D_Property

Underlying demand from buyers in central London’s prime property sector is trending upward as sellers adjust asking prices to suit the current market, the latest index suggest. Overall prices in the central London market fell by just 0.2% in June and by 0.8% quarter on quarter. They are now 1.9% below where they were in June 2017, according to the index from real estate firm Knight Frank. In the prime outer London market prices fell 0.5% month on month, 1.2% on a quarterly basis and were down by 4% year on year, the data also shows. Tom Bill, head of residential London research at Knight Frank, pointed out that the number of new prospective buyers in […]

Confidence is building in the UK’s residential property market with house prices stable, no significant discounting and average asking price in London up 3.1%, says a new analysis. Smaller homes are the most popular and new instructions are up nearly 7% year on year while the use of online estate agent is rising, according to the fifth quarterly home mover report from TwentyCi. It also points out that in the second quarter of 2018 interest rates remained on hold, and a strong labour market and wage growth finally picking all contributed to an increasing number of home owners entering the market. A review of 2017 listed prices compared to the price actually achieved shows an average […]

New data and analysis from auction firm, John Pye Property, has found that an increase in the number of affordable properties coming to market and the growing power of the digital property market is giving rise to a new breed of property investors. With research showing that a greater range of appealing properties are available now in comparison to five years ago, increasing numbers of fledgling investors are now getting involved in the market. Richard Reed, head of property at John Pye Property, says that the idea of a “stereotypical” property investor is no longer accurate, with innovations in technology opening up the market to an entirely new audience. He said: “The image of the middle-aged […]

Councils in England are to get stronger powers to tackle the empty homes crisis and will be able to charge extra tax on properties left empty for many years as part of a Government crackdown. Currently there are just over 200,000 homes empty for six months or more in England, compared to 300,000 in 2010 and this number has reduced dramatically since 2013 after councils were given powers to charge a 50% premium on council tax bills on homes empty for two years or more. Now James Brokenshire, Secretary of State for Housing, has announced plans to allow local authorities to triple the council tax on homes left empty for five to 10 years and quadruple […]

Homes with a sea view in seaside towns in Britain have asking prices that are 29% or £68,000 on average higher than other homes in the same area, new research has found. The highest price premium for a room with a view is in Felixstowe in Suffolk, where a sea view could attract a 57% premium or over £143,000 more, according to the research by property portal Rightmove. The next highest premium is in Lytham St Annes in Lancashire with a 38% premium for a sea view along with Folkestone in Kent also at 38%, then Penzance in Cornwall at 36% and Bournemouth in Dorset at 35%. Overall it found that the national average asking price […]

Specialist home lenders in the UK are taking a bigger share of the mortgage market while the largest are seeing more modest growth, a new analysis of property finance shows. Last year there was increased completion for business although overall lending was down by 4% compared with 2016, according to the mortgage report from UK Finance, which represents 97% of the home lending market. Growth in new lending was strongest amongst lenders ranked 21 to 30 in 2017, who lent £3 billion more for housing than in the previous year, a growth rate of 40%. Although Lloyds, which tops the lending table, has continued to increase lending activity with a 7% rise compared to 2016, the […]