The prices of homes in the North West are expected to rise by 4% this year.
This figure has been revealed after global real estate services provider, Savills, has released its upgraded forecasts for the “second hand” housing market in the year ahead, which is based on Nationwide Building Society’s house price index.
Researchers at Savills had previously expected house prices to remain flat in 2021 across the UK, but a number of measures to support the market which were included in Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget announcements last week, combined with the easing of lockdown measures, have led them to revisit their forecasts.
Lucian Cook – Head of Residential Research at Savills – said 2021 had initially been set to be “a complex and uneven year” for the housing market, but added that “the outlook has improved since the beginning of the year given the speed of the vaccination programme, the expected relaxation of social distancing measures and government support for both jobs and the housing market”.
The property group has calculated that nearly £50,000 will be added to the average UK house price between December 2020 and the end of 2025.
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And by the end of 2025, house prices should have increased by 28.8% in the North West of England.
As is to somewhat be expected nowadays, Savills has predicted that housing markets further away from London – such as in Greater Manchester and the North West as a whole, where house prices tend to be lower – have more potential for prices to grow.
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Savills said that a key reason for larger price rises in parts of the country, like the North West, was simply that there was more capacity for growth, with Lucian Cook adding: “The expectation that interest rates will stay lower for much longer than was predicted pre-pandemic means there remains capacity for medium-term house price growth despite the unexpectedly strong performance of last year.
“Across the country as a whole, five-year price growth of around 20% looks sustainable without unduly depleting mortgage affordability.”
Over the next five years, we expect prices in prime central London to grow by 21.6%, as buyers are drawn to its good value in a historical context with the expectation of a strong rebound when international restrictions ease.
During last week’s 2021 Budget, it was announced that temporary lifting of the stamp duty threshold in England and Northern Ireland is to be extended until the end of June, and a new government guarantee for lenders to support the return of 95% mortgages will be introduced.
“With the introduction of the mortgage guarantee scheme, [it] underpins our expectation of 1.4 million transactions in 2021,” Mr Cook concluded.
Property
Government sets date for ‘historic’ no-fault evictions ban next year
Emily Sergeant
The Government has officially set the date for the ban of no-fault evictions next year.
Renting in England is expected to be ‘transformed’ with a raft of major changes coming into effect as part of the new Renters’ Rights Bill from 1 May 2026 for 11 million people across the country – and this, crucially, includes the end of Section 21 evictions at no-fault of the tenant.
As it stands, Section 21 notices leaving thousands of people vulnerable to homelessness every year, but in just under six months’ time, private renters will no longer face this threat.
To the vast majority of renters and landlords who play by the rules, this government has got your back.
Further measures announced as part of the new Renters’ Rights Bill – which has now been passed in law – include a ban on rental bidding wars, making landlords and letting agents legally required to publish an asking rent for their property and prevented from asking for, encouraging, or accepting any bids above this price, and also a ban on in-tenancy rent increases written in to contracts.
The latter will prevent landlords from implementing higher rents mid-tenancy, and only allow them to raise the rent once a year to the market rate.
Landlords will also no longer be able to unreasonably refuse tenants’ requests to have a pet, nor will they be able to discriminate against potential tenants, because they receive benefits or have children.
‘No-fault’ evictions are now banned in England under historic new legislation / Credit: Maria Ziegler (via Unsplash)
On the flip side, however, the new Bill means landlords will have stronger legally valid reasons to get their properties back when needed – whether that’s be to move in themselves, sell the property, or deal with rent arrears or anti-social behaviour.
The Government says this will work to deliver a fairer system for both sides.
“We’re calling time on no fault evictions and rogue landlords,” commented Housing Secretary, Steve Reed. “Everyone should have peace of mind and the security of a roof over their head, and the law we’ve just passed delivers that.
“We’re now on a countdown of just months to that law coming in, so good landlords can get ready and bad landlords should clean up their act.”
Alongside the Renters’ Rights Act, an ‘improved’ Housing Health and Safety Rating System, which will better assess health and safety risks in homes and making it more efficient and easier to understand, will also be introduced.
And there are also planned new standards to ensure privately rented properties are warmer and cheaper to run.
Featured Image – Benjamin Elliott (via Unsplash)
Property
Work finally begins on Greater Manchester’s new ‘innovation hub’ in Atom Valley creating 20,000 jobs
Emily Sergeant
It’s official… work has finally begun on the first major development in Atom Valley.
If you’re not familiar with Atom Valley, this new project is set to be a unique innovation ‘cluster’ – plans of which were approved by local leaders all the way back in summer 2022 – with the potential to create up to 20,000 new jobs in Greater Manchester once it’s complete.
Greater Manchester wants Atom Valley to become a ‘springboard’ for new and emerging companies and researchers, giving them the support and the opportunities they need to trial and commercialise their innovations right here in our region.
The new development which ground has now been broken on is a Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing Centre (SMMC) – which is set to become a thriving hub of innovation.
Today is a big day for GM.
We break ground on a new research centre at Atom Valley – our emerging world-class cluster in advanced materials and manufacturing.
Here, start-ups and emerging companies will be able to pioneer new technologies and scale up their ambitions, all while creating jobs and driving growth across the region in the process.
Located next to the Kingsway Business Park in Rochdale, it will offer 30,000 sq ft of new laboratory space, workshops, and design studios, as well as a lecture theatre, meeting rooms, office space, and flexible workspace for start-ups.
With the ‘right’ support, local leaders say the SMMC will also be a vital link between Atom Valley and the Oxford Road Corridor, ultimately forging a pathway for new companies and projects to expand from the city centre out into the wider city region.
Work has finally begun on Greater Manchester’s new ‘innovation hub’ in Atom Valley / Credit: DLA Architecture
Mayor Andy Burnham says this is the ‘most ambitious development’ in Atom Valley so far
“It will help unleash the untapped potential of the world-leading research taking place across our city region, bridging that crucial gap from invention to bringing those new innovations to the market,” he explained. “And it will create a new hi-tech corridor from the out to the north of Greater Manchester, creating jobs and new opportunities for start-ups to scale up their ambitions.
“This is integrated, well-connected development in action, and a clear sign of our mission to spread the benefits of growth right across our city region.”
Emily Sergeant -
10th March 2021 
