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The government introduced a combined loan and equity guarantee scheme in the Budget called Help to Buy. It is aimed at supporting the housing market as a whole, as well as encouraging more housing supply, and is open to a broader range of house buyers than previous programmes.
London continues to markedly outperform the wider UK residential market. House price growth accelerated to nearly 10% in the 12 months to April 2013, and Inner and Central London’s growth was strong, especially in Hammersmith & Fulham.
Higher stamp duty for £2m plus properties introduced in the previous Budget (2012) appeared to threaten the upper end of the Central London market. This does not seem to have happened; £2m plus transactions have increased over the last year.
In part, because of the strength of recent price growth, Oxford Economics expects weaker growth in London over the next two years, with prices forecast to rise by 4.1% in 2013 and 1.1% in 2014.
Institutional investment in private renting is beginning to occur. Direct investment faces a number of impediments, notably lack of suitable stock, market liquidity, management costs and valuation issues. Indirect avenues of entry may be preferred instead.
Source : DTZ (Groupe UGL)
