Residential market picking up, says JLL
RESIDENTIAL land acquisitions by house builders in the North West during the first half of 2013 will deliver 5,500 new homes – more than the total recorded for the whole of 2012.
That’s according to property agent Jones Lang LaSalle which said that the number of land deals had also risen – up to 46 covering 370 acres during the first half, compared to 26, or 170 acres, in the same period last year with a capacity for 2,500 homes.
Kieran McLaughlin, a national director from Jones Lang LaSalle’s residential team in Manchester, said: “While the market began to thaw in 2012, in 2013 the recovery in house building looks to be well underway.
“Driving this confidence has been a significant uplift in mortgage approvals – 25% since January – the re-emergence of 95% mortgages from providers like Halifax, and of course, major government schemes such as Help to Buy.
“This turnaround in market confidence is then coupled with the robust trading positions of the major volume house builders to create a potent cocktail for growth; the share prices of the main plc’s have increased by 50% on average since the start of the year. The uplift in transaction activity in the region has been prolific over the first six months of 2013 and is a definite sign that the housing market’s resurgence is not just a Southern phenomenon.”
This year JLL has advised on Taylor Wimpey’s acquisition of Bickershaw Colliery in Leigh, with space for 475 houses; Taylor Wimpey’s purchase of land at Farington Business Park, Leyland, for 220 new homes; and Persimmon’s deal at Redhouse Lane, Disley, for 120 units.
