Month: February 2014

I was interested to read comments from one of Taylor Wimpey’s Senior Executives calling for Government to wean the housing market off Help to Buy.  The firm’s Group Land and Planning Director, Peter Andrew,  said “Help to Buy had led to a measurable improvement in the company’s order book and had led to a UK wide improvement in confidence in housing”  however he felt that the housing market would need to be weaned off Help to Buy in a sensible way with lenders picking up the momentum instead.

Whilst I agree with his overall strategy – in that I would like to see lenders taking up the baton of funding the housing market –  I think it is too early at this stage for any restriction in the Help to Buy Scheme.  As I have previously indicated the property market statistic that I am most interested in for 2014 is the number of properties coming into the market for sale.

On another note it was good to see that Taylor Wimpey have started 2014 with a £1.2billion pound pipeline of new orders which is a very positive way to start the year.

Lindsay Darroch

Partner & Head of Property

I refer to my previous blog in June 2013 about the Land and Building Transactions Tax (Scotland) Bill. As I previously indicated this will be a progressive tax however the actual rates of LBTT are not yet known and I think it will be unlikely that they will be revealed prior to the Referendum in September. I was at a seminar held by Savills where the LBTT was discussed and, if the rates and approach are as they are set out in the consultation document, then LBTT would favour residential sales at £180,000 or less however sales above £200,000 would incur a higher rate of tax than at present. Whilst I do not disagree with the progressive approach to the tax,  I am concerned that it will have a negative impact on the residential housing market in Scotland by making it considerably more expensive for people who are moving in the £180,000 to 1.5million price bands. This could lead to a further brake on the property market when Government should be doing all it can to encourage activity. I would say that the above rates apply to residential properties and there are different rates applicable to commercial properties.

I will report as soon as I have more information.

Lindsay Darroch

Partner & Head of Property 

As readers of my blog will know, I am a passionate advocate for the city of Dundee and I am excited by the regeneration of the city and the waterfront development which includes Malmaison, the V&A and the redevelopment of the railway station. Dundee provides easy access to Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow and should position itself as the regional hub for Scotland.  For the regional hub concept to work and for Dundee to take full advantage of the extra visitors which could be generated on the back of the waterfront development, it is vital that the city continues to operate an airport. I have been following the recent discussions regarding Dundee airport and I would urge Scottish and local government to redevelop Leuchars airbase and make it an international airport. This to me would be an obvious next piece of the jigsaw and would have a huge impact on the local economy and the local housing market.  Let’s start the campaign now.

Lindsay Darroch 

Partner & Head of Property 

As readers of previous blogs know, the figure that I continue to monitor is the number of first time buyers coming onto the market.  I was interested to see new CML data, released yesterday on the profile of UK lending in December 2013 which shows the number of first time buyers increasing by 37%.  CML data also indicates that for the whole of 2013 lending to first time buyers was up by over 23% compared to 2012.  As previously indicated, first time buyers are an important factor in stabilising and driving forward the property market and I have always stated that the number of first time buyer purchasers in a normal flowing market should be in excess of 40%.  According to the CML figures 45% of all purchasers in December were first time buyers.  During the course of 2014 I believe we will see a conflict between the need to continue the support for first time buyers to improve economic conditions and talk of a possible property price bubble. It was a positive end to 2013 and I will keep you up to date with 2014 trends.

Lindsay Darroch

Partner – Head of Property

I was very interested to read Mark Hordern’s blog about a normal property market.  Mark is Chief Executive of GSPC and he has his finger on the pulse of the market especially on the west coast.  Mark’s conclusion was that we are still some way off a normal market and I have to agree with his assessment.  Transactional levels would need to increase significantly – probably by about another 50% per annum for us to reach a normal free-flowing market.  It is only with an increase in transactional levels that we will be able to control a spike in housing prices because as levels remain low, distortions in the market will appear and supply and demand will be out of sync causing unsustainable rises in prices.

Lindsay Darroch

Partner – Head of Property 

The Registers of Scotland have reported that the number of residential properties sold in Scotland in the third quarter of the financial year rose by more than a quarter on the same period in 2012.  The total volumes for the period were 25,579 properties which was the highest recorded for this quarter since quarter 3 of 2007/8 – the peak of the property market.  As I have previously indicated my concern is not regarding the number of sales but the number of properties coming onto the market which will be the most telling statistic over the next couple of months and will ultimately drive or curtail the property market.  More information to follow.

Lindsay Darroch 

Partner – Head of Property

I was interested to read a report from RICS advising that a shortage of homes coming on to the nation’s housing market is seriously hampering growth and pushing prices higher in many parts of the country.  Readers of my blog will know this coincides with my views and concerns about the property market for 2014.   The RICS January Residential Market Survey advised that the number of houses coming up for sale across the UK hit its lowest point since July 2012 despite the amount of potential buyers being considerably higher.  The RICS is reporting, however, that its members are expecting more sellers to come on to the market as the weather improves and we hit the traditional Spring rush.  Peter Bolton King, the RICS Global Residential Director, has advised that:

“It is no secret that we are seeing prices go up in many parts of the country driven largely by the lack of properties coming on to the market.   With more people now in a position to buy a home than at any point over the past few years there are simply not enough properties to satisfy demand.”

This report very much coincides with my own view and I would reiterate the need for local and national Government to support developers and also to move all barriers and costs to encourage more properties to come on to the market.

Lindsay Darroch

Partner – Head of Property 

I was interested to read that the UK Government has announced the New Homes Bonus Payments Scheme, totalling over £900m, which will be shared amongst England’s 353 councils. This scheme allows councils to enter into new build schemes and will enable them to bring empty homes back into use. It follows hot on the heels of Boris Johnson’s announcement that an additional 11,000 new homes are to be built in the London Plan. It is a now more important than ever for the UK and Scottish Governments to focus in on a new build program to add to the number of properties coming on to the market.

Lindsay Darroch

Partner – Head of Property

Readers of my blog will know I am no fan of the Home Report.  In my opinion this was a misguided piece of legislation brought in to deal with a problem that did not exist and the impact it has had on the Scottish property market has been catastrophic and expensive.  I am delighted to hear that the Scottish Government has launched a public consultation to seek views and experiences on the Home Report and how it works in the current market.  My understanding is that the Scottish Government has already made up its minds that there will be no change to the Home Report, however, I would still urge people to submit their views.  The website page is homereportconsultation@scotland.gsi.gov.uk.  The closing date for the consultation is the end of February 2014 and the information will thereafter be collated and a report provided later this year.  I will let you know should I hear anything further.

Lindsay Darroch

Partner – Head of Property 

I was asked recently what impact the forthcoming Referendum is having on the Scottish property market.  I would advise that certainly in relation to the residential property market, the Referendum in September 2014 does not seem to be impacting on demand for Scottish property.  It will be interesting to see if this changes as the Referendum date draws nearer and I will keep you advised of any trends.

Lindsay Darroch

Partner – Head of Property