Sales of new builds up 5.2% in November

January 3, 2018 / Isla MacFarlane
Sales of new builds up 5.2% in November

Land Registry data indicates increased demand for new build properties. This month’s Price Paid Data includes details of more than 106,000 sales of land and property in England and Wales that HM Land Registry received for registration in November 2017.

Of the 106,412 sales received for registration in November 2017: 79,133 were freehold, a 10.3% increase on November 2016; 13,095 were newly built, a 5.2% increase on November 2016.

Of the 106,142 sales received for registration, 30,458 took place in November 2017 of which:

  • 489 were of residential properties in England and Wales for £1 million and over;
  • 293 were of residential properties in Greater London for £1 million and over;
  • four were of residential properties in Greater Manchester for £1 million and over;
  • one was of a residential property in Cardiff for £1 million.

The most expensive residential sale in November 2017 was a semi-detached property in the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea for £13m. The cheapest residential sale in November 2017 was of a terraced property in Burnley, Lancashire for £15,000.

The most expensive commercial sale in November 2017 was in Solihull, West Midlands for £73,900,000. The cheapest commercial sales in November 2017 were in Islington, Cambridge, Fenland, Redbridge and Southend on Sea, each for £100.

However, with housing stock nearing historic lows, RICS forecasts a flat national prediction for the property market in 2018, with only a shortage of new properties propping up prices.

“2017 was meant to be the year of a government step-change in housing policy, but it seems we’ll have to wait a little while longer for anything truly transformative to drive up supply,” said Lewis Johnston, RICS Parliamentary Affairs Manager. “While there have been some policies, such as the recognition of the role of councils in building homes which RICS have long called for, and the package of reforms to support SME builders that should make a change in the market, many of these measures won’t come into effect until the mid-2020s and as our 2018 forecast indicates, they don’t add up to the kind of resolute, large-scale supply strategy we need.

“If they are to fundamentally shift the narrative on housing in 2018, Ministers need to both introduce some new ideas and be much bolder on the positive but tentative moves they’ve made in 2017. The lifting of the borrowing cap for councils should be brought forward, alongside a much larger package of measures for direct commissioning, and in addition to Oliver Letwin’s review of unused planning permission, there needs to be a much broader rethink of the planning system.”

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