1. WALES
Self Build Wales launches
A £210 million new homes scheme – Self-Build Wales – is set to launch in late spring this year, offering an opportunity for people to get a new home of their own with a very significant saving.
Through Self-Build Wales, the Development Bank of Wales will offer loans on pre-agreed plots which will be repayment free until the new home is mortgaged, allowing people to build their new home and cover living costs.
It’s a dream come true for the successful applicants who can choose to use an approved builder or in certain circumstances do the work themselves, as local authorities and housing associations will make plots available, complete with planning and site requirements.
Every plot will have a ‘Plot Passport’ including approved designs, an estimated build cost and options for personalising the home.
Approved applicants can reserve a plot by providing a 25% deposit on the plot cost. The Welsh Government, through the Development Bank of Wales, will provide the rest of the funding.
Julie James
Housing and Local Government Minister, Julie James said, “We want to make self-build available to many more people in Wales, not just the most privileged households. Finding the land, navigating planning consents and being able to afford to self-build while covering the cost of living can be real barriers.
“Figures suggest an average self-build house in the UK costs only 70-75% of its final value because no developer profits are involved.”
Ifan Glyn, Director of FMB Cymru, said, “When you consider the housing crisis that exists, the custom and self-build market has been an under-utilised sector in the ongoing battle to meet the demand for homes. Research has shown that over half of adults in the UK would one day like to build their own home. Across the EU, approximately one third of all homes are custom or self-build whereas in Wales, it’s just five per cent.
“The house building market is dominated by a small number of very large companies. The type of firms that get involved in custom self-build projects tend to be small, therefore this can provide an opportunity for small contractors to re-engage with house building.”
2. SCOTLAND
No Brexit headwinds here, says Galbraith!
Galbraith, Scotland’s highly regarded independent property consultancy, reports that the market for country properties continues to defy expectations and has not been affected by Brexit.
The firm’s residential sales for the third quarter of 2018 increased 10 per cent compared with the same period in 2017 for Scotland as a whole. Figures for 2018 residential and farm sales were up by 5.67 per cent on 2017.
Particularly strong markets were in Aberdeenshire (up 100 per cent); Stirling (up 100 per cent); Perthshire (up 33 per cent); and Moray (up 55 per cent) – year on year.
Simon Brown
Simon Brown, Head of Residential Sales for Galbraith, said that gloomy market predictions for the UK as a whole do not reflect the picture in Scotland, “The most recent quarter in 2018 reflected strong demand and market activity was steady throughout the year. Although this is a price sensitive market, our experience is that accurately priced properties are selling well and prices have held steady or increased in some areas.
“One of the reasons that Scotland is bucking the trend compared to England and Wales may be that Scotland has not tended to attract purely speculative property investors from overseas. The Scottish market has not experienced huge gains during periods of market confidence for the UK as a whole and does not fall sharply when there is UK market pessimism.
“Those buying in Scotland are not typically buying in the expectation of a rise in value, certainly not in the short term, outwith the areas of extremely high demand in parts of Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews. Mostly buyers expect house prices to experience steady growth of perhaps 5-10 per cent in the medium term and 15-20 per cent in the long term but do not buy with the expectation of a sharp rise in value.
“We expect there may be caution this year due to the political uncertainty at a national level but our figures in Scotland show a steady upward trend in terms of both sales achieved and prices. We don’t expect this to change significantly. Scots have coped with two referendums, two general elections and Scottish national elections in the past four years, so perhaps we are getting used to political uncertainty, albeit it isn’t ideal.”
3. NORTHERN IRELAND
Northern Ireland housing valued at £100.7bn says Savills
The total value of Northern Ireland’s housing stock reached £100.7bn in 2018, analysis by Savills has found. Although it represents only a tiny fraction of the UK total, in the last year the local housing stock rose in value by 6%, representing an increase of £5.7bn.
The Belfast Telegraph’s feature reported that the total value of the UK’s housing stock reached a record £7.29 trillion in 2018, according to Savills.
Lawrence Bowles
“Our analysis demonstrates the scale of the housing market and underlines the importance of housing to the economies of London and the UK as a whole, both as an asset class and store of private wealth,” said Lawrence Bowles, residential research analyst at Savills.
“As affordability becomes more stretched, younger households are having to put off buying their first home until later in life.”
Despite a slowdown in the housing market amid Brexit concerns, the total value of UK housing stock increased by £190bn. The gains came from outside London, as the total value of its residential housing stock recorded a £26.2bn fall, the first decrease since 2009.
In comparison, London’s housing stock is still worth £1.77 trillion – more than four times the combined value of homes in Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cardiff, Bristol, Liverpool, and Sheffield.
The total value of Northern Ireland’s housing stock reached £100.7bn in 2018, analysis has found. Although it represents only a tiny fraction of the UK total, last year saw the local housing stock rise in value by 6%.
4. CHANNEL ISLANDS
Livingroom is Channel Islands’ first pan-island residential agent
A healthy residential property market across the Channel Islands has led Livingroom – an award-winning Guernsey estate agency – to expand into the neighbouring island of Jersey.
Founder and CEO Simon Torode identified the need to add creative flair to the sector, bringing his experience as an advertising creative to the industry. Livingroom Estate Agents is one of the only agents in the UK with a dedicated, in-house creative team including professional photographers, videographers, designers and licensed drone pilots.
Livingroom won a five-star award for the Best Estate Agency Single Office in Guernsey at both the 2017 and 2018 International Property Awards.
The expansion into Jersey comes after an incredible 12 months for the company. New websites were launched in both Jersey and Guernsey in late 2018, with the latest technology and a Channel Island-first in technology – Transparent Vendor Management (TVM), designed by Livingroom to communicate with clients at every stage of the selling process. Clients can log in and review the sale or letting of their homes with a full timeline of events, including shared feedback from viewings and pending marketing plans.
Significant investment has been made in both islands in new premises. The Jersey team occupies a prime 2,000 sq.ft split-level office with seven experienced staff members – adding in excess of fifty years’ experience from inception. The 18-strong Guernsey team moved into new 4,000 sq.ft premises in St Peter Port, adding 100 years of cumulative experience in the local property market.
Simon Torode
“The decision to expand is not one we’ve taken lightly,” said Torode. “We researched the Jersey market extensively and firmly believe that our focus on client service and dedication to marketing property in an innovative way will add value to the Jersey market.
“Our ultimate aim is to bring inspiration to the Jersey property market. Moving home is one of the most exciting things you can do so the process should be enjoyable, not torturous. We’ve taken the first step to achieving this by putting a knowledgeable and ethical team in place who will work hard to understand what clients want and deliver on those requirements. We’re bringing quality and carefully considered customer service back to the Jersey property market.”
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