Prices in UK residential market continue upward trend, 5.1% above a year ago
House price growth in the UK increased by 0.1% in February and by 1.7% to an average of £219,949, according to the latest index data to be published. Year on year they are 5.1% higher but this annual rate of growth has slowed from 5.7% in the previous month and is now the lowest since July 2013 and almost halved in the last 11 months, the figures from lender the Halifax shows. Prices set to keep moving upward as long as the current demand and lack of supply continues, said Martin Ellis, Halifax housing economist. He pointed out that housing demand is being supported by an economy that continues to perform well with employment still expanding. […]
Private Tenant Population Highest Since 1961
Yesterday's English Housing Survey revealed that the private tenant population in the country is now at the highest level since 1961. The Headline Report, which can be found here, shows that the private tenant population in England now stands at 4.5m, including 1.6m families with dependant children and 1.5m households whose head is aged 45 or over. According to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) Live Table 104 on Tenure in England, there were 4.377m private rental households in 1961. However, the tenure was larger at the start of the 20th Century. Responding to the report that shows that the private tenant population has now hit 4.5m, the Director of tenant lobby group Generation […]
Low rates and more choice boosting remortgage market in the UK
Home owners in the UK are remortgaging more frequently with the majority consulting a broker to find them the best home lending deal, new research shows. January recorded the most frequent remortgaging since February 2009 with home owners doing so every four years, four months more frequently than they did in the same month in 2016. The value of remortgage transactions also rose month on month by 7% but suffered an annual fall of 15%, from £5.8 billion in January 2016 to £4.9 billion in January 2017. The data from conveyancing service provider LMS also shows that there was a 10% rise in remortgage activity between December 2016 and January 2017 and the firm suggests it […]
More UK properties selling for over their asking price
The latest report from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has revealed that there are now on average 11 buyers chasing each property for sale. As a result, a number of properties are selling for over the original asking price. Demand Figures from the report suggest that there were 425 potential buyers registered per branch during January in comparison to the previous month. Housing stock is also fairly low in comparison. The volume of properties ready to purchase on estate agents' books during January stood at 38. This is a slight decrease from December when there were 41 available. However, the NAEA sold that 76% of properties actually sold in January fetched more than the […]
UK regional rental prices: North West leading the way for yield and demand
In 2016, London was the only region within the UK to not record a rise in asking rents. With the national average rising 3%, Yorkshire and Humber (4.5%) and the North West (4.4%) overtook East of England as the best performing individual regions. The top UK locations for rental properties on Rightmove, driven by tenants, is dominated by the north. Three Greater Manchester and Cheshire areas, namely Ashton-Under-Lyne, Oldham and Stockport, sit in the top five most highly demanded destinations outside of Greater London, accompanied by Edinburgh and Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. In Greater London, Rightmove noticed a trend in tenants looking to Outer London, in search for better value, with areas such as Rainham, Bexleyheath and Erith […]