Average property price falls for first time this year
Posted by The Oracle Group on 15th July 2019 -
INDUSTRY
Average property price falls for first time this year
The average house price in the UK was just over £650 less this month compared with June - the first fall this year. The figure now stands at £308,692, according to Rightmove. The online property group also said in its latest monthly survey that fewer properties were coming to market and that those that were being listed were taking 62 days on average to sell - the longest time to find a buyer for this time of the year since 2013. Despite this apparent lack of supply, estate agents are sitting on their highest amount of average stock since July 2015. “The current political climate means confidence has been impaired, and that is causing some potential buyers and sellers to hesitate. But it could be a good opportunity to negotiate a bargain,” said Rightmove director Miles Shipside.
Prospect of Indyref2 sees slump in Scottish property investment
The prospect of another Scottish independence referendum has seen a "dramatic" slump in investment from UK capital giants north of the Border, a leading academic has claimed. Constitutional uncertainty has seen property investment from elsewhere in the UK fall to a record low, according to Prof Colin Anthony Jones of Heriot-Watt University, who says Glasgow and Edinburgh have been particularly hit. "Commercial property investors must inevitably take account of the insecurity created by the independence risk. This risk to UK investors would include uncertainty about the political direction of a new country and the future of the Scottish economy,” he said. However, Prof Jones’s claims have been rejected by the Scottish Government, which says inward investment is rising.
HOUSING
New-build housing is ‘a disaster for buyers’
After housebuilder Persimmon was forced to apologise on Channel 4’s Dispatches programme over the shoddy quality of some of its new homes, the Telegraph’s Liam Halligan, who was involved in the making of the programme, suggests Persimmon and other housebuilders are failing their customers. “While making this programme, I was shocked to learn that many large house-builders won't allow buyers to hire an independent surveyor before they complete the purchase,” he writes, citing industry experts who say that across the industry “the big housebuilders will block [customers attempts to get an independent survey]”.“Buyers of new-build homes also aren't automatically covered under the Sale of Goods Act or the Consumer Rights Act, which you are when you buy normal domestic appliances. So consumers enjoy more protection buying a toaster than when they buy a new-build home,” continued Mr Halligan.
Housing crisis fuelled by lack of homes for older people
Small towns across England are likely to see their populations swell as older people move out of the city, prompting a housing crisis caused by a lack of appropriate homes for a rapidly ageing population, according to a new study. Corby in Northamptonshire, Bexhill in East Sussex, and Denton in Greater Manchester are forecast to see the biggest increases in populations aged 55 and above by 2040, according to the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Centre for Towns think-tank. Failure to improve housing options for the elderly could add hugely to care and NHS costs, with the Building Research Establishment forecasting that inappropriate housing for the over-55s will cost nearly £20bn by 2041. The RIBA is now calling on ministers to make it mandatory for all new homes to be accessible for older and disabled people, for councils to allocate sites for “age-friendly” housing and for estate agents to clearly label accessible housing in marketing materials.
PLANNING
Nationwide to build affordable ‘village’
The Nationwide building society has secured planning permission from Swindon Borough Council to regenerate a brownfield site formerly owned by the University of Bath into a “village” of 239 homes. Nationwide said the £50m scheme would encourage a “greater sense of community and neighbourliness” in a ”meaningful and replicable local contribution to [the] national housing shortage.” The development will mostly consist of terraced houses and maisonettes, along with a small block of apartments and community space, and 71 of the homes will be affordable.
COMMERCIAL
The future of Britain's flexible office boom
As the popularity of flexible office space in London soars, The Telegraph’s Jack Torrance considers whether the sector’s business model is robust enough to survive an economic downturn. “Many providers, including WeWork, have committed to leasing their spaces from landlords over many years. So if an economic shock sends their tenants running for the hills, flexi space providers could be left with a big problem on their hands,” he writes. However, Workspace’s interim chief Graham Clemett responded by saying that, if anything, they stand to benefit from a crunch. “Workspace owns the freehold on its offices in any case; at worst it will be left holding empty buildings rather than a stack of liabilities.”
FIRMS
Singer Veille chief defends online platform
The CEO of Singer Veille and clicktopurchase.com, which recently began listing commercial properties via Rightmove, has hit back against “moaners” who have described the arrangement as bad news for the future of high street agents. Neil Singer said residential agents have “misunderstood” what is happening and should embrace change rather than complain about technology.
Residential People triples listings
Free-to-list property portal Residential People now lists over 30,000 sales and rental properties in the UK - a threefold increase since April. The firm has also pledged never to charge agents to list on its website. RP claims it has now signed up 1,000 estate agents in the UK and that it is generating 800 sales and rental enquiries a month to its member agents.
Balfour Beatty probes corruption claim
Balfour Beatty has launched an investigation into US Senator Elizabeth Warren’s allegations that its military housing business historically falsified records.
ECONOMY
UK falls down global growth league table
The UK has slipped to 13th from 12th in KPMG’s annual Growth Promise Indicators report due to poor trade performance, unreliable transport infrastructure and sub-standard education. However, the report did find the UK is well-positioned to capitalise on new technology and ranked among the global leaders in its recognition of business rights.
OTHER
TV property guru sells home for £1m profit
Star of Restoration Nightmare Sarah Beeny has sold her Grade II-listed home, Rise Hall in Yorkshire, for £1.4m, having bought it for £440,000 in 2001. However, despite the profit, Ms Beeny insisted the project was not an investment: “We've got lots of businesses but we didn't buy it as a business.”
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