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UK house prices show slight rise.
Prices
seem to be picking up, government figures indicate
Annual house price inflation rose in September for the first time in six
months, according to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM). In
the year to September, house prices grew on average by 3.3%, up from August's
figure of 2.8%. The ODPM said prices in the UK rose 0.3% between August
and September, with the average property costing £186,723. Meanwhile,
property website Rightmove said prices rose 0.8% in the four weeks to 12
November.
Over the past year all the major property market surveys have shown annual
house price inflation falling from double digits to low single figures.
A firm labour market and the recent interest rate cut have helped reverse
the declining trend. But the ODPM said that prices rose in seven out of
12 UK regions. Annual house price inflation stood at 16.7% in Northern Ireland
and 10.1% in Scotland. In addition, prices are continuing to grow apace
in the north of England. Prices rose by 7.9% in the north-west and 7.1%
in Yorkshire. At the other end of the scale, prices are falling in the south-west,
while in London prices have grown just 1.9% during the past twelve months.
BBC
Online
Steady Increase predicted In UK Property Prices.
Many
experts had predicted a crash or at least a slump in UK house prices following
the extraordinary rises in the last few years, but recent reports tend to
agree that the next two years will see continued and steady growth.
Research from propertyfinder.com
indicates a healthy property market and suggests that property investors
are enthusiastic about their prospects.
"The dark days of late 2004 and early 2005 for the housing market are
well and truly behind us," said Jim Buckle, managing director at Propertyfinder.com.
"Propertyfinder.com's research tracking buyer and seller confidence
is a good predictor of housing transaction volumes and shows that transactions
are set to increase into the new year by around 30 per cent compared to
last year," Mr Buckle continued.
He did predict, however, that interest rates would remain fairly stable
meaning that property investors cannot expect a great deal of help from
the Bank of England.
He went on to reveal some of his predictions for regional variations, observing
that London continues to lead the way in the UK property market.
Full
story - Assetz News
How to beat Brown’s pension u-turn
The
chancellor has gone back on his promise to allow property to be held in
a Sipp, writes Clare Francis of the Times Online.
THOUSANDS of investors were stunned last week when Gordon Brown announced
a dramatic u-turn by revoking planned changes to the rules governing self-invested
personal pension schemes (Sipps).
However, pension specialists said the original changes should never have
been proposed in the first place as they were unsuitable for most investors
and could have left them worse off.
From April 6 next year, dubbed A-Day, new pension rules take effect which
have been designed to simplify the pensions regime and make it more flexible
and transparent.
One of the main changes proposed by the government was that people would
be able to hold anything within their Sipp, including residential property
as well as more esoteric investments such as wine and art.
Research from Killik & Co, a stockbroker, found that such investments
would only be suitable for those with around £500,000 or more invested
in their pension. If you had less than that and bought a residential property,
for example, you would find you had too much exposure to that asset class.
However, these people will now no longer be able to do this anyway following
the chancellor’s about-turn in last week’s pre-budget report.
He announced that from A-Day any tax advantages of having such assets within
a pension will be removed.
What has angered investment advisers most is the timing of the announcement.
Melanie Bien at Savills Private Finance, a mortgage broker, said: “It
is outrageous that the government has taken so long to pull the plug on
direct investment in residential property via a Sipp. A lot of investors
will have been ploughing money into their Sipp, or buying property in anticipation,
only to find that this has been a waste of time.”
Now, anyone who does hold a prohibited asset within their pension will face
an income-tax charge of 40% and the scheme administrator will become liable
for a “scheme sanction charge”, which will be 15% of the value
of the prohibited asset.
The reason for this change of heart is that the government was worried that
the system would be abused by people claiming tax relief for the money in
their Sipp to buy a second home for their own personal use.
Times
Online
Spanish property law - MEPs call on the Commission
to act
MEPs adopted a report with 550 votes in favour, 45 against with 25 abstentions
on the alleged abuse of the Valencian Land Law known as the LRAU and its
effect on European citizens.
The Parliament invites the competent authorities to take account of the
following suggestions, to remedy the problems that have arisen under the
present legislation with respect to those aspects of the protection of property
rights which raise questions of human and fundamental rights, and with respect
to Community law on public procurement:
– the inclusion in the new law of a clear definition of public interest
which unambiguously prevents the possibility that the ‘public interest’
justification for expropriation – which is a precondition for any
expropriation under European human and fundamental rights norms –
could be used for the promotion of private, rather than public, interests,
noticias.info
Yorkshiremen Are Spanish Property Experts
A
Survey by Spanish estate agents shows that people from Yorkshire know more
about buying Spanish property than others either in the UK or Ireland.
