Housing market growth in the United States is holding steady with a rise of 0.6% quarter on quarter, according to the latest real estate analysis report. The annual spring housing boom has been beneficial to most regions across the nation, with most markets outside of the Northeast seeing a small bump in quarter on quarter growth in the last month. The data from real estate firm Clear Capital also shows that in the West quarterly growth has increased by 0.2% to 1.3%, while quarterly growth in the South and Midwest have increased to a modest 0.8% and 0.3% respectively. However, growth figures in the Northeast are concerning with the firm’s models showing an average of zero price growth in the region over the last quarter. ‘This is especially alarming when considering that the spring season is a time when markets typically gain momentum leading into the busy summer season,’ said Alex Villacorta, vice president of research and analytics at Clear Capital. He pointed out that while prices in the region as a whole have appeared to stagnate, there are markets in the region that are performing positively, such as New York and Hartford, where prices have increased by 0.5% and 0.7% respectively over the last quarter. The regional year end forecasts may also be a cause for concern, with the West and North-eastern regions projected to fall potentially into negative territory over the next six months. The analysis predicts that by the end of 2016, the nation may see a new leader in terms of regional growth as the South and Midwest are predicted to have the highest price growth over the next six months, around the 0.5% mark. ‘While these six month growth rates are lower than what we have seen in recent years, slower growth does not necessarily spell disaster and instead could be indicative of markets that are finally beginning to moderate and even stabilize in these regions,’ Villacorta explained. On the MSA level, southern cities are dominating the top spots in our forecast, with six of the top 10 markets located within the region. Home prices in Dallas and Nashville are predicted to see growth throughout the remainder of 2016, increasing to the tune of 3% to 4% by the end of the year. Major Florida markets are also predicted to continue to rise, with Jacksonville and Orlando growth forecasts around 2.5% by the end of 2016, while homes in Tampa may increase by almost 4% over the next six months. ‘Overall, our forecasting models are predicting the second half of 2016 to be much slower than its start, with all regions forecasted to see very little price change by the end of the year,’ said Villacorta. ‘The Federal Reserve won’t be raising interest rates this summer, and while this will help keep the cost of mortgage lending to a minimum, at least in the short term, there are other key global factors that could spell uncertainty for the American housing industry through the end of the year,’ he explained. ‘Negative interest rates in several global markets may begin to push domestic interest rates down even further, which could have rather ambiguous effect, either increasing demand due to the low cost of borrowing or leading consumers to lose precious confidence in the housing industry,’ he pointed out. ‘It’s still far too early to tell how the recent global economic and financial market shakeups (think Brexit) will affect the US housing market, but our initial forecasts are very cautious about overestimating potential growth, particularly in the Northeast and West,’ he concluded. Source link

Investment into the UK hotel market totalled £3.1 billion in the first three quarters of the year, 12% above the 10 year average, according to new research from international real estate advisor Savills. In the latest UK Hotel Investment report, Savills notes there is continued investor interest and resilience in the market despite some of the uncertainty surrounding the EU referendum. Deal count, on a rolling monthly basis, as of June was on par with that seen at the same point in 2015 at 113 and far outperformed the 10 year average of 60. The research highlights that stock constraints in London and wider economic uncertainty has led to investment decisions being determined by income security rather than geography alone, providing a boost to transaction activity in the UK regions.  In August, a traditionally quiet month, Savills confirms that 14 regional deals were completed compared to five in July including Imperial Hotel, Torquay for in excess of £10 million to the Brownswood  Hotel Group and Kenwood Hall in Sheffield for £6.5 million. For the first time since 2011 overseas investors no longer dominate acquisition activity with UK property companies taking the lion’s share, accounting for 34.6% (£1 billion) of total transactions.  