Number Of Overseas Landlords Of UK Properties Reaches A Five-Year High

The number of overseas landlords owning property in the UK has hit a five-year high of 184,000, marking an increase of 19% over five years according to ludlowthompson. Ludlowthompson says that the rise in the number of overseas landlords shows that Brexit has not been a deterrent for those looking to invest in UK property, as many overseas investors have capitalised on the drop in the value of pound sterling between the EU referendum and the Brexit deal to add to their portfolios. Favourable exchange rates meant that foreign buyers were able to get more for their money. Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/number-overseas-landlords-uk-properties-reaches-five-year-high/

Affordable Housing: Building Plans Cut By Two-Thirds For Second Programme

The number of homes built in London with funding from the Affordable Homes Programme is to drop by two thirds, mayor Sadiq Khan has announced. About 35,000 homes are planned by 2026, using £4bn of government funding - an average of £114,000 per house. The cost per house of the first programme, under which 116,000 homes were to be constructed, was £41,551. The Greater London Authority (GLA) Conservative group has accused the mayor of "failing Londoners". A spokesman for the mayor's office said Brexit and the cladding crisis had contributed to an increase in costs. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-56222957 

UK Construction Sector Loses 46% Of Skilled EU Workers

The UK construction sector has lost 46% of its skilled EU workers, according to research by the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, as Brexit and Covid-19 lead to staff shortages. New research reveals that in 2019, a total of 113,000 EU-born professionals worked in the UK’s skilled construction and building trade. That’s a 46% decrease from previous ONS data, which listed 208,000 skilled EU workers. Construction industry experts now warn that the exodus of skilled EU workers is the result of Brexit as well as Covid-19 and requires immediate Government attention to avoid staff shortages. Read more on the pbctoday website.

https://www.pbctoday.co.uk/news/hr-skills-news/skilled-eu-workers/87732/

House Prices Have ‘Levelled Up’ Across The Country Since The Vote To Leave The EU

The long-run story of the UK’s housing market is a widening gap between prices in different parts of the country (think the North East compared to London). But all stories have to end. Since mid-2016, house prices in the nations and regions of the UK have stopped diverging, and instead have ‘levelled up’ to a significant degree. Has this levelling up run its course, or does it have further to go? For example, the average house price has risen by just 0.5 per cent in Inner London since mid-2016 (just £2,700 in cash terms), while in the West Midlands house prices have risen by almost a quarter (equivalent to £36,000). Read more on the Resolution Foundation website.

https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/housing-outlook-q1-2020/

89% Of British Public Have ‘No Faith’ In Government To Solve Housing Crisis

Just 11% of UK consumers have confidence in the government’s ability to solve the housing crisis, new research from Experience Invest has found. In a survey of over 2,000 UK adults, the property investment firm aimed to uncover public attitudes towards the housing crisis – just days before the General Election on the 12th December. Revealing an overwhelming vote of no-confidence in the government’s ability – the research found that over half of those surveyed think that prolonging Brexit is “counterproductive” in working towards solving the UK’s housing shortage. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/89-of-british-public-have-no-faith-in-government-to-solve-housing-crisis/

Housing Benefit Cut ‘Could Have’ Swung Brexit Vote

The Tory cut to housing benefit could have swung the 2016 Brexit vote, according to new research revealing evidence of the cut eroding democratic participation as electoral registration rates declined sharply. Pitched into the general election campaign, the University of Warwick paper estimates the savings from Tory cuts to housing benefit amounted to around £500m – while council spending on homelessness prevention alone shot up by an estimated £265m at least. But the paper – Housing insecurity, homelessness and populism: Evidence from the UK – also exposes a decline in electoral registration rates since the cut was imposed. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/housing-benefit-cut-could-have-swung-brexit-vote/

Housebuilder Insolvencies Hit Four-Year High

Brexit uncertainty and a weak market in London and the South-east have conspired to put housebuilder insolvencies at a four-year high, according to data obtained by accountancy firm Price Bailey. It said Insolvency Service figures showed 343 housebuilders went bust in the year to September 2019, up by 26% on the figure last year. The number reflects a difficult market for SME housebuilders unable to benefit from the government’s Help to Buy subsidies and hampered by political and economic uncertainty, and equates to a rise of more than two-thirds on the figure from just four years ago. Read more on the Housing Today website.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/housebuilder-insolvencies-hit-four-year-high/5103195.article

