Track Capital would like to wish all those celebrating a happy Eid Al Adha! This has been a wonderful week to celebrate with family, as temperatures continue to soar and skies are blue as far as the eye can see.
Now, let’s take a look at all the headlines that caught our attention this week. I always try to summarise the links to save you having to click through.
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Property news this week
- Have All the Good Houses Gone? – Rightmove has released data showing a shortfall of 225,000 homes for sale, as homeowners in both residential and BTL sectors focus on improving their current properties instead of selling or buying new ones. This may be due to the current limited supply of good housing in areas of high demand. Had this shortfall not been seen, the steep imbalance prevalent between supply and demand could have been rectified, leading to a stabilising effect on overall price growth. Family homes with four or more bedrooms have reflected this current imbalance most prominently, perhaps due to the recent SDLT savings. Some landlords are also holding off on increasing their portfolios and instead, more effort is being made to add value to their current properties, which is good news for tenants and a worthy investment for all parties. However, this means a lack of new rental stock which is contributing to the rising rental prices.
- Capital Appreciation Surge Makes Case for Buy-to-Let – Estate Agency firm Keller Williams UK has created a table showing areas of the highest house price increases in the past 12 months and revealed an overall increase of 10% across the entire UK; a staggering amount of growth. With the majority of homeowners benefiting by around £23,000 more since this time last year and no sign yet of a slowing down of this unprecedented growth, this may be the perfect time to invest in property. In cash terms, the biggest regional increase has been seen by the South East, where properties are worth nearly £30,000 more than they were last year. Although London has seen slower annual growth than other areas, the higher property prices have made up for this shortfall and resulted in the capital city achieving the third-highest cash increase in the country. This is a true testimony to London’s continued ability to withstand impactful economic events.
- International PBSA Demand Up 132% – Data analysis from StuRents has revealed that international student accommodation enquiries have more than doubled since June 2020. Demand from Chinese students has shown the highest level of increase in this time at 16.6% from 2020. This is in contrast to EU student applications, which fell by 42.3% from last year in response to the UK’s loss of fee status. Overall though, the UK is now seeing a marked increase in international and domestic student accommodation interest as a result of the lifting of coronavirus restrictions which impacted this sector drastically in 2020.
- Energy Performance of Buildings Bill to Assist Efficiency Targets – A new bill has been drafted which could have a marked and positive effect on the government’s commitments to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Known as the ‘Energy Performance of Buildings Bill’, it aims to make provisions to increase the energy performance of residential and commercial buildings. This bill has been campaigned for by the SEA for the past two years and is seen as a strong step forward to minimising emissions and helping people to reduce the cost of energy in their homes. The government policy states that as many homes as are practicable should all be EPC band C by 2035, with those in the private rented sector having until 2028 to achieve the same target. Mortgage lenders are expected to have EPC’s of band C or above making up the largest portion of their portfolios by 2030, which will push those looking to remortgage their houses to make necessary changes to their homes in order to successfully apply. It also creates firm guidelines for housing developers and thus holds everyone equally responsible for creating a greener and more sustainable future.
That is all we have for you this week. If you have any comments or questions on this week’s news summary then please feel free to send us an email at [email protected] – if not, see you next week.
