Supply Dries Up In UK Housing Market

Parts of the UK property market are facing a supply shortage, with a quarter fewer properties listed for sale in England and Wales in March 2021 than compared with the same time last year.  This is more of a problem in the market for houses rather than flats, as the number of houses listed for sale was 33% lower over the 12-month period while the number of flats was 7% higher. Analysis also revealed that it is more acute in parts of the country that have experienced stronger demand due to successive COVID-19 lockdowns. Among the house listings, the number was 3% down in London compared to a drop of 42% in south-west England. Read more on the Yahoo Finance website.

Property: Supply dries up in UK housing market as listings shrink by a quarter (yahoo.com) 

Property Markets In England And Wales Showing Signs Of Picking Up

There are signs of the property market picking up in England and Wales, and in parts of London, according to the latest real estate market analysis. Average prices for July in England and Wales, excluding new build, reached £263,145, up 2.2% month on month, according to the report from London Central Portfolio (LCP), but annual growth was almost static at 0.8%, the weakest since 2011. However, sales increased year on year by 2.2% to reach 807,478 due to a surge in quarterly sales, reversing the fall in 2018. Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/property-markets-in-england-and-wales-including-london-showing-signs-of-picking-up/

Housing Market Registers Slowest September Growth Since 2010

The UK property market has recorded its slowest September growth for eight years.  House prices traditionally rise at this time of year as the number of properties on the market falls, but new figures show an increase of just 1 per cent for the month – the lowest since 2010. Homes with two bedrooms or fewer dragged the average down with a 0.1 per cent fall for the month, partly due to a reduced number of sales to buy-to-let investors. Read more on the Independent website.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/uk-property-prices-housing-market-slowest-september-buy-to-let-taxes-a8583481.html

Brexit Uncertainty Taking Toll On Property Market

Brexit uncertainty has crushed confidence in the property market, according to the official surveyors’ body, with buyers evaporating, prices falling and sales taking a record amount of time to complete. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said the time taken to complete a property sale has widened to 19 weeks, the longest duration since it began collecting data. It said the downward pressure on prices in London had spread out of the capital, and that “the already negative readings for the south-east and East Anglia deteriorated a little further in September”. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/oct/11/brexit-uncertainty-taking-toll-property-market-rics-research

Property Unaffordable For 100,000 Households A Year In England

Almost 100,000 households in England are being priced out of the property market each year because of a shortage of affordable homes to rent or buy, according to a report. Research by the estate agent Savills, shared with the Guardian, found the number of priced-out households had risen from its previous projection in 2015 of 70,000 a year. This was in part because of a change in how housing need is assessed, but also due to rising prices and stagnant wage growth. Read more on the Guardian website.

Housing Market "In A Period Of Stagflation"

The UK property market has entered a period of stagflation where house price growth is consistently lower than the rate of inflation.  That’s the view of property website Home which says house price growth has been lower than inflation for six consecutive months. Its latest data, drawn from monitoring properties listed on the major portals, suggests that whilst the average asking price is now 3.3 per cent more than in July 2016, the Retail Price Index is rising faster - Home says it increased by 4.1 per cent in May and could now be approaching 4.5 per cent, making house prices fall in real terms by around 1.2 per cent. Read more on the Estate Agent Today website.

House Price Inflation In April At Six-Month High

Almost £3,500 was added to the value of the average house during April after the property market enjoyed a spring boost.  Data, which shows that annual house price inflation has risen to its highest level since last October, runs counter to reports from mortgage lenders and others that the market was slowing down. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the average house price in the UK increased by 5.6% in the year to April – up on the 4.5% rate recorded the previous month – to reach £220,094. This was £3,491 higher than March’s figure. Read more on the ONS website. 

‘House Prices Are Set To Soar Despite Economic Uncertainty’

Uk house prices have been predicted to rise by more than six per cent in the next five years, bringing the average property value to almost £300,000, according to new research. The growth has been forecast by Barclays, which predicts the UK property market will remain buoyant with prices set to rise by an average of 6.1 per cent by 2021, despite the current uncertain economic and political climate. The Barclays UK Property Predictor used factors including rental trends, employment levels and commuter behaviour, as well as current house prices to create an index of property hotspots. Read more on the Yorkshire Post website.

London Rents Fall For First Time Since 2009

Rents have fallen year on year in London for the first time since 2009 and are flat in much of the rest of the country in fresh evidence of the post-Brexit vote slowdown in the property market. The UK’s biggest tenant referencing company, Homelet, said rents on new tenancies in London fell by 1.2% in April compared with the same month a year ago, the first annualised fall in eight years. The London average rent fell to £1,519 a month compared with £1,537 a year ago. Rents in the south-east have also fallen slightly year on year, from £1,007 to £1,003. After years of being hit by steadily rising rent bills, it appears that tenants in the capital may finally be getting the upper hand. Read more on the Homelet website.

