Estate agents « Building Solutions (Midlands) Blog

March 10, 2010

Downward pressure on house prices as supply exceeds demand

Filed under: Domestic, Estate agents, Finance, House Prices, Mortgages, Property — Amanda @ 10:45 pm

There has been a recent rise in the number of agents reporting an increase in available properties, to 15 per cent from -20 per cent, described as “the first sustained shift towards supply for two years”.

While market indicators are consistent with further house price increases, recent gains have been attributed to the lack of property available. Lower interest rates, better mortgage deals and patience from lenders has meant that more homeowners have been able to stay put during the recession, rather than being forced to sell. As prices have increased, homeowners have put their properties on the market, which may have contributed to February’s price fall, along with the end of the stamp duty holiday and bad weather at the start of the year.

Price falls have been reported in Yorkshire and Humber, the West Midlands, Wales and the North.

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March 6, 2010

Renovating ex-local authority houses

Filed under: Builders, Conversions, Estate agents, Extensions, House Prices, Property, Property Auctions, Property Development, Property Investors, Property development funding, Renovations, UK landlords — Tags: Best value houses? — Richard @ 9:02 am

What can be done by way of improvements / modernisation / upgrading to the latest property regulations, and decor, progressed by private investors to ex-local authority properties was outlined in an article in a national newspaper last weekend (Sunday 28th February). The national Sunday newspaper article concerned highlighted what had been achieved in the Midlands.

Ex-local authority houses usually have a lot going for them in that more often than not they are located in an area which has easy access to local amenities :- shops, doctors, dentists, buses, and schools.

Such ex-local authority properties are also usually well built, have reasonably large sized rooms, have been maintained well by the local authority concerned. They also often have a good sized garden with space to have a shed or other outbuildings. Some of these properties can be adapted so that off road parking can be provided, if not already provided.

After the builder has done the necessary work it can be hard to imagine what the house looked like originally, but builders can make such properties into lovely modern homes.

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March 2, 2010

New build development for profit

Filed under: Architechtural, Builders, Commercial, Commercial property, Commercial property surveyors, Conversions, Domestic, Estate agents, Finance, House Prices, Property, Property Auctions, Property Development, Property Investors, Property development funding — Tags: Land owners and investors look to joint ventures for higher profits. — Richard @ 9:12 pm

House builders are starting to see the first signs of a recovery in the UK housing market, with the values of land gradually improving and their off plan sales improving they can see the first green shoots of recovery in the house building sector.
One of the remaining challenges for the sector is down valuing, when property surveyors are recommending lower property values than that estimate by the developers. The values of the finished homes on new build developments is the most critical number in a development appraisal these figures make up the GDV, gross development value. Once the land costs, build costs, and overheads are removed the remaining balance is the developer’s profit. If the property developer over estimates the final sales prices the results can be financially devastating for the development project and the property developer. With more land owners looking to complete joint venture as a result of a less fluid market for residential development sites, more and more investment consortiums are pawing through the figures and estate agents comparables to make sure the sums add up.

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February 28, 2010

Building plots for sale in the midlands

Filed under: Architechtural, Builders, Commercial, Commercial property, Commercial property surveyors, Conversions, Estate agents, Finance, Property, Property Auctions, Property Development, Property Investors, Property development funding, Renovations — Tags: How to secure a planning gain. — Richard @ 3:13 pm

There are many ways to find building plots in the midlands but many developers do not like to look at site that have been on the market for some time. The reason for this is that they believe that if the site or plot was a great deal one of their competitors would have already snapped up the site. The same applies for many vendors, those who own potential residential or commercial redevelopment sites often prefer to sell “off market”. There are various reasons for this but many spend time and money negotiating with potential purchasers who cannot actually buy the land or they will switch terms at a late stage in the land deal.
Many plot sellers prefer to deal with a broker or joint venture partner who they know is more likely to close the deal and deliver the profits. So many potential residential redevelopment sites are sold “off market”, through a closed network of established developers, main contractors and joint property development partners. Established main contractors have the experience and credibility that is required to obtain the essential property development or bank finance, so they offer an excellent opportunity for site owners who wish to share in the property development profits. They can also provide option agreements where the vendor allows the developer to arrange the planning application. This is often structured so that in exchange for a period of exclusivity in which the developer can purchase the site they arrange for the planning permission and there for secure the planning gain.

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February 27, 2010

Property prices show first falls since house price revival

Filed under: Commercial property surveyors, Domestic, Estate agents, Finance, House Prices, Mortgages, Property, Property Auctions, Property Development, Property Investors, Property development funding — Tags: Property developers wish for crystal ball — Richard @ 9:52 pm

Recent figures have shown that the average UK house price has dropped for the first time in recent months, missing the double digit inflation predicted by many. This falter comes after the end of the stamp duty holiday so there is evidence to suggest that the missing sales and higher offers have all been used up before the stamp duty holiday ended. The bank lending criteria has loosened but with the chance of an increase in interest rates, 2010 looks to be a great year for predictions with one thing for sure some of the pundits will be left with egg on their faces.

