Average UK home values up almost 3% in first half of 2015

The average value of homes across Britain rose by 2.75% during the first six months of 2015, with all regions seeing price growth, according to new figures. At the start of July the average price stood at £270,674, up £6,974 on January’s figure of £263,699, the data from property website Zoopla shows. A breakdown of the data show that although there is general growth the rate of growth varies from region to region. Scotland experienced the highest rate of growth, with an average increase in property values of 6.6% or £11,382, taking the average home value in Scotland to £183,230. The next best performing regions were the North East and North West registering a 3.1% and 3% increase respectively. Wales was the worst performing region for property price increases over the first half of 2015 with an average rise of only 1% or £1,584. Among the 50 largest cities in Britain Edinburgh registered the largest growth in house prices since January 2015 of 8.2%, representing a £20,465 increase in the average home value in the city. Next was Colchester in Essex which saw property prices rise by 7.6% or £19,088, during the six month period, followed by Aberdeen with a 6.4% or £15,416 rise in values. London saw prices rise by only 2.5%, below the national average, but this amounted to a rise of £14,385 because of the higher price of property in the capital city. Yorkshire had three of the 10 worst performing cities for house price growth in the first half with Rotherham seeing a fall of 2.1% or £2,752. Wolverhampton, Newcastle upon Tyne and Middlesbrough also saw a modest drop in average houses over the period. ‘While national property price growth saw a slow start to the first half of the year, it recovered strongly towards the end of the period. The strong regional figures across the board indicate an economy which is returning to health, with a series of Government incentives designed to encourage home buying helping to boost demand for property in all parts of Britain,’ said Lawrence Hall of Zoopla. He explained that the surge in property values in Scotland can, in part, be explained as a post referendum bounce, as businesses and capital flood back to Scotland, after withholding investment during the volatile September referendum period in 2014. ‘A post general election feel good factor must not be discounted as more devolution promised has given property prices a bounce as Scots anticipate more jobs and investment coming their way,’ he added.

New South Wales leads Australian new home building boom

New South Wales has become Australia’s top state for new home building with the state of Western Australia, dropping to second place and Victoria in third. The latest biannual house report from the Housing Industry Associations shows that New South Wales is seeing strong levels of multi-unit dwelling construction and detached homes. ‘The buoyant housing market has played a significant role in elevating New South Wales up the rankings,’ said HIA economist, Geordan Murray, but he warned that the rapid price growth has intensified affordability pressures. ‘Lending figures reaffirm the challenges facing first home buyers. First home buyer lending highlights this as the weak spot in the housing market, and ranked New South Wales as the third weakest jurisdiction on this indicator,’ he explained. The recovery in Queensland continued to gather momentum. The analysis shows the improvements can be attributed to a boost in multi-unit home building. The improvements lifted the state one place up the league table. ‘To maintain the positive momentum we’ll need to see the recovery broaden its base through improvements in detached house building and renovations activity,’ added Murray. He also pointed out that in the post mining boom era, the focus has been on shifting the drivers of economic growth, which would see eastern states gain prominence. The latest Housing Scorecard highlights that it has been residential building that has picked up the first baton and led the charge. Meanwhile, the HIA is warning that increasing the GST property tax on new housing to 15% will add tens of thousands of dollars to new home prices, crushing the dream of home ownership for many Australians. ‘New housing is already weighed down by the burden of tax. It is usually seen as an easy cash grab by governments Adding another 5% or more on top of the price of a new home will put housing out of reach of many people that are trying desperately to get into the market,’ said HIA chief executive for industry policy Graham Wolfe. He pointed out that a 5% increase on a typical house and land package in Sydney, for example, would increase the cost of a mortgage by around $60,000 over the life of the loan. ‘Independent research has demonstrated that the total combined taxes, levies and charges on a new home can be up to 44% of the price of a new house and land package in Sydney. GST currently applies to new housing but not Wolfe. ‘We need more housing stock to accommodate our growing and aging population. Lifting the GST on new housing will dampen new housing activity. Increasing the burden on home buyers should be a no-go area for governments if they are really concerned about housing affordability,’ he added.