UK Rental Property Demand Falls To Two-Year Low

Demand for privately-rented flats and houses has fallen to a two-year low, while the supply of properties to rent has risen in fresh evidence of a slowdown in the property market. The Association of Residential Letting Agents said there were just 26 prospective tenants registered per branch in December, down from 32 the month before and the lowest figure recorded since records began in January 2015. Meanwhile renters have more properties to choose from. Arla said the number of properties on the books of the typical letting agency branch rose from 185 to 188 on the month. Rents have begun to flatten or fall in many parts of the UK, particularly London and the south. Read more o the ARLA website.

UK House Prices To Flatline, Says Forecast

The British property market’s post-crash boom will come to a halt in 2017 when house prices flatline after five years of increases, according to an industry forecast. Uncertainty caused by the EU referendum and weaker consumer sentiment will result in two quiet years in the housing market, according to property firm Savills, with zero growth next year followed by a 2% rise in 2018. In London and the east Midlands price growth will grind to a halt, while in the north of England, Wales and Scotland prices are expected to fall over the year, Savills said. Only the south of England outside the capital is expected to buck the trend, with growth of up to 2.5% predicted in some regions. Read more on the Reuters website.

HMO Property Market Evolving

One of the most important and exciting new sectors in the UK property market, Housing of Multiple Occupancy (HMO), is evolving into a mainstream property investment model, according to a new report from specialist commercial lender Shawbrook Bank. A combination of financial pressures for those who have yet to get on the housing ladder, plus a shift in how people want to live in the early stages of their professional careers mean this type of property has grown hugely in popularity for renters. The report states that ‘…with a generation of young professionals focused more on renting, due in part to house prices but also due to the desirability of higher levels of disposable income, shared accommodation is highly appealing for this demographic for both financial and social reasons.’ Read more on the buyassociation website.

Home Ownership In England At Lowest Level In 30 Years

Home ownership in England has fallen to its lowest level in 30 years as the growing gap between earnings and property prices has created a housing crisis that extends beyond London to cities including Manchester. The struggle to get on the housing ladder is not just a feature of the London property market, according to a new report by the Resolution Foundation thinktank, with Greater Manchester seeing as big a slump in ownership since its peak in the early 2000s as parts of the capital, and cities in Yorkshire and the West Midlands also seeing sharp drops. Home ownership across England reached a peak in April 2003, when 71% of households owned their home, either outright or with a mortgage, but by February this year the figure had fallen to 64%. Read more on the Resolution Foundation website.

Council Launches 'Right-To-Invest' For Low-Income Tenants

An east London council has launched its own version of right-to-buy in a bid to help those on low incomes have a stake in the property market while holding onto much-needed social housing. The new right to invest scheme launched by Barking and Dagenham council will let tenants buy a share in their property using their right to buy discount. Tenants can buy between 25% and 70% of their property, and will pay rent to the council on the remaining share. If they want to sell, they will have to give the council first refusal before they can offer their share on the open market, and the council will keep its interest in the property. Read more on the Guardian website.

Property Market Lull May Follow Vote To Leave EU

Commentators suggest the lull in the UK property market will continue following the UK's vote to leave the EU. Some mortgage brokers and estate agents say that potential buyers could delay any purchase owing to the uncertainty that is likely to follow the result. There is less consensus on what the effect might be on the cost of mortgages and house prices. The share prices of house builders took a big hit in early trading following the result. Read more on the BBC website.

Why Britain's Housing Market Is Going To Crash

Britain's property market is about to combust because house prices are far too high and people are not earning enough to keep up. The house price to income ratio is completely screwed up and people need to take on more debt in order to get on the housing ladder. And it is for this reason that Britain's property market is in serious trouble, because the schism between earnings and rising house prices cannot be sustained. In fact, there is one line in a new report sums up why Britain's housing market is set for a major crash:

·         Property prices would need to fall by up to 40%, or household income grow at ten times its current pace for the next five years, in order to bring the ratio back to balance.

Read more on Business Insider.

Council Bosses Told To Gamble £30million On Property To Make Up For Government Cuts

Council chiefs could be poised to gamble up to £30million on the property market - to help make up for Government cuts. Devon County Council’s senior councillors are being urged to gamble the cash on the rising property market. The ruling executive will consider a report recommending they sanction an investment in the Churches, Charities and Local Authorities) Property Fund (CCLA) instead of bank deposits. The CCLA fund currently has investments of over £300million, with over 100 local authority investors including Plymouth City Council and four Devon town councils. A report to the cabinet meeting points out the “risk” that property value could go down and that with charges a 3% rise in the market would be required for the authority to break even. Read more on the Plymouth Herald website.