MILTON KEYNES, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TwentyCi released its latest Property & Homemover Report today, a comprehensive review of the UK housing market up to the end of 2017*.
Rentals on the rise, but demand outstrips
availability in London
The report reveals that in the
last quarter of the year there has been a marked increase in the
availability of rental versus sales properties on the market in the UK’s
top 10** largest cities (excluding London) except Glasgow. Manchester
now has a ratio of 50:50 rental to sales properties and Newcastle has
more properties for rent than for sale.
London, however, is losing its grip as the rental Capital of the UK, seeing fewer rentals compared to properties to buy, with rental’s share of the property market down 4% on the same period last year. East Central and West Central London have been affected the most, with rental’s market share down 14% and 10% respectively. All areas of central London have seen rentals fall in terms of both volume and market share, surprising for an international city that relies on a higher volume of rentals than sales.
Independent Property Market Analyst & Commentator Kate Faulkner, comments on TwentyCi’s findings: “The big decline in properties for rent now in London suggests that the government’s anti-landlord, buy-to-let policies may have backfired. Instead of improving conditions for tenants, what we’re seeing now is a decline in the availability of properties for rent. Although it hasn’t necessarily pushed up rental prices, is does mean that the growing population of renters now have fewer options than before. Looking at London particularly, it’s difficult to see that the reduction in rental properties has translated into a ‘magic’ increase in the number of people buying homes; something which the government had hoped for.”
2017 ends with a return to stability and more
people planning a move
However, the TwentyCi Property &
Homemover Report also shows a return to stability across the country,
with the average asking price increasing by 3.3% to £298k, and exchanges
up 1% year-on-year, most occurring within the £100-£200k bracket. Wales
is experiencing a particularly buoyant market with exchanges increasing
11% year-on-year.
Colin Bradshaw, Chief Customer Officer at TwentyCi, says: “After the turbulence that followed the Brexit vote in 2016, there is a much calmer landscape now for the UK housing market. There are no seismic shifts year-on-year and the huge spikes in house prices that we’ve seen in some areas in recent years appear to have stabilised. What is looking particularly positive is the marked increase in the number of people at every stage of the homemover process. Eleven percent more people are planning to move, 27% more are actively approaching the time of their move and there has been a 23% hike in those who have just moved. As homemovers inject billions of pounds into the UK economy for many months before and after their move this is great news for 2018.”
Silver Economy continues to invest in property
The
report also highlighted the Silver Economy as the fastest growing market
segment with a 31% increase in exchanges year-on-year amongst this
group. Conversely, Millennials are finding it difficult to get on the
housing ladder, or opting to rent as a lifestyle choice, with 17% fewer
exchanges occurring amongst 18-35 year olds in 2017.
The TwentyCi Property & Homemover Report, created by life event data firm TwentyCi, is believed to be the biggest, most comprehensive report of its kind, drawing from 29 billion qualified data points to create a factual view on 99.6% of all home moves across the UK.
To see the full TwentyCi Property & Homemover Report in more detail, which includes monthly changes in exchanges, fall-throughs and property withdrawn, regional figures, property types and price bands, as well as demographic data such as Homemover segments and household income bands, please click www.homemoverreport.com.
*All data is based on Q4 2017 vs Q4 2016 year-on-year comparison unless otherwise stated
**Top 10 largest cities in the UK based on the number of properties
Editor’s notes – what is different about the TwentyCi Property & Homemover Report?
- Created from the most robust property change data source available – making it the most comprehensive audit of its type
- Data is collected in close to real-time
- It combines more than 29 billion qualified data points
- The data provides a view of nearly 96.6% of all property moves – both sales and rentals
- It compiles not just data about the property being sold/moved into, but also the people who are doing the buying/moving
- It is factual data from qualified data sources – unlike some other reports which are based on sentiment
- The TwentyCi Property & Homemover Report is published quarterly
About TwentyCi
TwentyCi is a
life event data company that provides intelligence into the events in
consumer lives which act as purchase triggers, such as moving home,
having a baby, buying a car or retiring. TwentyCi has been managing data
for major advertisers like HJ Heinz and ATS Euromaster as well as many
leading estate agents for over 15 years. TwentyCi holds the UK’s biggest
and richest resource of factual life event data including the largest,
most comprehensive source of homemover data compiled from more than 29
billion qualified data points. It works with advertisers and their
agencies to create contextually targeted marketing programmes that cut
through by reaching consumers at the exact moment that they need a
company’s product or service, through the best media channel for that
individual. For more information visit http://www.twentyci.co.uk/.
