2015年4月3日 星期五

Top ten UK property hotspots: Sutton, Cambridge and Watford are most sought-after areas while Bristol's popularity soars

Sutton has overtaken Bexley since the last eMoov study in December as the area with the greatest level of demand for properties, with the latter borough dropping down to sixth place.
Other popular locations where demand continues to outstrip supply include Cambridge, Watford, Bristol, Reading and Guildford. 

Meanwhile, in Wandsworth demand for property has fallen by 11 per cent since December 2014, according to eMoov. 

Nine Elms, a district in the far north-eastern corner of Wandsworth, fared particularly poorly, with demand for property coming out at only 12 per cent last month. This makes Nine Elms 'the coldest spot in the UK', according to eMoov's findings.

Top 10 hottest locations in March 2015 

1. Sutton 67% 
2. Cambridge 66%
3. Watford 64%
4. Bristol 63%
5.Reading 63%
6. Bexley LBO 62%
7. Guildford 59%
8. Aylesbury 57%
9. Havering LBO 57%
10. Hillingdon 56%  
Nine Elms is on course to benefit from the planned extension of the Northern Line, but homeowners who have already sold their property in the area may have jumped the gun and raised prices in anticipation of better transport links and regeneration.

The online estate agent said: 'The resulting inflation in house prices looks to be a factor influencing the low demand in the area at present'.
Sefton in Merseyside has enjoyed a surge in popularity in recent months with an 80 per cent increase in demand for properties since December last year. 

Other locations where demand is increasing include Huddersfield (56 per cent), Trafford (24 per cent), Bradford (23 per cent), Stoke-on-Trent (21 per cent), Bolton (21 per cent) and Warrington (19 per cent).

While demand for property in the North West is increasing in certain areas, spots in the North East are faring less well, accounting for half of the top 10 'coldest spots' in terms of demand for property.
In North Tyneside, since December 2014 demand for property has fallen by 43 per cent and now stands at 13 per cent, eMoov says.

Top 10 coldest locations in March 2015 

1. Nine Elms 12% 
2. North Tyneside 13%
3. Sunderland 14%
4. County Durham 14%
5. City of Westminster 15%
6. Aberdeenshire 15%
7. Rochdale 15%
8. Highland 15%
9. Stockton-on-Tees 17%
10. Northumberland 18%
Similarly, in County Durham demand has dropped by 37 per cent since December last year.
Surprisingly, demand in the southern university town of Oxford - located about an hour away from London by train - has also decreased by 21 per cent in recent months.

Oxford's property demand downturn could, eMoov suggests, be the result of its recent accolade as the UK's most unaffordable place to buy. 
Russell Quirk, of eMoov, said: 'It's almost a tale of two halves in the North alone, let alone the North and South.

'The North West seems to be flourishing as demand for housing increases almost across the board. It is however a very different picture in the North East, as it accounts for a number of the coldest spots in the March Hotspots Index.

'As we predicted last summer, commuter towns around the capital seem to be in particularly strong form. I think it will be a long, long time before we see prices in central London become affordable enough to reverse this trend, if at all.

'Nine Elms is probably the shock pick of the bunch. It just goes to show, people are trying to anticipate what the market will do and get a jump on it, rather than pricing their property to reflect the market at the time'.  

Surprising: Demand for property in  Oxford - located about an hour away from London by train - has decreased by 21 per cent in recent months

Surprising: Demand for property in Oxford - located about an hour away from London by train - has decreased by 21 per cent in recent months


While demand for property across the UK continues to vary, approvals for mortgages reached a six-month high, the Bank of England said last week.

The average cost of a two-year fixed-rate mortgage for a borrower with a 25 per cent deposit fell below 2 per cent for the first time ever, the Bank’s data revealed, while five-year fixed-rates edged close to 3 per cent.

In February, 61,760 mortgages were approved, compared with an average of 60,750 over the previous six months, the Bank of England said.

The Chancellor's recent Budget also heralded a better era for would-be first time buyers, with the proposed introduction of a Help to Buy Isa.

With the Help To Buy Isa, the Government rewards savings of £200 a month with a £50 bonus. First-time buyers can also snap up a new-build home with just a 5 per cent deposit by using the Help To Buy scheme. 

With this, the Government offers a 20 per cent interest-free loan for five years. This means the buyer needs to borrow only 75 per cent of the property value as a mortgage. 

