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
GROWTH IN UK GROCERY SECTOR
Colliers International annual UK Grocery Report has revealed that property investors put £1.78bn into the UK grocery sector in 2019, which is 80% up on volumes in the previous year.
Investment in this sector has jumped due to improvements in financial performance by the UK’s grocery operators and is in sharp contrast to other parts of the retail market which have seen a slump in activity.
PRIME UK COMMERCIAL PROPERTY RENTS
RISE IN 2019
Latest figures from CBRE’s Prime Rent and Yield Monitor show that the industrial sector outperformed the retail and office sectors for the thirteenth consecutive quarter, with industrial prime rents increasing by 1.5% in Q4 2019 and by 5.8% for the year.
MODEST GROWTH EXPECTED OUTSIDE THE
RETAIL SECTOR
The latest UK Commercial Property Market Survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) indicates a modestly stronger outlook emerging for rents and capital values over the year ahead.
MORTGAGE ACTIVITY
- Average house prices in the UK increased by 2.2% in the year to December 2019, up from 1.7% in November 2019
- House price growth was strongest in Northern Ireland where prices increased by 2.5% over the year
- The lowest annual growth was in the South East, with prices increasing by 1.2% over the year to December 2019
HOUSE PRICES HEADLINE STATISTICS
- Gross mortgage lending across the residential market in December 2019 was 22.2 billion
- The total annual residential mortgage lending for 2019 was £265.8 billion
- An annual total of 982,286 residential mortgages were approved by the main high street banks in 2019