Pending home sales in the US rose for the third consecutive month in April and reached their highest level in over a decade, according to the latest index data to be published. All major regions saw gains in contract activity last month except for the Midwest, which saw a meagre decline, the pending homes index from the National Association of Realtors shows. The index, a forward looking indicator based on contract signings, increased by 5.1% to 116.3 in April from an upwardly revised 110.7 in March and is now 4.6% above April 2015 when it was 111.2. After last month’s gain, the index has now increased year on year for 20 consecutive months and Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said that vast gains in the South and West propelled pending sales in April to their highest level since February 2006. ‘The ability to sign a contract on a home is slightly exceeding expectations this spring even with the affordability stresses and inventory squeezes affecting buyers in a number of markets,’ he explained. ‘The building momentum from the over 14 million jobs created since 2010 and the prospect of facing higher rents and mortgage rates down the road appear to be bringing more interested buyers into the market,’ he added. On the topic of mortgage rates, which have remained below 4% in 16 of the past 17 months. Yun pointed out that it remains to be seen how long they will stay this low. Along with rent growth, rising gas price and the fading effects of last year’s cheap oil on consumer prices could edge up inflation and push rates higher. For now, he foresees mortgage rates continuing to hover around 4% in coming months, but inflation could potentially surprise the market and cause rates to increase suddenly. ‘Even if rates rise soon, sales have legs for further expansion this summer if housing supply increases enough to give buyers an adequate number of affordable choices during their search,’ he added. Following the housing market’s best first quarter of existing sales since 2007, Yun expects sales this year to climb above earlier estimates and be around 5.41 million, a 3% boost from 2015. After accelerating to 6.8% a year ago, national median existing home price growth is forecast to slightly moderate to between 4% and 5%. A breakdown of the figures show that in the Northeast it climbed 1.2% to 98.2 in April, and is now 10.1% above a year ago. In the Midwest the index declined slightly by 0.6% to 112.9 in April, but is still 2% above April 2015. Pending home sales in the South jumped 6.8% to an index of 133.9 in April and are 5.1% higher than last April. The index in the West rose 11.4% in April to 106.2 and is now 2.8% above a year ago. BOOKMARK THIS PAGE (What is this?)      Source link

Shoppers in Newcastle and Birmingham spent more on fashion over the last 12 months than those in any of the UK’s other top 10 cities*, averaging £304 and £313 per head respectively, according to new research from Savills and intu.  By contrast, shoppers in Bristol spent the least at just £184 per head. The Spotlight: Retail Revolutions report, which analysed shopping habits by both location and age, found that the highest fashion spend came from Generation X (35 to 44 year olds) in Newcastle, which averaged £581 over the last 12 months.  This was followed by Liverpool’s Baby Boomers who spent £507 per head on fashion over the same period. Sean Gillies, head of UK retail at Savills, comments: “Disposable income is the key to determining fashion spend.  While younger consumers shopped most frequently across all cities, spending is perhaps more constrained in those cities where living costs are highest.  For example, Generation Y shoppers (25 to 34 year olds) in London spent £357 compared to their generational counterparts in Glasgow and Edinburgh, who spent £436 and £413 respectively.” When looking to the future, London has the strongest outlook for fashion spend with 41% of consumers reporting positive sentiment, while Liverpool reported the weakest sentiment with just 22% of shoppers expecting to increase their fashion spend over the next 12 months.  Across all 10 cities, the younger Generations Z (16 to 24 year olds) and Y were more positive than their older counterparts about increasing future spend.  Generation Y in Birmingham displayed the most positive sentiment of all groups, with 85.1% expecting to spend more on fashion over the 12 months ahead.  The report also highlights a correlation between shoppers’ satisfaction with the local fashion retail offer and online fashion spend.  In Cardiff, where 84% of shoppers are satisfied, online accounts for just 25% of fashion spend.  By contrast, in Birmingham and London where consumers were least satisfied with their local retail offer, online accounted for 40% and 39% of total fashion spend respectively. Kate Grant, regional director, intu, says: “Today’s shoppers have high expectations, and it’s our job as a shopping centre landlord to create and curate the right space and the right experience that will draw them in time and time again. It’s not simply a case of providing great retail brands, but also mixing these with great dining and leisure offerings alongside a superior experience, ensuring each of our guests leaves our centres with some happy memories and a desire to return soon.  By doing this, we can help our tenants flourish.” Tom Whittington, commercial research director at Savills, adds: “The overall national picture is one of the younger Generation Y and Z being most satisfied with their local fashion offer and indeed this was mirrored in London, Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool.  However, Baby Boomers bucked the trend in the other six cities by being the most satisfied.  There are clear opportunities for retailers to create a presence in areas where their target demographic is currently seeking something more to satisfy their fashion needs.” Figure 9 *The cities included in the analysis were London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol, Newcastle, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Source link

