Housing Association Shared Ownership Sales Rise Almost 10% In 2020

Housing association (HA) shared ownership sales saw a near-10 per cent rise across England during 2019-20, with a significant increase seen in sales in outer London. A total of 12,396 first tranche shared ownership units were sold over the period in England – an increase of 1,090 sales. The data is based on the Regulator of Social Housing’s statistical data return (SDR) for 2020. It showed that the bulk of shared ownership sales took place outside the capital (80 per cent), with London accounting for 19 per cent of sales. Read more on the Social Housing website.

https://www.socialhousing.co.uk/insight/special-report-housing-association-shared-ownership-sales-rise-almost-10-in-2020-72787?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60 

Right To Buy Sales Fall To Lowest Level In Six Years

Councils sold 11,059 properties under Right to Buy in the year to March 2019, according to Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) figures. This is the lowest level since 2012/13, when 5,944 sales were registered. Sales under the policy hit a low during the financial crisis, but picked up in 2012 after the government changed purchase incentives, including increasing the cap on the Right to Buy discount to £75,000. However, sales have never reached anywhere near their early and mid-1980 heights. Read more on the MHCLG website.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/850399/Social_Housing_Sales_Statistics_2018-19.pdf

One In Seven Council Homes Sold To Tenants On Housing Benefit Under Right To Buy

One in seven council homes sold through the Right to Buy since David Cameron hiked discounts in 2012 has been bought by a tenant on housing benefit. In order to secure a mortgage necessary to purchase a Right to Buy property, a tenant on housing benefit would need someone else to provide the finance. In most cases, this is likely to be family members looking for an easy route onto the housing ladder but it could also be lenders seeking to profit illegally. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/one-in-seven-council-homes-sold-to-tenants-on-housing-benefit-under-right-to-buy-63193?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

Right To Buy Sales Fall To Lowest Level In Six Years

The number of Right to Buy sales have fallen to its lowest level in six years, the latest figures show. Councils sold an estimated 2,313 homes under the controversial scheme in the three months to June, the MHCLG has reported. This represented a 7% fall on the same quarter last year and the lowest number of sales since 2012/13. Sales from Right to Buy dived during the last financial crisis, hitting a quarterly low of just 293 in early 2009. However they shot up between 2013 and 2014 after the government increased the discount from £75,000 to £100,000. Latest figures are on the Gov UK website.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/832591/Right_to_Buy_sales_in_England_2019_to_2020_Q1.pdf

UK House Sales Stronger Than Normal In August

August, normally a quiet month for Britain’s property market, has seen a surge in sales, possibly due to buyers seeking to conclude transactions before the country leaves the European Union on Oct. 31, property website Rightmove said. Rightmove said sales in the August period, which cover the four weeks to Aug. 10, were 6.1% higher than a year earlier and their strongest for the month since 2015, bucking a generally sluggish trend since June 2016’s referendum on leaving the European Union. Read more on the Reuters website.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-houseprices/uk-house-sales-stronger-than-normal-in-august-rightmove-idUKKCN1V80QB

Right To Buy Sales Plummet

Right to Buy sales fell 23% in the last quarter of 2018/19, while replacements slipped more than 4,000 homes behind the government’s one-for-one pledge. Councils in England sold an estimated 2,612 homes through the policy from January to March 2019, down from 3,396 in the same period last year. Over the whole of 2018/19, 10,213 homes were sold – a 21% drop on 2017/18 and the lowest number since 2012/13 when Right to Buy discounts were raised dramatically. Councils received £219.7m from Right to Buy sales from January to March, an average of £84,100 per home. Find out more on the MHCLG website.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/810184/Right_to_Buy_sales_in_England_2018_to_2019_Q4.pdf

