England House Prices Rose 8.5% in 2020
Official figures released by the Government show that house prices in England rose an impressive 8.5% in the year to December 2020 despite the Pandemic and uncertainty created by the Brexit deal. Top performing region was the North West at 11.2% while London as expected was the worst at 3.5% which is still healthy given the long track record of growth and the fact that average prices are 60% higher than the next region’s average. These figures provide further support for investors who continue to support this asset class which provides attractive low risk returns in a volatile world.
Posted by: Kelvin Tayfield, Sat, Feb 20th 2021
UK Government Makes Huge Commitment to Resolve Cladding Crisis
In a move which is sure to give the UK property market more stability, the government has committed to a further £3.5bn to fund the replacement of unsafe cladding on buildings above 18m. In addition, the government will offer loans to finance the replacements in buildings below 18m. In order to fund this effort property developers have been hit with two with new taxes which are expected to generate at least £2bn. This has taken some time since the Grenfell disaster of 2017 and will have many leaseholders breathing a sigh of relief in due course. It should be noted that new builds have been required to comply with revised safety regulations since 2020.
Posted by: Kelvin Tayfield, Sat, Feb 13th 2021
Huge Capital Flows into the UK From Hong Kong Expected
The UK began accepting residence visa applications from Hong Kong citizens on 31 January with estimated volumes ranging between 320,000 and 1 million over the next five years. Capital has already started flowing out of Hong Kong with Bank of America estimating that emigration related outflows to the UK could reach $36 billion this year alone. This is further good news for the buoyant property market as a large portion of this and future inflows is expected to be invested in housing.
Posted by: Kelvin Tayfield, Sat, Feb 6th 2021
House Price Growth in the North of England Reaches Ten Year High
According to leading property website Zoopla, house prices in the North achieved a 5.4% year on year on year growth compared to the national average of 4.3%. Liverpool led the way at 6.3% with Manchester close behind at 6%. Across the country, the strong demand in the second half of 2020 absorbed a lot of supply which has put further pressure on availability. Zoopla stated that there are 7% fewer homes currently for sale compared to a year ago resulting in a robust outlook for prices, especially in the affordable parts of the UK.
Posted by: Kelvin Tayfield, Sat, Jan 30th 2021
Manchester to See Highest Growth Over the Next Five Years
According to global real estate firm JLL, the Northern powerhouse and England’s second largest city will see the highest house price growth in the UK, in excess of 17% over the next five years. The city continues to thrive and has attracted more foreign direct investment than any other city outside of London in recent years. Regeneration continues with £1.4bn development works commencing in 2020 adding to the attractiveness of the bustling city which is home to many international companies and famous universities. Longer term, the highspeed rail 2 project will cut travel times to London by 50% to just over an hour.
Posted by: Kelvin Tayfield, Sun, Jan 24th 2021