When it comes to knowing the costs involved in buying a Spanish property,
Yorkshire people are more clued up than people from any other UK region.
This is just one of the findings of a recent survey by a leading Spanish
estate agent. Yorkshire people's superior knowledge extends to the local
tax situation - over 40% of people answered a question about Spanish taxes
correctly, compared to only 20% of British people overall.
Not many people know that Spanish local taxes are very low, at less than
250 euros a year in most areas. Local services don't suffer because Spain
has a local component to income tax - and that's the bad news for anyone
planning to live and work in Spain.
Again, nearly 40% of Yorkshire people correctly answered a question about
the average costs of buying a property in Spain - the correct answer being
around 10% of purchase price. On this one question, however, they were beaten
by people from the South East of England, of whom over 50% gave the right
answer. But that didn't dent Yorkshire's lead as the overall UK experts.
So why are Yorkshire people relatively more knowledgeable about the costs
of buying Spanish property? Could it be that the county is about to suffer
an exodus in favour of life in sunny Spain? Or could it be that the old
stereotype of Yorkshire people being more knowledgeable about money issues
in general is true?
Figures are based on a survey run on HomeEspaña's Website and paper
questionnaires given out at exhibitions in August 2005. The total number
of respondents was 800.
Focus on Property for sale in Antequera
Antequera
lies some 45 Km to the north of Malaga and is reached by taking the main
A45 autovía out of the capital signposted towards Granada and Antequera,
approximately 10 Km after passing the town of Casabermeja
the road forks - the right hand fork goes on to Granada via the A359, we
take the left hand fork which is clearly signposted for Antequera and Cordoba,
we leave the autovia at Km 124 and head west for the final 10Km into Antequera
itself. As we descend towards Antequera a wide valley opens up before us
- this is a large plain rich in cultivation and with many typical Andalusian-style
farmhouses surrounded by olive trees and cereal crops. The entrance to the
town is close to La Peña de los Enamorados.
Covering an area of some 800 square kilometres Antequera
is the largest municipality in the province of Malaga,
bordering the province of Cordoba to the north and with the Mountains of
Malaga to the south. The El Torcal mountain range is closest to the town
itself and with the passage of time, erosion has made this area into one
of the most interesting and beautiful in all of Andalucía. Shell
and marine-life fossils have been discovered in the valley, which tells
us that the area was covered in water millions of years ago.
The Peña de los Enamorados is left behind us as we head into the
town and this hill is rich in legend and history. One legend tells of the
bodies of two lovers buried at the foot of the hill, he Christian and she
Moorish, who had fled to the peak to escape from their angry families, and
finally threw themselves off in a suicide pact. True or not is unimportant,
because this hill, bordered by the river Guadalhorce, arouses the stuff
that legends are made of in all of us.
The privileged situation of Antequera in the geographical centre of Andalucía
has made it into one of the most important towns between upper and lower
Andalucía, Granada and Seville. Antequera is a modern town these
days complete with all the services and shopping facilities one would expect
in a large town, but it also has a past rich in culture and history that
is, perhaps, unequalled in any other southern Spanish town of similar size.
There are many archaeological remains from the Bronze Age, such as the dolmens
at Menga, Viera and El Romeral, all burial grounds of the highest order.
It is believed that the Iberians, the Tartessus tribes, the Phoenicians
and the Carthaginians all settled here at one time or another and Carthaginian
remains have been found at Cerro León, where the battle between the
Romans and the Carthaginians of Asdrúbal took place.
After the conquest of Seville and Jaén, Antequera took on great strategic
importance as a military frontier fortification. It was conquered in 1410
by the infante Don Fernando, known in the history books as Don Fernando
de Antequera. The 19th century was tragic for Antequera as its population
was decimated by the Napoleonic invasion and yellow fever struck the inhabitants
in 1804, it was not until 1830 that a prosperous middle class emerged as
a result of a growing textile industry. This sector was to suffer once more
in the beginning of the 20th century as has happened in many north european
towns too. Antequera is now a modern town which has managed to retain much
of its heritage and long history.
1.5 million British property buyers are looking
to move to Spain
The latest research indicates that, far from reaching saturation point the
Costa
del Sol and Andalucia is very likely to receive a continuing influx
of property buyers from the UK over the next ten years - three million people
say that they are "seriously considering" buying a property overseas.
Of those at least 50% are thinking of buying property in Spain,
with a large majority looking at Andalucia and the Costa del Sol.
But who is going to pay for the massive increase in infrastructure such
as sewage treatment, gas and electricity supplies, water and telecommunications
which will be needed? Why should the Spanish taxpayer foot the bill? Basic
services such as hospitals, schools and public transport are sure to feel
the impact of this massive increase in population.