Buying beats renting in Aberdeen but it pays to rent in London

Buyers in Aberdeen will be £99,000 better off compared to renters after 7 years

• Dundee, Glasgow, Cambridge and Edinburgh also compelling to buy vs. rent
• Buying in London with a 10% deposit takes 18 years to become more cost effective than renting
• Bournemouth, Huddersfield, Bedford and Swansea also make sense to rent not buy

Aberdeen is the most cost-effective town in Britain for buying property compared to renting. Over a typical seven year period, the average property owner in the Scottish town can expect to be £99,040 better off compared to the equivalent renter, according to research from property website Zoopla.co.uk.
The latest Rent vs. Buy analysis from Zoopla shows that it takes buyers in Aberdeen with a 10% just one year of ownership for buying to become more cost effective than renting. The average property price in Aberdeen is currently £206,060 with average monthly rents at £1,275.
London is currently the most renter-friendly location in Britain. After seven years, a typical London renter would be £82,412 better off than a buyer with a 10% deposit of an equivalent property. It would take 18 years for a London buyer with a 10% deposit to begin to be financially better off compared to the equivalent renter. These calculations are based on a conservative estimate of 4% annual house price growth in the capital.
Bournemouth is the second most renter-friendly town in Britain. With average asking prices of £380,206 and average rents of £1,024 it would take twenty two years for a buyer with a 10% deposit to be better off compared to a renter in an equivalent property. After a seven-year period, a typical renter in Bournemouth would be £30,719 better off than a typical buyer with a 10% deposit.
Lawrence Hall of Zoopla.co.uk comments:: “Despite taking longer to be better off financially, London remains the holy-grail in terms of property investment. It is much more buyer-friendly outside the capital but with rising average prices and low savings rates, accumulating a deposit has become increasingly difficult. It is important to remember that whilst renters may be better off in the short to medium term in some areas of the country, buyers are making a long-term investment. With most buyers opting for mortgage terms of 25 years, over the long term, buyers are likely to be better off compared to those who choose to rent.”
The Zoopla Rent vs. Buy methodology compares all of the costs associated with buying or renting as well as increases in asset or savings value over time. The analysis forecasts the amount of time it will take for buying to become more cost effective than renting across the largest towns and cities in Britain and compares how much buyers or renters are financially better off after the average tenure of a house.

Best locations for buying

Location	Av. Asking Price	Av. Monthly Rent	Amount buyers are better off after 7 years (10% deposit)
Aberdeen	£206,060	£1,275	£99,040
Dundee	£96,103	£653	£54,378
Glasgow	£139,841	£722	£40,971
Cambridge	£337,586	£1,334	£28,878
Edinburgh	£224,000	£948	£32,725
Coventry	£191,833	£849	£33,730
Newcastle	£180,516	£812	£33,726
Manchester	£178,069	£781	£29,751
Milton Keynes	£264,038	£1,066	£25,345
Birmingham	£163,594	£719	£27,171

Source: Zoopla.co.uk (February 2014)

Best location for renting

Location	Av. Asking Price	Av. Monthly Rent	Amount renters are better off after 7 Years (10% deposit)
London	£896,124	£2,619	£82,412
Bournemouth	£380,206	£1,024	£49,082
Huddersfield	£177,119	£561	£7,680
Bedford	£288,598	£959	£7,306
Swansea	£185,373	£631	£204

Source: Zoopla.co.uk (February 2014)

Stamp duty jumps cost sellers over quarter of a billion pounds

 

• £260 million lost by sellers reducing the fair value of their properties
• 37,266 properties undersold to bring prices below stamp duty thresholds
• Sellers of properties in stamp duty “dead-zones” lose £6,990 on average

