Rising Flat Sales Boosting UK Property Market

Leading property portal Rightmove recently reported apartment sales across the UK are 10% up on pre-pandemic levels of 2019. This figure jumps to a whopping 23% in London as people flock back to the capital. The housing market as a whole has returned to pre-pandemic levels for the first time since September 2022 boosted by the popularity of apartments. According to one leading real estate broker this demand is driven by professionals wishing to shorten their commute, parents investing for their children as well as overseas investors taking advantage of the exchange rate. The broker unsurprisingly noted that new build flats are particularly popular as buyers look to future-proof their investment in terms of energy efficiency regulations and cost savings.

Posted by: Kelvin Tayfield, Sun, Apr 16th 2023

Making Sense of UK House Price Indices

With several well-known industry specialists publishing house price indices, all reflecting different numbers it can be confusing for market participants. Nationwide for example uses mortgage data from the approval stage through to valuation which provides a more comprehensive and up-to-date view of the market. On the other hand, Rightmove and Zoopla use asking prices to calculate their indices. Nationwide’s index revealed that house prices fell 0.8% in February bringing the annual decline to 3.1% whilst Rightmove reported a 0.8% rise and an annual increase of 3% and Zoopla a 5.3% yearly rise.

Perhaps it’s best to combine the different published data to get a better understanding of where we are and where we are heading. Nationwide’s index indicates there are currently monthly declines while those published by Rightmove and Zoopla show that there is more confidence in the market.

Posted by: Kelvin Tayfield, Sun, Apr 2nd 2023

Manchester Property Market to Maintain Top Growth Position

Despite showing a whopping 22% rental price growth in 2022, Manchester is set to continue its robust growth through to 2027 according to well-known real estate company, JLL. Their five-year outlook has Manchester as the leading UK city with predicted sales price growth of 19.3% and rental increases of 21.6%. These are due to a combination of factors including the post pandemic return to work, rising interest rates and the ending of the help-to-buy scheme. Manchester is followed by another investor favourite, Birmingham at 19.3% rental growth with both cities showing superior growth prospects due to employment opportunities and regeneration investment whilst the planned HS2 is an added stimulus for longer term growth.

Posted by: Kelvin Tayfield, Sun, Mar 26th 2023

UK Budget Fails to Address Housing Shortage

The government has not recently made mention of the 300,000 annual new home target it set some time ago and the recent budget was again silent on this topic. The UK has a chronic housing shortage which is getting worse each year with nowhere near 300,000 new homes being built in any year since the target was first talked about. With the Help-to-Buy initiative coming to an end last year, builders also slowed down as they feared a fall in demand, further exacerbating the shortage. According to well-known agency Hamptons, rentals increased by 13.8% in London in the 12 months to February 2023 as employers limit work from home dispensation forcing workers to move closer to their place of employment. Whilst the government is doing what it can to reduce energy bills and is contributing more to child care, industry experts are calling on it to do more to reduce housing costs for cash strapped consumers.

Posted by: Kelvin Tayfield, Sun, Mar 19th 2023

Sanctions have not affected the London Luxury Property Market

Sanctions against Russian nationals since the Ukraine war have obviously resulted in a halt in Russian buyers of London property.

However, this has not impacted the luxury end of the market. London prime property prices have held steady and are even rising due to the supply constrains in the market and the fact that there are still many UHNW individuals who still see London property as a great investment.

Posted by: Kelvin Tayfield, Sun, Mar 12th 2023