Just over half of this can be attributed to the c. £550 million acquisition of the Atlas portfolio by London & Regional. This trend is expected to continue as the weaker pound in the latter half of the year restricts UK property companies from buying overseas. Private individuals have also become more active over the course of 2016, with transaction volumes almost double that of year end 2015 levels at £340 million. Overseas investors accounted for 26.3% (£804 million) of transactions in the first nine months of the year, placing them second in volume terms, according to Savills. Appetite from the group remained high but strong pricing constrained deal activity over the first half of 2016. Almost half of their spend can be attributed to the £350 million purchase of the former War Office, London, for hotel redevelopment by a joint venture between Hinduja Group and OHL Developments.  Following the decision to leave the EU currency fluctuations have enticed overseas investors back due to the ‘value’ offer provided by the weaker pound with Q3 transaction volumes by this group totalling £268m.   Marie Hickey, commercial research director at Savills, comments: “Although we have experienced some softening in investor confidence in the UK hotels market in the wake of the EU referendum, this has not been to the detriment of the regional market.  We are not seeing a retrenchment to London that we may have seen previously when faced with uncertainty.  Rather the focus is increasingly on income security and those markets and assets that offer that, with our analysis suggesting regional towns such as Oxford, Bristol and Winchester offer the most robust operational fundamentals going forward.”  In terms of operating structures, leased deals account for the largest proportion of transactions in the first nine months of the year with Savills noting that the biggest buyers of leased assets remain institutional funds. To date, acquisition volumes of this group total £328 million. While appetite remains, there is significant stock constraint leading to some funds looking beyond traditional budget hotels that have historically dominated institutional activity. In May, Schroders Real Estate Fund acquired Staycity Hayes, a leased serviced apartment property, for £32.4 million. Martin Rogers, head of UK hotel transactions at Savills, comments: “Its really been a case of two halves this year – pre and post the EU referendum vote – that has shaped the type of investor interested in the sector. Supply constraints and the strong pound affected the decisions of foreign investors over the first six months of the year meaning UK property companies are, to date, the most active in the market. As seen over the third quarter, in the coming fourth quarter we expect to see overseas investors make a comeback with them becoming increasingly more comfortable looking beyond London.”   Source link

Helpful guide to hiring apprentices Published:  07 July, 2016 A new guide has been launched by Screwfix to help tradespeople understand how easy it is to hire an apprentice, in partnership with Scottish Minister for Employability and training, Jamie Hepburn. Mr Hepburn visited a Screwfix store in Edinburgh on 6 July to launch the guide. The free booklet, entitled ‘Your Guide to Hiring An Apprentice’ is available online and in Screwfix stores across Scotland. The booklet was developed with national skills body Skills Development Scotland, which pays a contribution towards the cost of training apprentices. It was released by Screwfix in conjunction with the Minister in response to research revealing that tradespeople want an increase in the availability of skilled workers through the encouragement of apprenticeships, as well as help in understanding how to take apprentices on. The easy-to-use, free information source is designed to expose many of the myths surrounding apprenticeships. As a pocket-sized guide, it includes everything those in the trade need to know in bite-size chunks, from the benefits of taking on an apprentice, to where to go first and the help available. Screwfix released the guide in response to feedback from its trade customers. Many of the plumbers, electricians, builders, carpenters and other tradespeople questioned by the Screwfix poll have little or no experience of taking on apprentices, with only 14% having employed one in the last year. Graham Bell, operations director of Screwfix, said: “As a key supplier to the trade, we’re always looking for ways to support tradespeople in growing their businesses – from enabling them to get the right products at the right time to finding out and helping to address the issues that matter most. We understand how vital apprentices are as the future lifeblood of the trade, but it’s clear from what our customers are telling us that more needs to be done to simplify the process of hiring one. “We have developed this guide to help tradespeople who have little or no experience of apprentices. Whether they’re looking to find out a bit more about who to hire an apprentice through, or the financial support available to them to help with taking one on, we encourage interested tradespeople to pick up their free