Stamp duty “dead-zones” have wiped over £260 million off the value of residential properties sold in the England and Wales since April 2012 at an average cost of almost £7,000 to each seller, according to property website Zoopla.co.uk.
Since April 2012, when the last changes were made to the levels of stamp duty charged on the purchase of a residential property, over 37,000 properties have been under-priced in order to avoid costly jumps in stamp duty and make them more attractive to buyers.
In an analysis of property sales since April 2012 , Zoopla found that the number of sales in the price bands immediately before a stamp duty threshold is significantly higher than the level expected, while the number of sales in the price band immediately after a threshold – the stamp duty “dead-zone” – is significantly lower.
Sales volumes vs SDLT price thresholds: £0 - £600k (April 2012 – April 2013)

This trend is particularly prevalent at the £250,000 level. The number of sales in the £250,001 - £265,000 price band was 60% short of the expected volume because over 25,000 sold properties were under-priced to keep them below the stamp duty threshold. At this level, one penny over the £250,000 threshold will add £5,000 to the buyer’s stamp duty bill.
Sellers whose property values fall in a stamp duty “dead-zone” are reducing prices by £6,990 on average. The total amount cut from property prices to keep properties in a lower stamp duty threshold is more than £260m since April 2012.

Lawrence Hall of Zoopla, said:“The current stamp duty system distorts the market and prevents thousands of sellers from achieving the full value of their property when they come to sell. Over the last few years buyer budgets have been squeezed by low savings rates and the high cost of living and this has left buyers less willing to pay the extra stamp duty levied on properties just above stamp duty thresholds.”
“An alternative system which removes the distortions is possible without reducing the revenue received via the Stamp Duty Land Tax. While a graduated system of land tax will mean some buyers pay slightly more than they would in the current system, overall it will make for a fairer approach to taxing property and enable sellers to realise the full value of their home.”
View full analysis and alternative proposal at the Zoopla blog: blog.zoopla.co.uk/2014/03/14/the-stamp-duty-effect

Zoopla to sponsor new homebuilder awards

19th October 2014

Zoopla has today announced that it will become the headline sponsor of the inaugural Buyers’ Choice Homebuilder Awards.
The new awards, which are being run by the creators of the well-established ESTAs, will recognise the best homebuilders in the UK based on research conducted with buyers of new homes in areas including build quality, customer service and value for money.
Similar to the ESTAS, the Buyers’ Choice Homebuilder Awards are designed to reward leading homebuilders and help them to market themselves regionally and nationally.
The inaugural Buyers’ Choice Homebuilder Awards ceremony will take place on Friday 11th September 2015 at the Hilton Hotel Park Lane. The awards will be hosted by Zoopla Brand Ambassador Phil Spencer.
Chris Browne, Head of New Homes at Zoopla said, “We are delighted to be sponsoring the Buyers’ Choice Homebuilder Awards whose objectives are aligned with those of our business to help developers across the UK maximise their business opportunities. These awards will focus on providing valuable customer feedback to developers to help them sell more homes.”
Simon Brown, Founder of the Buyers’ Choice Homebuilder Awards said: "The synergy between our brands and how we work to help developers obtain the most from their business opportunities makes Zoopla the perfect partner for our awards."

Number of UK property millionaires tops half a million

• 524,306 Britons are now property millionaires, up 8.3% on last year
• 10,958 streets in Britain with now have average property values of £1m+
• Kensington & Chelsea takes top 3 most expensive streets prize again

