Nearly 300,000 Homes Empty for more than 6 months

 

New Halifax research highlights that there are 290,862 private homes in England that have been empty for more than six months, the government's preferred measure. This is equivalent to 1.6% of all privately owned dwellings in England. The number of private empty homes has fallen by 6% in England over the past three years.

 

21 areas with a high level of empty homes

In 21 local authorities (LAs) at least 3.0% of the private dwelling stock is empty - nearly double the English average. The most private empty homes are in Burnley (6.2%), Liverpool (5.6%) and Pendle (5.1%). Nine of the top 21 empty homes areas are located in the North West, while 3 are in the West Midlands. There was a rise in vacant dwellings in 14 of the 21 LAs with the highest proportion of empty homes between 2002 and 2005.

 

House prices are lower in areas with highest proportion of empty homes

The average house price in 20 of the 21 LAs with the highest proportion of empty homes trades, on average, at a discount to its regional average house price. The discount is, on average, £25,470 or 16%. Of the 21 LAs with the most empty homes the discount is largest in Stoke on Trent, at 35% (£58,100).

 

High empty homes areas in need of regeneration

19 out of the 21 LAs with the most empty private homes rank amongst the 20% most deprived areas in England, according to the Indices of Multiple Deprivation. The DCLG's Multiple Deprivation Indices rank LAs in England by a range of factors including income, education, health and living conditions.

 

Restoring an Empty home vacant less than 3 years attracts 17.5% VAT

The cost of restoring an empty home attracts the full rate of VAT (17.5%) unless the property has been vacant for more than 3 years when a reduced rate of VAT of 5% applies to the renovation. A property vacant more than 10 years, which is renovated and sold, attracts a zero rate of VAT. New build properties are not liable for VAT on construction costs.

 

 

Table 1:  Empty private homes by region

Region

No Private Empty Homes (Apr 05)

% of Private Dwelling stock Empty  (Apr 05)

Change in number of Private Empty Homes (2002 to 2005)

North East

17,014

2.0%

2,023

North West

62,351

2.6%

-1,169

Yorkshire & the Humber

31,261

1.8%

-6,959

East Midlands

25,493

1.6%

-733

West Midlands

37,177

2.0%

654

East of England

25,707

1.3%

-3,404

London

36,164

1.5%

-4,811

South East

32,647

1.1%

2,144

South West

23,048

1.2%

-4,756

England

290,862

1.6%

-17,011

 

Figures based on data from the Department for Communities & Local Government (DCLG), the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Halifax's own extensive housing database.

 

Ends | 21 Oct 2006 | Halifax