Friday News #064 – 3rd July 2020
New data has revealed a slight dip in UK average property prices compared to June 2019 – but does the figure being widely used by the media provide a true picture of the property market across the UK?
Diving deeper into the house price index released by the Nationwide, from which the number was taken, which you can read here, the picture is not as bleak when broken down by region: The North West was the strongest performing region, with annual price growth picking up slightly to 4.8%.
Here’s what we’ve seen in the news this week:
UK house prices ‘in first annual fall for eight years’: UK house prices were 0.1% lower in June than the same month a year ago – the first annual fall since December 2012, according to the Nationwide. Read more from the BBC.
New-build market bouncing back quicker than second-hand market: Buyer demand for new-build property has bounced back in the six weeks since the resumption of the housing market according to research from Zoopla. The portal says this recovery is a continuation of the upsurge in demand recorded at the start of 2020 – following the December General Election – when the property market recorded its strongest start to a new year since 2016. Read more.
Rental yields holding steady according to new data: Newly released figures from a buy-to-let specialist lender have revealed that average rental yields on residential buy-to-let properties are sitting at 5.3% across England, a slight dip of 0.4% against figures achieved in Q2 2019. According to the data, the North West of England posted the top rental yield regional figure for the quarter. Read more.
Property investors ‘building war chests’ to expand portfolios: The nation’s property investors are increasingly looking to grow their cash reserves and expand their portfolios; with a new report saying 30% of investors are taking out a remortgage with the aim of building a ‘war chest’ to purchase further properties. Read more.