Northumbrian Water has announced that a significant installation of solar power at one of the largest environmental management sites in the North-east could pave the way for greater use of renewable energy across the region. Northumbrian Water has announced that a significant installation of solar power at one of the largest environmental management sites in the North-east could pave the way for greater use of renewable energy across the region. The 943 solar panel array at the company’s Bran Sands wastewater treatment plant in Middlesbrough is believed to be one of the biggest commercial rooftop mounted installations in the region. It has been installed as part of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Europe’s leading solar energy company Lightsource Renewable Energy. The system, fully funded, designed, and operated by Lightsource, provides a simple solution for Northumbrian Water’s power needs whilst creating significant energy and carbon savings, equal to taking 24 cars off the road per year. Data from Bran Sands will be used to assess the potential for further installations across Northumbrian Water sites. Initial data has shown that the scheme is on course to meet the projected savings of £6,353 in the first year of installation, with total cost reductions of more than £386,000 projected over 20 years. Bran Sands plant manager Steve Coverdale said: “By installing solar energy at Bran Sands, we can continue to move from being a net importer of energy to parity or even one day a slight exporter. The panels will provide performance data that is specific to our region that will help to evaluate the value of further roll-out across our North-east estate. “At Northumbrian Water, we are constantly looking at ways to make our operations more energy efficient and sustainable, reducing costs at the same time as protecting the environment. The results so far have been positive at Bran Sands, and we will continue monitoring what can be achieved to determine the position of solar energy in the company’s ongoing energy mix.” The installation is the latest phase in Northumbrian Water’s strategy to make Bran Sands, which provides wastewater treatment for approximately 300,000 customers including major multi-national companies on Teesside, self-sufficient in energy. The availability of roof space big enough to accommodate the 250kWp peak capacity system, capable of significantly reducing CO2 emissions and energy bills, created the opportunity to not only achieve this onsite, but to assess the effective power of solar energy in the North-east’s climate. Installation of the panels was completed and connected inside a fortnight, allowing Northumbrian Water and Lightsource to beat the deadline for the government’s reduction in Feed-in Tariff (FIT) support. The FIT scheme is designed by UK government to encourage uptake of a range of renewable and low-carbon electricity generation technologies. This article first appeared on wwtonline Source link

Energy minister Andrea Leadsom has assured network operators the government is committed to continue supporting innovation in the future. At a ministerial summit this week Leadsom said the government is “determined to allow the innovation to happen, there is absolutely no desire to go back to a place where there is no innovation and there’s complete discouragement”. Energy regulator Ofgem announced earlier this week that an in-depth review of the network innovation competition (NIC) and network innovation allowance (NIA) will be held over the summer to establish whether any “substantive changes” are required. The energy minister was in Leeds to hear about a project to convert the city from natural gas to hydrogen, funded by the NIC. Northern Gas Networks (NGN), the gas distribution operator behind the project, said it would not have happened without the mechanism. NGN chief executive Mark Horsley told Utility Week it is “too early” to cut the funding which supports not just network operators but also thousands of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). “Over 1000 SMEs are connected to us through the NIA and NIC, he said. “Leeds for example probably wouldn’t have happened. The CNG plant that we are developing in Leeds probably wouldn’t have happened.” he said. “Leeds for example probably wouldn’t have happened. The CNG plant that we are developing in Leeds probably wouldn’t have happened. “It creates a mind-set. I just think it’s too early in that development now to cut that funding. It needs to go further until it really does become business as usual.” Source link