‘Traditional’ Retirement Housing Increases In Value On Resale

New research into ‘traditional’ leasehold retirement housing shows that recently built properties, on average, increase their value on resale. Drawing on available Land Registry data, matched to its own database of retirement developments, Elderly Accommodation Counsel (EAC) has begun to shed light on a topic that has raised questions from prospective purchasers for many years. “This report shows that recently built traditional ‘sheltered’ properties have, on average, improved their values upon resale,” said Adam Hillier, the report’s author and EAC deputy chief executive. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/traditional-retirement-housing-increases-in-value-on-resale/

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. 

Britain Is Now Building 15pc Fewer Homes Than Before The Crash

The UK is building 15pc fewer homes than it was in the five years before the downturn in 2008, according to a new report by Carter Jonas that has laid bare the disjointed residential construction industry. It found that new build homes are valued at an average of 30pc more than second-hand stock, which is the greatest disparity in fourteen years. In some areas this effect is exaggerated. In Harlow, Essex, the average brand-new home is 112pc more expensive than a second hand one. This is also the case in Gravesham in Kent and Preston in Lancashire, where new homes command a premium of more than 95pc. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

£38bn Of Empty Properties In England

More than 203,000 homes – to an estimated value of £38bn – are now termed ‘long term empty’. According to research by property crowdfunding platform Property Planner, London alone has some 20,915 homes sat idle for over six months in 2015 – the equivalent to almost £12.4bn worth of empty property. Newham, one of the capital’s most deprived boroughs, has the worst problem with 1,318 unoccupied properties. Read more on 24dash.

Landlords Call For An End To “Scandal” Of Empty Buy-To-Leave Homes

The next Mayor of London must take action to deal with the “scandal” of so-called buy-to-leave homes, the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has said. Investors buying up properties only to leave them empty as they sit back for the asset value to increase are denying homes to Londoners, the organisation added. With almost 57,000 homes in the capital thought to be empty, the RLA is calling on the next Mayor of London needs to use the powers available to ensure such homes are being used either by landlords who want to offer properties to live in, or are available to for purchase by would be home owners. Read more on the RLA website.

The Wellbeing Value of Tackling Homelessness

Housing associations engage in a range of work beyond the provision of a home. Using the Wellbeing Valuation Approach, HACT and Simetrica developed the Social Value Bank, the largest and most methodologically consistent bank of values housing providers can use to evidence the social value of their work in areas like employment, financial inclusion and health. The Social Value Bank has become an industry standard for understanding the impact and value of community investment activities. Through consistent application of the Wellbeing Valuation Approach, it is possible to establish and place a value on the wellbeing impact of almost any aspect of housing providers' work, if suitable datasets can be identified or collected. The outcomes covered by the Social Value Bank are focused on those that are experienced by people living in secure housing, as the datasets underlying the analyses – the British Household Panel Survey and Understanding Society, primarily – are collected exclusively from those in households. Read more on the HACT website.

“Last Time Buyer” Market Worth £820 Billion

A successful downsizing policy for 'last-time buyers' could play a key role in solving the UK's housing crisis, according to a new report. Research from Legal & General and Cebr shows that there are approximately 5.3 million under-occupied homes in the UK with 3.3 million last-time buyers (LTB) looking to downsize. The LTB market owns 7.7m spare bedrooms and a total of £820 billion of housing wealth, set to reach £1.2 trillion by 2020. Key research findings include:

·         A typical LTB lives in a four-bed house, but wants a two-bed property

·         Almost a third of older homeowners considered downsizing in the last five years; only 7% actually did

·         A majority (58%) put it off until after 70; a quarter until 80 or older.

Read more on the CEBR website.

Public Are Positive towards Contribution and Value of Social Housing

The British public are positive about the contribution and value of social housing according to an Ipsos MORI poll for #HousingDay 2014. Ipsos MORI found that 82% of those not renting from a social landlord agree social housing is important because it helps people on lower incomes get access to housing which wouldn’t be affordable in the private rented sector. And by five to one, the public agree rather than disagree that social housing plays an important role in tackling poverty in Britain. Read more on the Ipsos Mori website.