Property Industry News UK

Here is our roundup of property news from across the UK.

The biggest impact by far on the property industry in the news this past week has been that the Bank of England is to raise the base interest rate to 0.75 per cent. Savers will benefit (albeit slightly) while investors with tracker and variable rate mortgages will lose out.

The rise wasn’t completely unexpected and is the highest in a decade. The possibility of them rising again - perhaps next year - makes the prospect of fixed rate mortgages extremely attractive, especially since inflation continues to rise.

Why the interest rate rise may prove a winner for landlords

The rise may actually benefit many landlords. Those who are currently on fixed rate mortgages can look forward to more competitive mortgage packages in future. At the same time the rise will have put many would-be house purchases off, causing them to remain renting for longer.

Why Countrywide shares are plummeting

Countrywide - one of the UK’s leading estate agents saw their shares wiped by more than 60% recently. Executives at the company, which employs around 10,700 staff throughout the UK, were forced to beg investors for ￡140m of emergency funds.

The news comes at a time when rival estate agency Foxtons announced a ￡2.5m half-yearly loss. A drop in the number of property sales, Brexit-related indecision and the proliferation of online estate agents charging lower selling fees, has been blamed for the decline in estate agents’ fortunes.

North / South divide widens even further

In case you were in any doubt about the difference in affordability between the South and the North of the UK, a recent government Office of National Statistics (ONS) survey will give you clarity on the subject.

The survey showed that first time buyers in the North East paid 5.46 times their salary compared to those in the South who were forced to fork out 13.03 times their take-home pay for a property in the least desirable quarter of the capital. The ratio for Yorkshire was 6.60 times and 7.68 times in the West Midlands.

City living doubles over last decade and a half

Meanwhile, millennials are turning up in UK cities in droves, with cities such as Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool proving particularly popular urban hang-outs.

Liverpool’s city centre residents have jumped from 9,100 to 25,600 over a period of 13 years, according to Centre for Cities. Birmingham’s city centre population rose from 9,800 to 25,800 between the same time, while Leeds grew from 12,900 to 32,300. Manchester central too surged, from 14,300 to 35,600.

The rise has been attributed not just to an increased number of under-graduates, but also to graduates who have decided to stay on in the cities, working for large companies and start-ups who have been drawn there by attractive inward investment deals, locations and plush facilities. Young ambitious professionals have followed suit.

The same research also showed that the number of city dwellers aged 20 to 29 had tripled within the past decade – 75% of whom lived in rented apartments.

Find out more about buy to let opportunities and property investment strategies from our team of experts at Sourced.co today.