Our monthly property market review is intended to provide background to recent developments in the property markets as well as to give an indication of how some key issues could impact in the future.
Overview
CONTRADICTORY DATA FROM COMMERCIAL PROPERTY SURVEY
Respondents to the latest Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) ‘UK Commercial Property Market Survey’ have blamed political uncertainty for the disparate performance of the three major sectors of the commercial property market – industrial, retail and office – as Q4 2018 saw all-sector occupier demand falling for the third consecutive quarter to -13% compared with the previous figure of -9%.
SHARED OFFICE SPACE PROPERTY VALUES SOAR
A recent report from real estate lawyers, Boodle Hatfield, reveals that the top ten shared office providers saw their property values rise by 35%, to a total of £13.6bn in 2018.
SCOTTISH COMMERCIAL PROPERTY SECTOR HAS A GOOD YEAR
Estate agency, Knight Frank, reported a total of £2.5bn invested in the Scottish commercial property market in 2018. This figure exceeded the annual £2.46bn average seen since 2014.
MORTGAGE ACTIVITY
“The mortgage industry helped 370,000 people buy their first home in 2018, the highest number in twelve years, as competitive deals and government schemes such as Help to Buy continue to boost the market.” – Jackie Bennett, Director of Mortgages at UK Finance
HOUSE PRICES HEADLINE STATISTICS
- UK house prices grew by 2.5% in the year to December 2018
- House price growth was strongest in Northern Ireland where prices increased by 5.5% over the year
- The lowest annual growth was in the North East, where prices fell by 1.0% over the year