guide from one of our 31 stores in Scotland now.” Mr Hepburn said: “Modern Apprentices make a real contribution to the Scottish economy, apprenticeships offer our young people better career prospects and have a positive impact on the businesses and industry, bringing value to both employers and the economy. The Scottish government has supported nearly 200,000 Modern Apprenticeships since 2007 and we surpassed our target to deliver 25,500 in 2015/16. We are determined to keep growing the number of opportunities for people to secure a Modern Apprenticeship and by 2020 will be delivering 30,000 places.” Chris Brodie, lead head of key sector development from Skills Development Scotland said: “This guide sets out the simple steps you can take to hire an apprentice with the support of Skills Development Scotland (SDS). Three-quarters of employers said that providing apprenticeships improved productivity, while nine out of 10 employers would recommend apprenticeships to their industry. If you and your company are thinking about taking on an apprentice then the help is there.” A copy of the guide can be downloaded from: www.Screwfix.com/apprenticeguide Pictured left to right: Screwfix Trade Apprentice 2016 finalist, William Hosie; Screwfix operations director, Graham Bell; Scottish Minister for Employability and Training, Jamie Hepburn; and Screwfix Trade Apprentice 2016 winner, Thomas Morgan. Source link

Worrying new figures from the TDS have found that deposit disputes are at their highest level since records began, seven years ago. In 2015, adjudications leapt by 11% year on year, to 27,816 and up 2,787 on 2014. Over the last five years, adjudications have jumped by a massive 36%. The TDS data also shows that damage, cleaning and redecoration are the most common reasons given for a tenancy deposit dispute. In the cases submitted to the TDS in 2014-2015, cleaning appeared in 58% of cases and damage in 52%. Fig 1 Adjudications completed each year – Source TDS 2015 March 2008 458 March 2009 8,098 March 2010 20,363 March 2011 18,156 March 2012 20,279 March 2013 24,448 March 2014 25,029 March 2015 27,816 Jane Morris, Managing Director of PropertyLetByUs.com comments: “These statistics are worrying and send a clear message to landlords and agents – this problem is not going away until they are better protected at the start, during and at the end of a tenancy agreement.     It is vital that landlords and agents ensure they get all the paperwork right at the start and at the end of a new tenancy agreement.  The reality is that some landlords are failing to put a letting contract in place, or they have very unfair clauses in the contact. Other landlords don’t conduct an adequate check-in and check-out, or don’t keep copies of correspondence with the tenant which could provide important evidence in a dispute. Landlords and agents should also have a thorough and detailed inventory which will enable both parties to be treated fairly and reasonably. This documentation will help resolve potential disputes and prevent them reaching the courts.” PropertyLetByUs.com has compiled some guidelines to help avoid tenant disputes: – Do not be tempted to compile your own inventory.  This is a very important document that records the condition of the property at the start of the tenancy.  It needs to be produced by trained professionals who understand what needs to be recorded and how.  Many landlords are unaware of what photographic and descriptive evidence is required, in the event of a dispute. All this evidence, should be noted with fine detail descriptions at the start of the tenancy – Always ensure that there is a full check-in carried out at the start to the tenancy, with both the tenant and the landlord/letting agent present.  The check-in document should be seen by all parties and agreed to, after any required amendments and changes have been made.  Also ensure that the tenant is present at the check-out, where any damage or cleaning issues can be pointed out and resolved. – It is important that the property is fit for letting.  When the tenant moves in, the property should be clean and outside areas, neat and tidy. It is worth pointing out to the tenant the common areas for cleaning issues such as the oven, fridge, kitchen cupboards and bathrooms.  If you let the property without having it cleaned, you can’t expect the tenant to leave it in a better condition than when they took it on – Mid-term checks – it is wise to make regular checks on the property, so that any damage etc can be flagged up to the tenant and any problems resolved before they escalate.  It is acceptable to visit a property every 3-4 months – Have regular communication ongoing with your tenants and encourage them to report any problems, as and when they occur during the tenancy. This ensures that your property will be kept in as good a condition as possible and that if any issues and problems arise, they can be resolved before the end of the tenancy. Source link