Property Transactions Up In April

In April, the number of property sales agreed per estate agency branch increased to the highest level seen since October, according to the latest data from the NAEA. The number of sales agreed per member branch increased for the first time this year, rising from an average of seven per branch in March, to eight in April. This is the highest level seen since October 2018, when the same number of sales were recorded per branch. However, year-on-year, the number of property transactions remains the same. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/property-transactions-up-in-april-despite-fall-in-demand.html

Government Plans To Save A Further £3.6bn From Property Sales Over Next 20 Years

The Government is planning to save around £3.6bn in the next two decades by dramatically scaling back its property estate as part of a sweeping cost-cutting drive. The Cabinet Office will outline plans to move thousands of public sector jobs, including senior roles, out of London by 2030, reducing Whitehall buildings from around 65 to 20 over the same period. Around 20 so-called Government "hubs" will be set up in the regions by the end of this parliament in 2022. In total, the strategy commits to reducing the number of government-owned office buildings from 800 to under 200. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/07/11/government-plans-save-36bn-property-sales-next-20-years/

Housing Sales Remain Subdued As Rent Expectations Continue To Heat Up

Sales activity in the UK housing market remained subdued, according to the latest RICS UK Residential Market Survey. Survey in brief;

  Activity indicators suggest subdued picture in the market will persist

  Improvement in new properties coming to the market likely to be very short-lived

  Rent expectations consistent with the lack of new supply

Download the survey from the RICS website.

https://www.rics.org/uk/knowledge/market-analysis/rics-residential-market-survey/

RTB Sales Decrease But Replacements Fall Short Of 1 For 1 Target

The latest government figures  show that sales of council housing under the Right to Buy (RTB) fell in the quarter to 31 March 2018 by 18% over the previous quarter, but the government continues to fall short of the promised one for one replacement of homes sold under the reinvigorated RTB from 2012. In Quarter 4 (January to March 2018), councils sold an estimated 2,772 dwellings under the RTB scheme compared to the 3,313 sold in the same quarter of 2016-17 this is a decrease of 18%. The average capital receipt per dwelling sold in quarter 4 2017-18 was £83,000. Under the government's one for one commitment made under the Reinvigorated RTB introduced in 2012, local authorities have 3 years from the date of the sale of each additional home to provide a replacement home, but can only use RTB receipts to a maximum of 30% of the cost of providing a replacement. Read more on the ARCH website.

http://www.arch-housing.org.uk/news/latest-news/rtb-sales-decrease-but-replacements-fall-short-of-1-for-1-target.aspx

UK Housing Market Gets Off To Subdued Start In 2018

Britain’s housing market got off to a subdued start in 2018, with sellers of £1m-plus homes in London finding it toughest to find buyers in January, according to a survey of estate agents. Across the UK as whole, the number of sales, new buyers, and properties coming onto the market all fell in January, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said. New buyer inquiries fell for a 10th successive month and the number of properties coming on to estate agents’ books slipped back to the record-low levels seen around the middle of 2017, signalling there will be no imminent pick-up in activity. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/feb/08/uk-housing-market-gets-off-to-subdued-start-in-2018-estate-agents-say

Persimmon Sales Soar As Boss Takes Home £100m Payout

Persimmon hoped to put controversy over its executive pay scheme behind it by reporting that full-year profits will beat market expectations after revenues soared last year on the back of “healthy” demand. The FTSE 100 housebuilder sold 16,000 homes in 2017, 6pc more than the year before, helping push revenues up 9pc to £3.4bn. Its average selling price climbed 3pc to £213,300. Persimmon said it "continued to experience healthy customer demand for new homes through the autumn sales season", adding that forward sales at the end of the year were 10pc higher than in 2016 at £1.4bn. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

Right To Buy Sales Drop Off

There were 2,601 homes sold between April and June this year, a 23% drop from the 3,382 sold in the same three months in 2016. However, a number of councils with large numbers of homes did not report their sales figures. The CLG estimated these councils had around 350 sales between them taking the total sold to 2,951 – a 13% drop on last year. London councils sold an estimated 503 homes – a steep 45% drop from the 921 sold in the same period last year. The proportion of sales in London has decreased over the past year, with only 19% of total sales coming from London compared to 27% last year. Download the figures from the CLG website.

