DATA: Nationwide reported UK house prices rose 12.1% in year to April
This was slightly lower than last month’s figure of 14.3% but house prices have seen their fastest start to the year since 2004. A survey they commissioned shows 30% of outright owners and 42% of mortgaged owners are either moving or considering a move.
DATA: Rightmove reported UK house prices rose 9.9% in year to April
They reported another record high for prices noting “53% of properties are selling at or over the full asking price, again the highest level ever seen” and the number of sales agreed are 21% higher than 2019 levels.
DATA: ONS reported £1.4 billion in SDLT receipts in March 2022
This was 10% higher than the total stamp duty take last March and took the annual total up to £15.4 billion – the highest annual total ever in nominal terms.
DATA: DLUHC reported 238,000 new build EPCS in year to Q1 2022
The number of energy performance certificates for new build properties tends to be a leading indicator for net housing supply and is at similar levels to those seen in the years prior to the pandemic.
DATA: DLUHC published statutory homelessness data for Q4 2021
The data for England showed a 3.5% annual fall in the number of households initially assessed as homeless and therefore owed a relief duty but a 7.3% increase in the number of households threatened with homelessness and therefore owed a prevention duty.
REPORT: Knight Frank on London’s Tall Building Pipeline
They report that, while the future supply pipeline of tall buildings contracted slightly (-1%), there are still “583 tall buildings which are proposed or approved with 109 currently under construction”. They note that “what is coming through the planning system and out of the ground, is increasingly across the outer London boroughs, in zones 3, 4 and 5”.
REPORT: Savills reported on residential development land values
They report development land values are rising rapidly with UK greenfield land rising 9.3% over the last year. However, they are still 3.1% below their pre-financial crisis peak.
Chart of the Week
This week the ONS published analysis on the rising cost of living and its impact on individuals. It highlights the scale of the issue with 87% of all adults reporting an increase in their cost of living over the last month. Energy bills, food, and fuel are the most common reasons for this. The analysis also highlights the distributional impact of the cost of living crisis. While all income groups are reporting an increase in their cost of living, it is those at the lower end of the distribution or those living in the more deprived parts of England (chart below) that are finding it more difficult. The analysis also highlights that “a greater percentage of renters (37%) found it very difficult or difficult to pay usual household bills compared with a year ago, compared with mortgagors (23%)”. This is perhaps unsurprising given renters tend to have lower incomes than owners and 34% of them reported an increase in their rent during the last six months compared to just 19% of mortgaged owners reporting an increase in their mortgage payments over the same period.
