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

Estate Agents Struggling To Find Homes To Sell

The average number of homes for sale by each estate agent has fallen to a record low, with agents in parts of the country gloomier than at any time since the financial crash, according to a report by the surveyor’s professional body. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said the number of properties sitting on estate agents’ books fell to just 43 per branch in March, the lowest figure since the body started collecting the data in 1978. House prices were broadly flat across the UK during March rising strongly in north-west England, but declining in London. Read more on the Guardian website.

Brexit Not Yet Creating A UK Housing Recession

Since the European Union Referendum the number of residential properties advertised for sale in the UK has increased and average asking prices have reduced by 0.2%, new research shows. While the number of properties with a reduced asking price has increased from 29.3% to 34.5%, mortgage availability remains broadly unchanged. The research says that listings volumes do not suggest a slowdown and an analysis of residential property listings on major UK property portals and have found that since the EU referendum the number of listings has increased by 3.6%. Read more on the Property Wire website.

Landlords Looking To Sell Quadrupled In Last Six Months

The proportion of landlords in central London who intend to sell property has quadrupled since last year’s Budget, according to new research from the National Landlords Association (NLA). Just four per cent of landlords in central London had plans to sell property when surveyed before last year’s Budget. However, the figure has almost quadrupled, rising to 19 per cent, when surveyed in January this year. The 15 per cent increase in intention to sell property is the highest witnessed across the UK over the last six months. Landlords with property in the North East have seen the smallest increase compared to other regions of the UK, rising from 17 per cent in June to 24 per cent in January - (7 per cent rise). Read more on the NLA website.

UK Experiencing A Crisis In Supply Of Homes For Sale

There are 10 buyers for each property for sale in the UK as the supply of homes on the market has fallen again, reaching crisis level according to estate agents. At the same time sales to first time buyers fell in November even although the number of house hunters increased. After a promising period from July to October in which the number of sales made to first time buyers grew, in November, the percentage of sales made to the group fell by 10%. Sales as a whole were down by 1% and while this is typical of this time of year sales to first time buyers are down dramatically and estate agents believe it will only get worse. Read more on the Property Wire website.

The Evolution Of Starter Homes: From A Useful Addition To A Serious Threat

When the government first announced plans to build 100,000 ‘Starter Homes’ a year ago, we welcomed the commitment to get more land released for building homes, and to use the value created to make these homes more affordable than the market otherwise would. We felt that building some homes for sale to first time buyers at a 20% discount on the market price could be a useful addition to overall supply – as long as this was actually additional supply and didn’t replace genuinely affordable homes in the process. So we hoped that the government would listen to our concerns and drop the idea that this new form of housing could be paid for by scrapping the requirements on developers to build genuinely affordable homes – known as Section 106 agreements. Read more on the Shelter blog.

Lewis Challenges Councils To Spend £2bn On Social Housing

Housing minister Brandon Lewis has challenged local authorities to use more than £2bn to build more social housing. The minister said that councils had the cash in their housing revenue accounts to build more social housing. Lewis also said that although the statement by George Osborne was dominated by pledges for homes to buy, the government remained committed to housing “in the tenures we need”. He continued: “Councils have still got over £2bn in their housing revenue accounts to deliver homes and I want to see them use it. Let me be very clear about this. We’ve been very focused on stepping up housing supply. But that doesn’t change the fact that there is a commitment.” Read more on 24dash.

Property Shortages Keep Driving Up Prices

The supply of properties coming on to the market fell for a ninth month running in October, driving up prices on homes for sale. The latest monthly snapshot of the housing market from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) showed the supply drought continued into the autumn, and that prices have taken off in East Anglia. RICS’s report showed that, across the UK, 10% more members saw a fall in instructions by home sellers than a rise. At the same time, inquiries from would-be buyers rose. Experts have suggested that potential sellers are being put off by the high cost of moving and that the lack of stock could be self-perpetuating, as the shortage of possible places to move also deters people from offering their home for sale. Read more on the RICS website.

Government Failing to Address Housing Supply

The government is still failing to address the issue of housing supply, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). In its latest survey, RICS said the number of homes for sale had sunk to a record low. As a result, demand was outstripping supply, it said, and prices were likely to see further "sizeable gains". But the government insisted that more homes were being built, particularly on brownfield sites. Demand from buyers is rising at its quickest rate for 18 months, according to RICs. At the same time, the average number of properties for sale per surveyor sank to 47 in July, the lowest figure on record. Read more on the RICS website.

The Housing Association That Will No Longer Build Homes for the Poor

One of the largest housing associations in the UK has announced it would no longer build social housing. Instead, its chief executive said, it will only build homes for sale, for rent at full market rates or for shared ownership. Furthermore, Genesis housing association, which owns and manages about 33,000 homes around London and the south-east, will consider selling or raising the rents on its existing social homes once they become vacant. The organisation claims that government policies have forced its hand, particularly in light of the recent budget. This is strange when you consider that Genesis has funded much of the research that has influenced this government’s housing policy. To blame the government after you have sponsored thinktanks to successfully influence it is no excuse. In reality, it is part of a deliberate, profit-driven strategy that Genesis and other large housing associations have been following for some time. Read more on the Welfare Weekly website.

London Asking Prices Jump 17pc after the Election

London homes that were put up for sale following the general election are 17pc more expensive than properties that were already listed. New research has found that many sellers, who watched annual house price growth in London gradually slow over the last nine months, have now kick-started the sales process, banking on heightened demand following the election. Rich vendors in central London had prepared their homes for sale but were waiting for the outcome of the election, concerned that a Labour win would see an introduction of a mansion tax. However, the new research has also revealed a surge in newly-listed property, across the UK’s four leading property search websites, Rightmove, Zoopla, Prime Location and OnTheMarket, at all price points. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

Landlord to Sell Homes 'Left Empty by the Bedroom Tax'

Accent Group plans to sell 160 homes near Durham on the open market after attempts to offload them for £1 so they could stay in the social sector were unsuccessful. The 20,500-home group said that 130 of the 220 properties it owns in the village of Horden, near Easington, are currently standing empty due to low demand. A further 30 of the 141 homes it owns in Blackhall are also empty. It is looking to sell them all after ‘exhausting’ all attempts to keep them as social homes. It said it offered to sell the homes to Durham County Council for £1 but its approach was rejected. Read more on Inside Housing.

Eight In 10 Homes Out Of Reach of Families on Average Wages

Fewer than two in every 10 homes for sale in England are affordable for working families on average wages. And in some areas, would-be buyers are priced out completely, even if they can raise a sizeable deposit, according to figures from Shelter that underline the extent of the housing crisis.

Rocketing house prices in some regions, combined with stagnant wage growth, have combined to push homes out of the reach of buyers, so much so that in more than half the country fewer than one in 10 of the suitable homes on the market was affordable to families who could put a typical 18% deposit towards their purchase. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics put the average price of a home in England at £271,000, although the headline figure disguises big regional differences. Read more on the Shelter website.

Mayor Fails To Deny Transfer of Housing Funds

Boris Johnson has refused to deny shifting funds earmarked for affordable rent homes to build homes for sale. Labour members of the London Assembly have raised concerns over a £120 million underspend in the £283 million set aside to fund affordable homes in the capital in 2013/14. He repeatedly refused to deny allegations made by Tom Copley, Labour’s housing spokesperson, that these funds were shifted from the affordable homes programme to the mayor’s housing covenant. Read more on Inside Housing.