Rightmove says the price of
property coming to market this month has hit a new national record, up 0.9 per
cent to £294,834.
The average £2,550 rise is the
largest amount seen in the month of September since 2002.
“Prices are at an all-time high,
yet borrowing is historically cheap and positive sentiment is aided by the
ongoing postponement of rate rises from these six-year lows. Demand from those
who can afford to buy remains high, and suitable supply remains tight, with the
number of properties coming to market down 6.0 per cent on the same period in
2014” says Rightmove commercial director Miles Shipside.
Rightmove says it is the typical family-home market sectors that have risen
most this month - all property types with three or more bedrooms, went up by an
average of 1.2 per cent whereby in contrast first-time-buyer type properties
with two bedrooms or fewer fell by 1.1 per cent.
“It looks like some of those
buying typical first-time-buyer properties are now struggling to afford prices
in this bracket that have on average gone up by nearly £10,000 in the last
year, hence new sellers are asking for less” says Shipside.
Continuing the theme of those
owning the more expensive property assets benefitting most from the current
market, the top 15 most expensive counties have all seen price rises this
month.
The average monthly increase is
1.8 per cent in Surrey, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and
Berkshire. Another southern county, Bedfordshire, has the highest annual growth
of 12.3 per cent.
https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/9/rightmove-says-biggest-september-asking-price-rise-for-13-years
HMRC says that more homes were
sold in the UK in August than in any month since February last year.
The Revenue says its
seasonally-adjusted data - which to the consternation of some traditionalists
is widely regarded as the best measure of transactions, ironing out
discrepancies caused by atypical summer fluctuations - shows that 106,480 homes
were sold during the month.
HMRC says this is the third
consecutive month with a sales total in excess of 100,000 although this remains
well below the pre-downturn days when monthly sales of over 130,000 were
typical.
The latest Revenue figures show that UK house prices rose by an average of 5.2
per cent in the year to the end of July.
In recent days Hamptons
International, with one of the industry's most respected residential research
teams, has increased its forecast for house price rises over 2015 and
also anticipates a greater role for cash-buyers in influencing the market.
https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/9/more-homes-sold-in-august-than-any-month-since-february--hmrc
The average void period dipped
below 2.6 weeks per annum in Q3, according to Paragon Mortgages' latest
report.
The figure remains historically
low, and is the first time it has fallen below an average of 2.6 weeks since
2002.
In 2010, the average figure was
at a high of 3.4 weeks per year.
In its quarterly survey Paragon
also reports that average yields have grown over the past three months from
6.3% to 6.4%.
Looking ahead, the majority of
landlords surveyed by the lender said they expect yields to remain stable over
the next twelve months, maintaining current levels.
More than half of landlord
respondents described tenant demand as ‘stable’, with more than 40% saying that
demand is either ‘growing’ or ‘booming’.
The prospects for future demand
are also positive, with more than half of landlords expecting an increase in
potential tenants over the next twelve months, compared to 42% who expect
demand to remain stable.
Of participating landlords looking to expand their property portfolio, 43%
indicated they are looking to invest in terraced houses, up from 38% in the
previous quarter.
Meanwhile the number of landlords
seeking semi-detached properties has fallen from 38% to 27%.
The study also found that
requests for longer-term tenancies of two years or more remain low, with 58% of
respondents saying less than one in ten tenants ask for a longer tenancy.
“Our data is indicative of a
market growing steadily and sustainably over the long-term. With low void
periods and steady tenant demand, which is expected to continue growing, yields
remain on a gradual upward trend and landlords are confident they will continue
to do so,” says John Heron, Director of Mortgages at Paragon.
“The data also reveals the
changing demographic of those choosing to live in the PRS. This is reflected in
the buying intentions of landlords which seem to be shifting slightly away from
investing in multi-occupancy blocks, towards terraced housing – often more
suited to young families,” he adds.
https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/9/void-periods-remain-at-record-low