Brexit And General Election ‘Weighing Down On Housing Market Confidence’

Consumer confidence that house prices will rise over the coming year is stronger than 12 months ago, according to building societies. But issues stemming from Brexit and the General Election are seen as significant risks to the housing market in 2020, the Building Societies Association (BSA) found. Nearly three in 10 (28%) people expect house prices to increase over the coming year – up by five percentage points compared with a year ago. Brexit, selected by 43% of people surveyed, and the General Election result, selected by 30%, are seen as being among the factors posing the biggest risks to the stability of the housing market in 2020. Read more on the AOL website.

https://www.aol.co.uk/news/2019/12/05/brexit-and-general-election-a-weighing-down-on-housing-market-c/?guccounter=1

Rent Costs Hit Record High

The private rented sector has seen sharp rent increases due to the tenant fees ban, an outflow of landlords from the market, and Brexit uncertainty. The supply of rental accommodation increased in 2019, from 187 on average per branch in 2018, to 197 this year. As landlords continued to feel the pinch, the number of buy-to-let investors selling their properties remained high, at an average of four in 2019. In April, the figure spiked to five per branch. The number of tenants experiencing rent hikes hit a record high this year, rising from an average of 26 per cent each month in 2018, to 46 per cent on average this year. Read more on the ARLA website.

https://www.arla.co.uk/news/december-2019/prs-2019-trends/

Housing Market Fractured As Prospective Buyers Remain In Limbo Over Brexit

NAEA Propertymark data has revealed that sentiment in the housing market is continuing to fall to new lows as the UK remains the hostage of increasing political uncertainty. According to the figures the number of properties available per member branch fell in October, from 40 in September to 39, the lowest amount seen since June. The figures also show that year-on-year, housing supply is down, falling from 40 in October 2018. NAEA Propertymark found that the number of house hunters registered per estate agent branch decreased by 12% in October, from 387 to 341. Year-on-year, housing demand is up, rising from 294 house hunters per branch in October 2018. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/housing-market-fractured-as-prospective-buyers-remain-in-limbo-over-brexit.html

UK Home Prices To Lag Inflation On Brexit Uncertainty

Annual home price rises in Britain won’t keep pace with already-low inflation until 2021, a Reuters poll found, and will fall in the capital London this year as uncertainty around the country’s departure from the European Union continues to deter buyers. Uncertainty is likely to continue even if Britain leaves by Jan. 31 as is currently scheduled as there is another tight deadline - by the end of 2020 - for both parties to hammer out a new trade deal, though many doubt that target can be met. Prices in London, for decades a magnet for foreign investors and speculators, will fall 1.5% this year and only hold steady in 2020. Read more on the Reuters website.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-property-poll/uk-home-prices-to-lag-inflation-on-brexit-uncertainty-reuters-poll-idUKKBN1XU03V

Brexit Red Tape 'Puts Looked-After Children At Risk Of Homelessness'

Ahead of Brexit, all EU nationals living in the UK need to prove their immigration status under the EU Settlement Scheme in order to remain in the country. After the scheme was launched, it was billed as being "simple and straightforward". But research by immigration charity Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit has found otherwise. According to the charity, the scheme is "designed for people leading ordered, uncomplicated lives who have the evidence to prove it". It is not for "children with disrupted life histories who have little ownership of documents that show their nationality or where they have been living". Read more on the CYPN website.

https://www.cypnow.co.uk/news/article/brexit-red-tape-puts-looked-after-children-at-risk-of-homelessness

Housing Sector Pay Predicted To Rise

Pay in the housing sector is predicted to rise by an average of 2.5% in 2020/21, according to a survey of almost 60 housing organisations. Sector recruitment, HR, and governance specialists ema consultancy has asked for their pay-reward information each year, for the last three years. This year’s survey saw the highest number of participating associations and revealed plans to increase pay in the range of 2% to 3% with an average of 2.5% – compared with an average pay award in 2019 of 2.3%. Nearly a third are still debating their pay award, potentially due to Brexit and wider political uncertainty. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/housing-sector-pay-predicted-to-rise-by-an-average-of-2-5-in-202021/

