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.

Planning Approvals For Residential Schemes Up By 6%

Planning departments approved 6% more residential applications than a year ago, official statistics released today show. Figures from the CLG revealed that councils in England granted 12,700 residential planning applications from October to December 2016. Permission was granted for 82% of major residential developments and 74% of minor developments. There were 112,100 planning applications submitted, a 1% increase on the same period in 2015. Read more on Inside Housing.

House Hunters Return, But Struggle To Find Available Homes

House hunters are returning to the UK residential market after the June referendum, but may face a lack of purchase options as the supply of available homes remains restricted, according to our latest residential market survey. The survey shows;

§  Homebuyer demand has increased for the second consecutive month.

§  Across the country, 10% more respondents reported rise in homebuyer interest.

§  The number of properties on the market dropped, and while prices are reported to have risen at the national level, respondents in central London report the eighth consecutive drop in prices.

Read the full survey on the RICS website.

Councils Are Granting Enough Planning Permissions – So Why Aren't We Building Housing?

One of the housing objectives of David Cameron’s government was to increase the amount of land that was permissioned for residential development. The number of units given planning permission in England increased from 176,209 in 2011 to 261,644 in 2015. The planning system is now yielding enough permissions to meet the roughly 250,000 new homes many housing economists think we need to keep up with household growth. This doesn’t mean that they are all in a position to be built out the very next day. But the number of plots approved for residential development in a given year has increased, by 48 per cent between 2011 and 2015. However, starts have risen over the same period by just 26 per cent, from 110,820 in 2011 to only 139,680 in 2015. Read more on the City Metric website.

Residential Property Transactions Slumped 45% in a Quarter

Residential property transactions slumped 45% between March and April this year, according to the latest figures from HMRC. A surge in buy-to-let purchases in March to beat the April deadline for the higher stamp duty charged on additional properties was cited as a chief cause of the fall in transactions, but some industry commentators suggested uncertainty over the outcome of next month’s EU referendum was dampening the market. In April 2016 there were 84,280 residential property transactions, according to HMRC. This seasonally adjusted estimate is 45.2% lower than March 2016. Furthermore, April ‘s figure is 14.5% lower compared with the same month last year. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.

Build-To-Rent Needs The Personal Touch Too

The government’s crackdown on buy-to-let - extra stamp duty and reduced mortgage tax credit - initially seemed to be aimed at corporate investors. But this year’s Budget saw an unexpected U-turn from the chancellor, when he revealed the 3% stamp duty surcharge will also apply to large-scale investors - despite warnings on how it would affect the fledgling build-to-rent sector. However, the major fund managers don’t seem to be actually building for rent: indeed, many seem to have struggled to deploy capital. Some of the recently announced purchases appear to be residential developments many others have passed over, and cynics might suggest they’ve been bought just to use up the cash. Read more on Property Week.

Higher Rents And Continued Lack Of Supply Set To Dominate 2016

Residential rents are set to go up in 2016 and in the home buying market there is likely to be a growing struggle for those seeking to get on the housing market, according to a joint report from agents. According to the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) there are various pieces of legislation coming into play in 2016 which will result in increased compliance costs for landlords, and as a result push up rents for tenants. ‘We urge the Government to re-think its proposals around reducing Mortgage Interest Relief, scrapping the Wear and Tear Allowance and hiking up Stamp Duty by 3% on buy to let properties,’ said David Cox, ARLA managing director. Read more on the Property Wire website.

Housing Planning Applications Increase

There has been an 11% increase in residential planning applications compared to a year ago. Councils made decisions on 16,200 residential applications in July to September this year, according to the latest government statistics, compared to 14,580 in the same period last year. Planning authorities approved 75% of applications, the same proportion as last year. Download the figures from the CLG website.

Buy-To-Let Landlords Snap Up A Million Homes

Buy-to-let landlords have driven a massive shift in the property market that has taken a million homes out of residential ownership in a decade. Since 2005, an extra one million homes are now occupied by a tenant rather than homeowner. Countrywide, which conducted the research, said amateur landlords and other property investors make formidable competition for those trying to buy a place of their own. Two million homes have changed tenure in the last decade, either switching from home owners to landlords or vice versa. The rapid growth of the private rented sector over the last 10 years means that one million homes occupied by the owner in 2005 are now owned by a landlord. Read more on the Introducer Today website.

Councils Told To Drop Restrictions on Office to Resi Conversions

Nick Boles will write to two local authorities telling them to drop restrictions to permitted developments for office to residential conversions. In a written statement to Parliament, the planning minister accused ‘a small minority’ of town halls of trying to undermine the reforms. Islington and Broxbourne Councils are among eight local authorities which have introduced ‘article 4’ directions removing the permitted development right. Mr Boles said the two local authorities had applied the power ‘disproportionately’. The CLG will write to them demanding they are more targeted in their restrictions. Read more on Inside Housing.