Thursday, March 5, 2015 News
Property sales drop in January for fourth time
UKPROPERTYsales fell in January, dropping by six per cent compared with a year ago, but estate agents’ views vary on the significance of the decrease. Transactions totalled 97,320 in January, according to the latest seasonally-adjusted figures from HMRevenue and Customs. That is the lowest level since October 2013, and the fourth con- secutive monthly drop in sales. Numerous commentators are expecting house prices to rise by four per cent in 2015. Property sales were at their highest level since the start of the financial crisis last year, with 1.2 million properties changing hands. However, sales have started to
dip in recent months. Peter Rollings, of estate agents Marsh and Parsons, said that buyer demand was ‘still rosy’ so he expected activity to pick up again.
“January has seen a boost in
agreed sales,which has firmly set the ball rolling for 2015, and
this will only gather faster momentum during the spring – typically one of the most popular times tomove house –when these completions come to frui- tion,” he said. However, estate agent Jeremy
Leaf said that stricter rules on mortgages and the uncertainty caused by the upcoming election would dull activity. “The slowdownhas come with
a thud. At the beginning of the year we were seeingmovement but over the last few weeks there has been a change in the mood,” he said. The picture, as it has been for some time, varies depending on local housing markets, although recent official figures suggest that prices are rising to some degree in every nation and region of the UK. Figures showhouse price annual inflation stood at 10.2 per cent in England, four per cent in Wales, 5.5 per cent in Scotland, and 4.9 per cent in Northern Ireland in 2014.
Bovis proits jump sharply during year
HOUSEBUILDER Bovis Homes has reported a 69 per cent rise in annual profits to £133.5m after an ‘excellent’ year. The number of homes sold rose
Prices have been dropping
to a record 3,635, 20 per cent higher than in the previous year, with the average sale price up 11 per cent to £216,600. Bovis said demand remained high, with theUKset to create 200,000 extra households a year. It also said it would raise its full-year dividend payment to shareholders by 159 per cent to 35p a share. David Ritchie, the chief executive of Bovis Homes, said:“We have been gearing up for a big push for the past five years.Wesee this as a fantastic time to grow.”Onthe negative side, extra activity meant labour had become scarcer and more expensive, raising construction costs in 2014 by 12 per cent, although prices of private homes had outstripped this with a rise of 14 per cent over the year. Bovis warned it would see a seven per cent rise in construc- tion costs this year, partly because it was shifting the bal- ance of its business more towards the south of England.
southwalesargus.co.uk
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