This is why the Junta
de Andalucia (provincial government) is in the process of drafting the
POT - Plan for Organising the Territory. Paulino Plata, a Junta councillor
has announced a budget of 4,345 million euros over the predicted next ten
years of immigration boom, in order to gear up the regions infrastructure
to cope with the demand. "This money, properly used will make the Costa
del Sol into a space which is unique in Europe, and the ideal spot in which
to take your holidays or buy your new home. We're going to make the Costa
del Sol the Worlds number one holiday and retirement destination."
Vincente Granados, Director of Planning for Andalucia, said at the launch
of the plan that the details are already available for public scrutiny and
have been posted on the internet (currently only in Spanish). He referred
to the new planning law due to become effective in April 2006 which will
offer financial incentives to British second home buyers.
For the statistically minded here are a few interesting figures. in 1993
just under 900,000 Britons passed through Malaga International Airport,
by the year 2004 this figure had tripled to 2.5 million. One in three visitors
to the Costa del
Sol comes from the UK. One in every ten "tourist euros" spent
in Spain comes out of a British pocket. UK citizens paid for 4.3 million
"hotel nights" in the Malaga area in 2005, in the same period
Brits took 64.2 million foreign holidays - and finally 96% of UK visitors
to the costa del Sol come here for "sun and sand".
Britons spending record amounts on property
in Spain
The
Family Spending Report has found that Britons are now spending £6
billion each year on second homes, reflecting the growing trend in property
investment abroad.
The report was based on figures gathered by the Office for National Statistics
survey, which pointed to an increase of £4 billion since 2002. Although
it also includes second houses bought within the UK, the dramatic rise has
largely been attributed to the increased popularity of holiday homes and
buy-to-let properties in mainland Europe.
For the individual household, the £4 billion increase indicates an
average of around £4 extra being paid each week on second homes, and
the pattern has been seized upon by a number of commercial banks.
Abbey has established the Spanish Home Finance Team which will specialise
in providing advice and guidance to the growing number of Britons seeking
to buy property in Spain. Jeff Scott, Abbey's
head of specialist lending, has acknowledged that Spain is one of the most
popular choices with the English market and has referred to the move as
the "logical next step" in this trend.
Assetz
News
Spain takes the strain
Vast numbers of Britons who have moved to Spain over the past three decades
are swamping healthcare services in the costas, according to Spanish officials
and MEPs.
The drain on hospitals, the drugs budget and the soaring cost of providing
home care is crippling health services.
It is not just British pensioners who are straining the system, said Ignasi
Guardans, a Liberal MEP for Barcelona.
German, Dutch and Swedish pensioners are also creating problems.
He said: "These people are essentially health tourists. There is a
huge cost to Spain because they have not been contributing to our health
system."
Spanish officials are currently negotiating in Brussels with their EU counterparts
for a hefty increase in the amount of money paid to Spain under reciprocal
health and social welfare plans.
Expat
Telegraph
Land grab laws in Spain to go
New rules have been unveiled in the south of Spain designed to eliminate
the problem of developers to abuse the system and take large amounts of
land for themselves.
A new law being debated in Valencia
could bring an end to the so called 'land grab law', which has been abused
by Spanish developers for many years, to the detriment of many property
investors forced to pay the prices demanded by the land owning developers.
Corruption and misapplication have been blamed by Rusticasa property consultants
as one of the main reasons for the exploitation of the current law and it
is thought that the changes proposed could wash away these problems and
provide far greater openness in the Spanish property market. The negative
impact of the media campaign surrounding the old LRAU law has led to some
people finding it difficult to sell their property, because investors have
become increasingly wary as to the potential for unscrupulous developers
to take land.
Assetz
News
The number of Brits who own property
abroad is set to double to 4.4 million
- according to new research by Barclays. Five percent of those surveyed
already own a home abroad (the equivalent of 2.2 million people in the UK)
and a further five percent said that they are definitely going to buy a
property overseas in the future. In addition, a staggering 37 percent of
respondents said that they were considering a purchase abroad. However,
before the dream can become a reality, there are concerns that need to be
overcome:
58 percent of those who are definitely or considering buying are concerned
about getting caught out by local legal or tax issues;
17 percent were worried about keeping the property secure while it is empty;
A further 14 percent were concerned about being able to understand the local
language well enough;
Only eight percent were worried about being taken for a ride and paying
too much for a property.
And if a red tape, trouble free purchase could be guaranteed, the following
countries would be the destinations of choice,with a couple of surprise
destinations outside the European property hotspots making the top five.
Barclays
Bank