Residential Property Sales Drop Ahead Of General Election

The number of residential property sales has fallen by 20% as many prospective purchasers adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach ahead of the general election. Each branch of estate agents agreed sales on eight properties on average in April, down from 10 in March, according to the latest figures published by the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA Propertymark). The trade body found that there were just 36 properties available to buy per branch in April, down from 39 properties in March. But demand also fell, with the number of buyers registered with each branch reaching 381 in April, which was below the 425 recorded in January and February, and 397 in March. Read more on Property Investor Today.

Councils Claim Extra £470m Could Be Spent On Housebuilding If Allowed To Keep All RTB Receipts

If the Government slashed red tape and let them keep receipts from right-to-buy sales, then London’s borough councils would have an extra £470 million to spend on building new homes, it is claimed. London Councils, the umbrella body representing all 32 boroughs and the City of London, made this claim in its response to a Government consultation on capital finances regulations for local government, based on data from 2014/15. Read more on Housing Excellence.

Councils Forced To Pay £800m In RTB Cash Back To Treasury

Councils have paid over £800m in cash from right-to-buy sales back to the Treasury over the past five years. The sum arises out of a response from Housing Minister Gavin Barwell to a written question from Shadow Housing Secretary, John Healey. Barwell said the practice of seizing the local authority funds was “part of addressing the deficit in the nation’s finances.” However, Labour has called the revelations “shameful” and produced analysis showing that money could have been used to build 12,586 additional council properties – almost double the number actually built over the last five years. Healey is now urging the Chancellor to use the Budget to build more council homes. Read more on 24housing.

Sharp Increase In Sales Of Social Stock

Housing associations have reported a 48% annual increase in sales of social rented homes, as they seek greater value for money from their assets. The Homes and Communities Agency’s (HCA) statistical data return shows associations disposed of 4,406 homes in 2015/16, up from 2,982 in 2014/15. Disposals are defined by the HCA as sales of social rented homes for ‘non-social housing use’. The figures also show that when demolitions, Social Homebuy sales and Right to Buy sales are factored in, the total amount of stock leaving the sector has increased by 16.6% to 18,419 homes year on year. Read more on the HCA website.

Supply Of Housing At Six-Month High

The supply of available housing rose to a six-month high in August, according to a report from the National Association of Estate Agents, although demand fell slightly. The average number of houses available for purchase through NAEA agents in August was an average of 41 per branch, the highest level since March when the average was 54. Figures show that the number of sales to first-time buyers increased from 25 collectively in July, to 28 per cent in August, an increase of 8 per cent on August 2015. Read the report on the NAEA website.

First Right-To-Buy Sales Go Through After Pilots

The first sales have taken place under the government's controversial right-to-buy policy for housing association tenants. A handful of sales have gone through in recent days in London and Merseyside following a pilot project involving five housing associations. The housing minister said every house sold would be replaced. But the chairwoman of the public accounts committee said ministers had no idea how much the scheme would cost. Under the pilot schemes in London, Merseyside, Norfolk, Oxfordshire and Surrey, tenants had to have been resident for 10 years before they could become eligible to buy. Read more on the GovUK website.

EU Referendum 'Likely To Slow Housing Market'

The housing market is likely to be depressed in the run-up to the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU, according to consultants Hometrack. Hometrack’s index of house prices in 20 UK cities revealed the overall number of sales fell by 2% in the last year. The consultancy warned that uncertainty over the ‘Brexit’ referendum was “likely to slow activity further”, based on analysis of the market during the Scottish referendum. It added that other policies – such as higher stamp duty for investors and second homeowners – was expected to contribute to a slowing market. Read more on the Hometrack website.