Things are improving slightly up from the record lows of 2009 when only 848,000 properties changed hands. The three most restraining factors on transaction volumes and house prices are the usual suspects a lack of suitable mortgage finance, unemployment and consumer confidence. Both new build and normal sales are subdued because there are limited new houses and a lack of confidence that existing home owners will achieve the sale figures they want. The council of mortgage lenders is predicting further falls in lending this year which ultimately will lead to further falls in transaction volumes.
Gap widens as prices in the North head South
January 17, 2012
Rightmove has put the fall in UK house prices at 0.8% and even more alarming is the dramatically low levels of transaction volumes. These are currently running at their lowest level since rightmove records began. The interest in property buying is defiantly there as rightmove reports a 27% increase in searches in the same period last year. This gives a search level above 44million, since records began in rightmove these are the highest ever seen. With London prices jumping 6 percent in the previous 12months the gap is getting bigger.
House prices dropped just shy of 2% in 2011
January 5, 2012
London was the only place to see house prices continually rise through 2011 but nationally we witnessed a 1.9% drop in the average house price in England and Wales over the year. This left the average UK house stumbling around the £160k figure. Interestingly as the average London house price increased it exceeded the £340k mark, will it make £350K in 2012? So was there any good news for the rest of the UK? There were two interesting items in the land registries figures one the highest monthly price rises were in the North east at a impressive 1.4% and the number of completions in September hit a 6% increase on the previous year.
Tenants get poorer as home owners pay less to live
January 2, 2012
Tenants are paying more in rent than their home owning counterparts are paying in mortgage payments. This come as little shock too many as interest rates stay at these historic lows and rent inflation soar skyward. At the beginning of 2011 it was cheaper to buy a home than rent in 80% of the biggest towns and cities. During 2011 the figure jumped to 94% this is a depressing statistic for those stuck in rented accommodation by the mortgage drought. With banks and big lending institutions happily rebuilding their capital reserves and balance sheets things look unlikely to change direction soon.
Vendors get jumpy before Christmas?
December 17, 2011
In November asking prices for houses coming to market have reduced by over 3% this takes the average asking price of property down by a over seven thousand pounds. This fall in asking prices in real terms has been the largest that Rightmove has seen since 2007 and the start of the economic down turn. Many blame the situation with the Euro as a key reason that sentiment and there for house prices are taking a turn for the worst. All this tailored with a 13% reduction in new vendors really highlights the population’s new aversion to large financial decisions and commitments.
Property market welcomes £4 billion pledged by government to kick start developments
November 29, 2011
The property market has been desperate for new build housing stock and assistance for first time buyers. The governments announcement that it will back the proposed new-build mortgage indemnity scheme coupled with the 4 billion it plans to invest to kick start stalled developments means Christmas has come early for the property sector? Well it is good news but is it what they really want? Developers, house builders, main contractors and surveyors are all keen to see a sensible return to 95% loan to value mortgages. Once home buyers can easily secure their dream homes with a 5% deposit the housing market will open up. This will really assist the UK’s economic recovery as it will increase employment in the property and construction sectors.
Mortgage market stabilises at new low levels
November 14, 2011
A report from the Council of mortgage lenders has shown that over 48000 mortgage loans totalling over seven billion pounds where secured in September. Good news was that first time buyer’s loans raised by one percent in September with an increase of five percent over the year even those this was from a historic high. A further encouraging figure showed a fall in the size of deposits with an average of twenty percent deposits compared to a twenty four percent deposit in September of this time last year. This coupled with lower purchase prices is increasing the purchase power of buyers.
Tenants set to spend a third of take home pay on their rent by 2020
October 30, 2011
The average tenant in the UK is currently spending nearly 22 percent of their take home pay on their rent but this figure looks to rise dramatically over the next few years. With flat share rents in London increasing at around an annual inflation rate of 5 percent the London market is of particular concern. Rental inflation simply reflects the increasing demand in the rental market against a limited supply of suitable private rented housing stock. The average first time buyer simply cannot afford the deposit require to get onto the housing market so they are trapped with ever increasing rents. While only the core of professional landlords expand their property portfolios as many amateur landlords fear the future of UK house prices.