Source: the Mail

Highest climbers since Dec 14 

1. Sefton +80%
2. Huddersfield +56%
3. Trafford +24%
4. Bradford +23%
5. Stoke-on-Trent +21%
6. Cornwall +21%
7. Bolton +21%
8. Wakefield +20%
9. Fife +20%
10. Warrington +19%

Biggest fallers since Dec 14 

1. North Tyneside -43%
2. County Durham -37%
3. Sandwell -29%
4. Barnet -26%
5. Oxford -26%
6. Gateshead -18&
7. Cardiff -17%
8. Westminster -16%
9. Bexley -13%
10. Swansea -12% 



Couple buy historic 1840s Creole cottage slated for demolition and move it across New Orleans where they faithfully restore the home to its former glory

  • Gaby Tillero and Greg Ensslen bought the home after a church claimed they wanted to demolish it and expand their lot
  • The home was dismantled and stored for a year before the couple found a lot across New Orleans that would fit the home's dimensions
  • Tillero and her husband Ensslen now live in the home with their two sons, six-year-old Santiago and nine-year-old Javier, as well as Tillero's mother, Olga Tillero
  • The couple stayed true to the cottage's floor plan, while converting it from a duplex to a single-family home
  • They used salvaged and recycled materials to decorate the interior and exterior of the home  
 New Orleans couple bought a ramshackle historic cottage, moved it across the city and renovated it all the while using salvaged materials and respecting the home's original floor plan. 

Gaby Tillero and Greg Ensslen bought the the two-story 1840s Creole home from the Central City neighborhood after a church said they wanted to demolish it and expand their parking lot. The couple moved it to the Freret neighborhood where they then spent seven months renovating.

Tillero and her husband Ensslen now live in the home with their two sons, six-year-old Santiago and nine-year-old Javier, as well as Tillero's mother, Olga Tillero. 

Gaby Tillero and Greg Ensslen bought this 1840s Creole cottage style home in the Central City neighborhood of New Orleans almost two years ago
Gaby Tillero and Greg Ensslen bought this 1840s Creole cottage style home in the Central City neighborhood of New Orleans almost two years ago

The couple then dismantled the home, moved it to the Freret neighborhood of the city and renovated the home while respecting the floor plan and using salvaged materials to decorate the home
The couple then dismantled the home, moved it to the Freret neighborhood of the city and renovated the home while respecting the floor plan and using salvaged materials to decorate the home

To honor the home's original duplex floor plan while still creating a single-family home, Ensslen and Tillero put a massive wooden staircase between the kitchen and living room
To honor the home's original duplex floor plan while still creating a single-family home, Ensslen and Tillero put a massive wooden staircase between the kitchen and living room

The home is decorated with materials salvaged from other homes and salvage markets. The bookshelf on the right holding dishes was part of a house Ensslen restored in 1999
The home is decorated with materials salvaged from other homes and salvage markets. The bookshelf on the right holding dishes was part of a house Ensslen restored in 1999

This is what the Central City house looked like before Tillero and Ensslen bought up the house and moved it to the Freret neighborhood where it sits now
This is what the Central City house looked like before Tillero and Ensslen bought up the house and moved it to the Freret neighborhood where it sits now


The original staircase in the home separated the building into a duplex. In the renovated home Tillero and Ensslen honored the staircase idea by putting a massive wooden staircase separating the kitchen from the living room

'We bought the house to save the house - it was slated for demolition,' Ensslen told The Times-Picayune. 'I've always liked the Creole cottage style.' 

Ensslen, who's a historic renovation developer and organizer of the Freret Market and Freret Street Festival, and Tillero wanted to live outside Central City, so they bought the house before they had a lot to put it on. 

They ended up having to dismantle the structure and put it into storage.
'We had to dismantle it completely,' Ensslen said. 'It was a stack of lumber. We put it in a few dumpsters.'

The dumpsters were stored on a secured lot near the city's Industrial Canal, where they sat for a year until the couple found a lot that fit the house's dimensions. 
Once they sorted how to rebuilt the cottage's floor plan and collected materials for its interior, they purchased a lot. They rebuilt and renovated the house in seven months. 

One of the kitchen walls is decorated with a series of hand-crank egg beaters, which Ensslen began collecting in the 1980s when he moved to New Orleans
One of the kitchen walls is decorated with a series of hand-crank egg beaters, which Ensslen began collecting in the 1980s when he moved to New Orleans

All of the wood in the home was stripped of old paint and finished with linseed oil for a more golden touch in order to give it more character
















All of the wood in the home was stripped of old paint and finished with linseed oil for a more golden touch in order to give it more character


Once the couple found a lot that would fit the cottage's dimensions, they spent seven months renovating the home
Once the couple found a lot that would fit the cottage's dimensions, they spent seven months renovating the home

Source: the mail