Brexit Uncertainty Constrains Construction Sector Optimism

The uncertain outlook for the UK economy has led to reduced optimism, according to the results of the Q3 2019 RICS UK Construction and Infrastructure Market Survey. With anecdotal evidence from respondents suggests that the housing market slowdown, coupled with unrelenting Brexit and political uncertainty, is weighing on investment decisions. The survey results point to a notable deceleration in workloads, this quarter, with only a net balance of +10% reporting an increase in total workloads, down on average from +33% between 2013 and Q2 2016. Read more on the RICS website.

https://www.rics.org/uk/news-insight/latest-news/press-releases/brexit-construction/

Seven In Ten Sellers Undeterred By Brexit

The latest research from national estate agent, Jackson-Stops, has revealed that 70% of active home sellers say they are unphased by the current political uncertainty. Much has been said in the press over the last year-or-so about the effect that Brexit is having on the property market. And indeed, although recent reports have suggested that many would-be sellers are being deterred by the combination of ‘muted pricing power’ and ‘short-term political uncertainty’, the latest figures show that 70% of homeowners who planned to sell their property this year stated that uncertainty around the UK leaving the EU did not deter them from doing so. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/seven-in-ten-sellers-undeterred-by-brexit.html

Risks To Social Housing Sector On The Rise, Says Regulator

Social housing providers are facing increasing risks to their businesses, with Brexit and health and safety posing key challenges, the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has said. In its seventh annual Sector Risk Profile the regulator noted that social landlords have “benefited from a generally benign economic climate” in recent years. But it warned that it “is more important than ever that all providers test and understand the implications” of the UK’s departure from the EU. And it said the “evolving requirements following the Grenfell Tower fire” are increasing risks further. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/risks-to-social-housing-sector-on-the-rise-says-english-regulator-63679

Fewest UK Homes Being Put On Sale Since 2016 As Brexit Nears

Britons are holding off from trying to sell their homes due to uncertainty about when and how Britain will leave the European Union, according to a survey which adds to signs of a slowdown in the housing market. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said new sales instructions fell last month at the fastest pace since June 2016, when Britain voted to leave the EU in a referendum. New buyer inquiries were down by the most since April, and sales fell by the most since February. Read more on the Reuters website.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-houseprices/fewest-uk-homes-being-put-on-sale-since-2016-as-brexit-nears-rics-idUKKBN1WO2WA

Grenfell Tower Report To Be Released A Day Before Brexit Deadline

The long-awaited public inquiry report into what happened on the night of the Grenfell Tower fire is to be released the day before Britain is due to leave the EU, which survivors and the bereaved described as “deeply frustrating”. Conclusions about the disaster in west London on 14 June 2017, which claimed 72 lives, will be published and laid before parliament on 30 October, raising fears important lessons will be overshadowed by the possibility of a no-deal Brexit. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/oct/04/grenfell-tower-report-to-be-released-a-day-before-brexit-deadline

Brexit Jitters Cause Rare September Fall In UK House Prices

Asking prices for houses in Britain have suffered their first September fall in nine years as worries about Brexit caused buyers to hesitate and sellers to keep properties off the market, according to property website Rightmove. The average price of property being put up for sale fell by 0.2%, or £730, from August, breaking the pattern of consistent monthly price rises for the month of September since 2010, Rightmove said. Read more on the Reuters website.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-housing/brexit-jitters-cause-rare-september-fall-in-uk-house-prices-rightmove-idUKKBN1W00VL

Housing Associations Financially Strong Despite Brexit Uncertainty

Housing associations are generally in a strong financial position despite the economic uncertainty surrounding Brexit, the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has said. In the English regulator’s quarterly survey for April to June, it said that the social housing sector had access to sufficient finance. According to the survey, housing associations still have £20.4bn of debt that they have not yet drawn down, while the sector’s total debt stands at more than £97bn. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/housing-associations-financially-strong-despite-brexit-uncertainty-regulator-says-63139