The number of homeowners in Britain whose property is worth £1m or more – making them “property millionaires” – has exceeded half a million for the first time, according to the 2015 Zoopla Property Rich List. The number of property millionaires now stands at 524,306 – an increase of 8.3% on last year’s figure.
The growth in house prices at the top end of the market has helped fuel the increase in the number of streets with average property values of £1m+. There are now 10,958 streets in Britain with average property prices over £1m with 43% located in London. Areas outside the capital with the highest proportion of £1m+ streets are all in Surrey, with Guildford, Leatherhead and Richmond housing 158, 154 and 144 respectively.
At the very top end of the market, the data shows there are now 13 streets in Britain where the average house price is over £10 million – all of which are in London. Kensington Palace Gardens in W8 ranked as the country’s most expensive street overall, with homes there worth £42,591,972 on average, over 150 times the average national property value.
The Boltons in SW10, where a nine-bedroom detached house sold for £51m in April, takes second place, with average property values standing at £30,288,586. Grosvenor Crescent in the exclusive suburb of SW1 rounds out the top three, with an average property price of £22,752,425.
While exclusive London boroughs boast most of Britain’s priciest properties, certain areas of Surrey and Buckinghamshire have also acquired a reputation for very high property values. Virginia Water and Cobham, both in Surrey, top the towns table, with average property prices of £1,208,638 and £1,037,825 respectively. Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire, where the average property value amounts to £982,660, comes in third.
In terms of postcodes, W8 (Kensington) remains top of the heap, boasting average property prices of £2.77m. Neighbouring SW7 (Knightsbridge), the next most expensive area in the capital, has average values of £2.43m, while property values in third-placed SW3 (Chelsea) stand at £2.24m.
Lawrence Hall of Zoopla, said: “London continues to be the epicentre of the million-pound property market in Britain but the Zoopla Property Rich List reveals a number of high value property areas outside the capital, particularly in Surrey and Buckinghamshire, that are very attractive to professionals seeking to live outside yet within easy reach of the city and enjoy low crime rates coupled with good schools.”

Britain's Top 10 Most Expensive Streets

Rank	Street	Average property value (£)	Annual change (%)
1	Kensington Palace Gardens, London W8	£42,591,972	-0.45%
2	The Boltons, London SW10	£30,288,586	-4.46%
3	Grosvenor Crescent, London SW1X	£22,752,425	-4.12%
4	Courtenay Avenue, London N6	£19,609,231	3.74%
5	Ilchester Place, London W14	£13,718,746	2.53%
6	Compton Avenue, London N6	£12,049,363	4.20%
7	Manresa Road, London SW3	£11,600,920	-5.88%
8	Grosvenor Gardens, London SW1W	£11,321,413	-4.12%
9	Cottesmore Gardens, London W8	£11,037,133	-0.45%
10	Frognal Way, London NW3	£10,702,421	5.42%

Source: Zoopla.co.uk July 2015

Britain's Top 10 Most Expensive Towns

Rank	Town	Average property value (£)	Annual change (%)
1	Virginia Water, Surrey	£1,208,638	1.88%
2	Cobham, Surrey	£1,037,825	5.94%
3	Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire	£982,660	7.81%
4	Keston, London	£976,354	3.26%
5	Esher, Surrey	£969,337	4.90%
6	Richmond, Surrey	£939,652	0.98%
7	Chalfont St. Giles, Buckinghamshire	£920,797	7.34%
8	Radlett, Hertfordshire	£843,814	6.18%
9	Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire	£828,974	2.97%
10	Weybridge, Surrey	£799,828	4.34%

Source: Zoopla.co.uk July 2015

Number of £1m streets by region

Rank	Region	No. of Million Pound Streets
1	London	4735
2	South East England	3697
3	East of England	1350
4	South West England	398
5	North West England	234
6	West Midlands	146
7	Scotland	121
8	East Midlands	104
9	Yorkshire and The Humber	99
10	North East England	53
11	Wales	17
12	Northern Ireland	4
	Total	10,958

Source: Zoopla.co.uk July 2015

London's Top 10 Postcodes by Average Property Value

Rank	Postcode	Average property value (£)	Annual change (%)
1	W8 (Kensington)	£2,771,223	-0.45%
2	SW7 (Knightsbridge)	£2,428,203	-3.65%
3	SW3 (Chelsea)	£2,235,824	-5.45%
4	W11 (Notting Hill)	£1,870,687	-1.55%
5	SW10 (West Brompton)	£1,739,806	-4.46%
6	SW1 (Westminster)	£1,659,792	-4.12%
7	W1 (West End)	£1,541,632	-1.55%
8	NW3 (Hampstead)	£1,452,099	5.42%
9	SW13 (Barnes)	£1,426,357	-4.69%
10	NW8 (St John's Wood)	£1,395,999	4.84%

Source: Zoopla.co.uk July 2015

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