices are the single biggest concern among home-hunters, a new Rightmove survey reveals. The latest data from the property portal shows that asking prices for homes on sale in England and Wales hit an all-time of £288,133, on average, in the month to early April, pushed up by a drop in the number of properties on the market, creating a lack of choice in the market, which incidentally, is the second biggest concern for house-hunters. Miles Shipside (right), Rightmove Director and Housing Market Analyst, commented, “April’s Rightmove House Price Index reported an all-time high in asking prices this week of £286,133, setting an interesting challenge for political leaders. Failure to meet house-building targets since the eighties, nineties and noughties to match forecast housing demand has been a major factor in upwards price pressure both in the property sales and private rented sectors. “ As the cost of housing is a key concern for many home-hunters Rightmove asked David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg for their proposed solutions to make more affordable homes available, and what else they would do to try and solve the UK’s housing problems. Here are extracts from the interviews with the three…
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Uncategorised
Housing stock at an all time low
Designs on Property tracks and summarises the monthly property indices. Kate Faulkner says, “Too many agents are chasing too few properties… so who will survive the fall out?”
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Features
Home… and away
If you think the UK is lagging behind other countries with its new build programme... you are right, says Andrea Kirkby.
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Mentoring
Get ready for the challenges ahead
"I’ve started to witness a slowing in general sales activity over the past few weeks. I recognise that we need to sharpen our approach – what areas should I concentrate on first?"
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