30
Nov
Positive signs in property market
There are increasing positive signs in the housing market here in
the UK. Those looking to buy or sell high-end property will be
buoyed by the good news as we head towards the close of a difficult
economic year and look forward to 2010.
Assetz has said that the housing market is on its way to
experiencing positive annual growth in 2009 as a whole of around
five per cent. Stuart Law, chief executive of Assetz, has also
suggested that house prices could increase five per cent.
Central and south-west London are leading the way in the house
price recovery into 2010, Mr Law stated, and are seeing better than
average house price growth.
"South West London will continue to see an above average level of
growth as families seek to move to larger properties in the area.
These family movers will also push up house prices in the suburbs
of all of the major UK cities," he asserted.
Top holiday resorts in the south west of the UK, such as places in
Devon and Cornwall, are also on track to see "relative strength" as
many investors are starting to note that holiday homes in the UK
can be just as appealing as those abroad.
In October, the Land Registry revealed that the average house price
in England and Wales went up by 0.9 per cent in September to
£158,377. On top of this, the average property price in London
increased by 1.3 per cent in September and stands at £314,954,
accounting for the fifth consecutive price rise.
So what sort of high-end properties are being made available? Well,
Country Life recently named 4 St Luke's Street in Chelsea its
London 'property of the week', describing the house as the "perfect
freehold London bolthole" in the centre of a popular area. It is
perhaps these kinds of houses that high-end property seekers are
looking for.
Another top house that the publication picked up on is Plas Yew
Tree, situated on the edge of a hamlet named St Maughans, Wales.
Surrounded by countryside on the borders of Monmouthshire and
Herefordshire, the property currently has a guide price of
£525,000 and is part of Knight Frank's portfolio. It also
comes with four bedrooms, two bathrooms and an attractive
garden.
It seems that professionals are now looking to make investments in
prime property too. Property consultants Cluttons have reported a
40 per cent rise in demand from solicitors, accountants and doctors
for property worth around £500,000.
Such high-net worth professionals are turning to the residential
property partly because of increased awareness of the Financial
Services Compensation Scheme covering just £50,000 in any one
bank. Low rates of returns on savings have also been a contributing
factor.
"These traditionally conservative professionals are turning to the
London property market where yields and capital appreciation are
both predicted to increase over the mid to long term," said James
Hyman, partner for residential sales.
He asserted that some of these professionals are also looking to
get their children get on the property ladder, "helping them meet
the higher loan-to-value criteria that most now banks
require".
"These parents are taking the commercial initiative by putting down
the deposit to receive better interest rates which makes purchasing
a home for their child considerably cheaper than it would be to
rent the equivalent property," Mr Hyman added.
Meanwhile, HSBC has analysed Land Registry data in England and
Wales relating to million pound property sales in the last 15
years. The research found that more than 43,400 new property
millionaires have been created during that time, while 2009 is set
for an estimated 2,800 £1 million plus sales.
"One million pound plus sales have grown dramatically since 1994,
from 186 in 1995 to an estimated 2,800 sales for this year; up 15
times," commented Andy Mielczarek, head of retail products at
HSBC.