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What is the future for HIP’s home information packs?

Filed under: Commercial property surveyors, Estate agents, Finance, House Prices, Letting Agents, Property, Property Auctions, Property Development, Property Investors, Property development funding — Tags: Home exchange packs set to replace HIP’s? — Richard @ 7:44 am

The shadow housing minister is thought to be planning to scrap HIP’s home information packs as soon as possible after coming to power. Many estate agents, property traders and developers see the removal of the HIP’s as an integral part of a housing market recovery.
The EPC or energy performance certificate is thought to be safe and has proved more popular with home buyers and home sellers. The energy certificate does make sellers give more thought to their properties green credentials. For over ten years since the HIP home information pack first became a proposal of the Labor manifesto it has been surrounded by controversy. The first signs of the HIP’s replacement are just starting to gather credibility. It looks like the “exchange ready packs” of ERP’s will be the replacement for the HIP’s, this pack is aimed purely at speeding up completion after exchange. These pack would reduce the average exchange time period by well over half, they will include local authority searches, drainage water searches, a property information questionnaire completed by the seller and answers to standard questions from the buyer’s solicitor. The biggest advantage of these changes is that these packs will not need to be provided for the first 30days of marketing which will be a vast improvement from the HIP’s which are required for day one.
The other good news for the housing market is that a conservative government has pledged to scrap stamp duty on properties that sell below £250.00.

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February 20, 2010

Heavy hitters in buy-to-let return to the ring

Filed under: Commercial, Commercial property, Commercial property surveyors, Conversions, Estate agents, Finance, House Prices, Letting Agents, Property, Property Auctions, Property Development, Property Investors, Property development funding, Renovations, UK landlords — Tags: Buy to let returns to fight after a count of 9? — Richard @ 4:23 pm

Some of the so called heavy hitters including ex-boxer Andreas Panayiotou are starting their first major residential property purchases for years. Many of the “clever players” sold out in late 2006 early 2007 when they grew increasingly concerned with the very low yields being achieved from both commercial and residential property investments.
There is always a demand for buy to let as many use this investment vehicle to provide a passive income for their retirement. Interestingly there is increasing speculation that some large instructional investors are looking to residential investment property to supply them with higher yielding investments.

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February 11, 2010

Property investors look for high yields and better returns as the first signs of falling commercial property yields.

Filed under: Commercial, Commercial property, Commercial property surveyors, Estate agents, Finance, House Prices, Property, Property Auctions, Property Development, Property Investors, Property development funding, UK landlords — Tags: The future of house prices in 2010 — Richard @ 9:05 pm

Many in the world of property closely follow the results of auctions as a good prediction of where the market will go. Those who take this to the highest level closely watch the London commercial auctions following single let retail as their indicator of choice for the futures market.
The lower the yield the more capital values have increased, unless of course rents have fallen, which they have not. So perhaps the fact that these yields are falling, will be enough to increasing positive sentiment which ultimately drive the property market and UK house prices.

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February 10, 2010

Property developers need to build more new homes

Filed under: Architechtural, Builders, Estate agents, Finance, House Prices, Letting Agents, Mortgages, Property, Property Auctions, Property Development, Property Investors, Property development funding, UK landlords — Tags: Property developers might have suitable sites with planning permission but can they obtain suitable development funding? — Richard @ 9:10 pm

Data suggests the number of new homes coming to the market could be at its lowest levels since 1923, this news comes as housing charities struggle to cope with the demand for housing in the UK. The increasing levels of repossessions and householders facing financial difficulties will further burden the waiting lists for houses.
The private rented sector is becoming an increasingly important source of affordable rental property as more and more people find it a struggle to obtain mortgages. It is a painful coincidence that the number of new homes coming on the market has also been restricted because of tighter criteria for property development funding.

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February 2, 2010

Finding a good builder

Filed under: Architechtural, Builders, Commercial property, Commercial property surveyors, Conversions, Estate agents, Finance, Property, Property Auctions, Property Development, Property Investors, Property development funding, UK landlords — Tags: Property developers — Richard @ 9:54 pm

Finding a good builder could become more of a challenge as the UK construction industry reports its slowest rate of decline since 2008.
The house building sector and speculative land development sector has seen growth for the last five months. It looks like the British builder has struggled through both adversity and in recent time’s heavy snow to assist these figures. Many believed they would have painted a much bleaker picture.
The shortage of sensible development finance has lead to many developers simply shutting up shop and waiting for things to “pick up”. These developers have now been sat back for two years and many are looking to rebuild their careers and their bank balances.

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