News

Above:If the rate of price growth continues for the next two decades, average property in the UK could be worth more than £1 million by 2032.

Summary:

• With demand continuing to outpace supply, average property in the UK could be worth £1 million by 2032
• UK house prices hit a record high in January 2016, registering at £212,430
• At least 240,000 new homes need to be built every year to keep up with demand

The average property in the UK could cost more than £1 million by 2032.

By looking at current house price trends, taken from Office for National Statistics figures, the UK property market could see the value of the average home hit £650,000 in ten years’ time.

Over the next 16 years, prices are projected to more than triple from the present £290,000 to £1,017,000.

UK house prices hit a record high last month, with Halifax bank citing an average of £212,430. This figure means prices grew by 9.7% on January 2015, compared with a rate of pay growth of only 2%.

Robert Gardner, Chief Economist at Nationwide, said: “With this trend expected to continue and with interest rates also likely to stay on hold for longer than previously anticipated, the demand for homes is likely to strengthen in the months ahead.”

With ten buyers to every property on the market, supply continues to fall far behind demand, causing property prices to increase year-on-year. In a bid to address the undersupply, the government has made some progress in boosting the level of house building in recent years, but is still way behind its target of 400,000 new homes under construction by 2020.

Though the government-built homes will ease demand slightly, a lack of supply will still exist, with Town and Country Planning Association stating they believe that at least 240,000 new homes a year are needed until 2031.

Source: Select property

There are some fantastic photos by readers that have been posted to our Manchester Evening News instagram account

Above:Images of Manchester by @lawyerdea and @robwalkerphotography

Manchester must be one of the most photogenic cities in the world.

From the cool, New York-style back streets of the Northern Quarter, to the dramatic skyline and picturesque parks, our city always looks good (although we are quite biased).

So it’s not surprising that dozens of photos celebrating everything about our city are uploaded every minute to the social media site – and shared with our own Manchester Evening News Instagram account which now has more than 40,000 followers.

But it’s that unique Manc way of looking at our city – that makes the photographs really stand out.

If you want to share your pictures with us, use the hashtag #ManchesterEveningNews.

Our sunrises are pretty amazing

As are the sunsets

The skyline is breathtaking

And the architecture is incredible

Our back alleys aren’t bad either

Even the streets below have character

As do our commuters

And residents

 Let’s face it, Manchester is pretty fantastic

Even in the rain

But we’ve always known that

We’ve got a proud history…

Great people

 And cool pets

Even our statues have attitude

There really is no place like home

Source: Manchester Evening News

Expats in the UAE and Qatar are piling into the British property market in order to beat the UK’s stamp duty surcharge, but many will face hurdles, experts have revealed.

The observation comes ahead of the introduction this April of a three per cent stamp duty surcharge on UK properties for buy-to-let investors and second homeowners compared with residential buyers.

Kevin White, head of distribution at deVere United Kingdom, who will be presenting a UK property and mortgage seminar in Abu Dhabi on February 9, noted: “More than 70 per cent of all enquiries come from people living and working outside Britain. The overwhelming majority of these individuals – approximately 45 per cent – currently reside in Qatar and the UAE. There has been a 60 per cent month-on-month uplift in enquiries from Qatar and the UAE. Expats from these Gulf nations are now piling into the British property market.”

He added: “We attribute this rush-to-buy phenomenon to those expats who, quite sensibly, want to avoid being subjected to the extra levy. No-one wants to pay an extra three per cent in stamp duty.” A series of recently published reports confirm deVere Mortgages’ observations of an extremely buoyant UK property market, with demand at a three-month high. However, there are extra complications for non-UK residents.

“Whilst demand for UK property soars, expats need to be aware that there are extra hurdles that they will have to face,” White cautioned. “Expats should know that they are typically deemed as high risk’ by the vast majority of UK lenders. This is often the case even for those who have substantial assets and/or a high, stable salary. They are usually red-flagged due to a lower UK credit rating as they have lived outside the UK, earned a different currency and worked for a non UK-based firm. Expats also need to consider other important factors including the pitfall of wasting money on excessive rates and the ability to reclaim tax within 18 months.”

Source: Khaleej Times

The ongoing expansion of the private rented sector has left the UK needing over 250,000 new properties per year to keep up with demand.

Summary:

• Demand continues to far outstrip supply in the UK private rented sector, with a quarter of a million new properties needed every year
• The 400,000 new homes planned by the government ‘ignore the needs of renters’
• The mismatch between supply and demand is likely to see rental growth rate increase

The UK needs more than a million new rental homes by 2021 to keep up with demand.

The government’s target to build 400,000 new affordable homes for sale over the course of the next four years is ignoring the needs of renters, research by Savills suggests.

Demand for rented housing has risen by 17,500 per month on average over the last decade. Future demand for property within the private rented sector is expected to increase to at least 260,000 per year, with the government’s plans of affordable housing barely offsetting the lack of supply.

At best, Savills’ research claims that the 400,000 government-built new homes will barely reduce the booming demand, with 220,000 properties a year still required to keep up with the ever-increasing popularity of the private rented sector.

Susan Emmett, Director of Savills Residential Research, commented: “Demand for rented homes could still rise more sharply than we have forecast. We would question whether policies can accelerate housebuilding enough to see the government’s target of 400,000 affordable homes for sale reached in the timescale set.”

The mismatch between supply and demand for rental property is likely to underpin rent rises, encouraging buyers to seriously consider investing in the private rented sector.  The overall value of deals recorded by Savills investment database increased from £2.3 billion in 2014 to £2.65 billion in 2015, highlighting the increasing popularity of investing in the private rented sector.

Source: Select Property

Chinese capital is flowing into the Australian property market like never before and while some are very unhappy about how it is changing the Australian real estate landscape, others couldn’t be happier.

With new blocks, new sub-divisions and new suburbs rising from the dirt, Chinese developers now account for nearly half of Australia’s foreign building investors.

Governments are also keen to support the latest wave of Chinese investment, with the mining boom starting to wind down.

“The Aussie dollar is down, there’s volatility in the Chinese share market. But remember, China is still growing, they’re looking for a place to put their cash,” Money magazine editor Effie Zahos told A Current Affair.

Chinese developers are creating large-scale high-density development across Australia.

In the western Sydney suburb of Parramatta, China’s 23rd largest public company is building a $550 million development site, with 11 apartment towers.

China’s wealthiest woman, Yang Huiyan, is also behind a $500 million partnership with Mirvac in inner Sydney.

Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Perth are cities that are being targeted by both Australian and off-shore developers.

“They’re going to continue to buy up big in Aussie property, they see it as cheap,” Ms Zahos said.

Source: 9news