There has been a recent rise in the number of agents reporting an increase in available properties, to 15 per cent from -20 per cent, described as “the first sustained shift towards supply for two years”.
While market indicators are consistent with further house price increases, recent gains have been attributed to the lack of property available. Lower interest rates, better mortgage deals and patience from lenders has meant that more homeowners have been able to stay put during the recession, rather than being forced to sell. As prices have increased, homeowners have put their properties on the market, which may have contributed to February’s price fall, along with the end of the stamp duty holiday and bad weather at the start of the year.
Price falls have been reported in Yorkshire and Humber, the West Midlands, Wales and the North.
Some of the big names in house building and property development are thought to be assembling land banks using a mixture of private and bank financing. Many insiders in the property sector believe that although house prices may be fairly volatile throughout 2010 with prices bouncing along the bottom they will remain relatively constant on a year on year basis. So when the market turns those brave souls in the industry who have had the for thought to buy while the heard are selling, will be very well placed to ramp up the build phase and get the maximum profits when the upturns comes.
Has the commercial property boom of recent years been fueled by fund managers? This is the question being asked, has the demand for higher yielding investment funds driven property fund investment managers to pay too much for secondary locations and shorter leases? Now that the bubble has burst and the heard have turned, are there opportunities for investors to make the higher returns that inflated this asset bubble?
Questions like these are causing investors to question the motives of some I.F.A’s and fund managers who profit from the cash going into a fund more than the performance of the funds they recommend or manage.
Some of the UK’s biggest property companies and investment funds are lobbying the treasury for alterations to the stamp duty regulations. It makes investors purchasing multiple residential property investments and residential investment property portfolios suffer a disadvantage in comparison with property investors who purchase single investment properties.
They are lobbying for a “residential property Reit”, as a special purpose investment vehicle in which to buy and hold residential investment properties. These “residential property Reit’s”, will be far more tax efficient than traditional investment property companies. The government is keen to encourage private investment funding for residential investment property developments. So should it make the efforts to adjust the tax system in favor of instructional property investors which will in turn increase the availability of social housing?
House builders are starting to see the first signs of a recovery in the UK housing market, with the values of land gradually improving and their off plan sales improving they can see the first green shoots of recovery in the house building sector.
One of the remaining challenges for the sector is down valuing, when property surveyors are recommending lower property values than that estimate by the developers. The values of the finished homes on new build developments is the most critical number in a development appraisal these figures make up the GDV, gross development value. Once the land costs, build costs, and overheads are removed the remaining balance is the developer’s profit. If the property developer over estimates the final sales prices the results can be financially devastating for the development project and the property developer. With more land owners looking to complete joint venture as a result of a less fluid market for residential development sites, more and more investment consortiums are pawing through the figures and estate agents comparables to make sure the sums add up.
There are many ways to find building plots in the midlands but many developers do not like to look at site that have been on the market for some time. The reason for this is that they believe that if the site or plot was a great deal one of their competitors would have already snapped up the site. The same applies for many vendors, those who own potential residential or commercial redevelopment sites often prefer to sell “off market”. There are various reasons for this but many spend time and money negotiating with potential purchasers who cannot actually buy the land or they will switch terms at a late stage in the land deal.
Many plot sellers prefer to deal with a broker or joint venture partner who they know is more likely to close the deal and deliver the profits. So many potential residential redevelopment sites are sold “off market”, through a closed network of established developers, main contractors and joint property development partners. Established main contractors have the experience and credibility that is required to obtain the essential property development or bank finance, so they offer an excellent opportunity for site owners who wish to share in the property development profits. They can also provide option agreements where the vendor allows the developer to arrange the planning application. This is often structured so that in exchange for a period of exclusivity in which the developer can purchase the site they arrange for the planning permission and there for secure the planning gain.
Recent figures have shown that the average UK house price has dropped for the first time in recent months, missing the double digit inflation predicted by many. This falter comes after the end of the stamp duty holiday so there is evidence to suggest that the missing sales and higher offers have all been used up before the stamp duty holiday ended. The bank lending criteria has loosened but with the chance of an increase in interest rates, 2010 looks to be a great year for predictions with one thing for sure some of the pundits will be left with egg on their faces.
The shadow housing minister is thought to be planning to scrap HIP’s home information packs as soon as possible after coming to power. Many estate agents, property traders and developers see the removal of the HIP’s as an integral part of a housing market recovery.
The EPC or energy performance certificate is thought to be safe and has proved more popular with home buyers and home sellers. The energy certificate does make sellers give more thought to their properties green credentials. For over ten years since the HIP home information pack first became a proposal of the Labor manifesto it has been surrounded by controversy. The first signs of the HIP’s replacement are just starting to gather credibility. It looks like the “exchange ready packs” of ERP’s will be the replacement for the HIP’s, this pack is aimed purely at speeding up completion after exchange. These pack would reduce the average exchange time period by well over half, they will include local authority searches, drainage water searches, a property information questionnaire completed by the seller and answers to standard questions from the buyer’s solicitor. The biggest advantage of these changes is that these packs will not need to be provided for the first 30days of marketing which will be a vast improvement from the HIP’s which are required for day one.
The other good news for the housing market is that a conservative government has pledged to scrap stamp duty on properties that sell below £250.00.
The property planning system could be faced with further radical changes if we have a conservative government after the next election. Many property professionals have been long awaiting this green paper which aims to give the local community more influence over their local planning applications. The paper will almost defiantly see the use of Section 106 agreements decline if not see it scrapped completely. The Section 106 agreement is thought to deliver in the region of 40% of the affordable housing at this level.
The levels of speculative development and new house building sites are at their lowest levels for decades. With the availability of speculative property development funding also at its lowest levels for a very long time, is now really the best time to start tinkering with the planning system?
Joint venture property development are becoming increasingly popular as those who are looking to off load potential residential developments sites are finding it increasingly challenging to achieve their desired asking prices.
So land owners are looking to set up joint ventures with those that have the knowledge experience and track record of delivering past projects. The advantage of a joint venture is that you have a builder on board who is looking to save costs and push the project to completion to gain their share of the developer’s profit. The industry standard for this type of venture is often a 50 / 50 profit share with the land owner putting up the land as security and the developer or main contractor doing the construction or build phase of the project at cost. This helps with the project borrowing and banks are always keen to see an experienced developer or main contractor on the team. The days when banks were happy to fund first time developers are long behind us, and with the property developer funders having a choice of various deals to back, land and site owners are pleased to do a joint venture rather than see their site sold below market value.
