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New UK housing zones widely welcomed
Twenty areas across the UK have been selected as the country’s first Housing Zones amid a pledge to build hundreds of thousands of new homes in the next five years, including more affordable properties. In the annual Budget Statement it was also announced that in London there will be nine new housing generation areas with the aim of building 28,000 new homes on brown field and public sector land. A London Land Commission will be created and tasked with identifying the best places to build and there will be strong incentives to dispose of public land for housing use. The government also announced that it wants communities to have a strong say over how their local area is developed. It confirmed it will support locally led plans for two more Garden Communities at Basingstoke and North Northants. The British Property Federation, an early supporter of housing zones, welcomed the plans. ‘Spending cuts have meant that support for brown field development all but disappeared during the recession. Housing Zones are welcome recognition that we can deliver significant amounts of desperately needed housing on brown field land, but that this will often need both central government support and clarity of purpose at local level,’ said chief executive Melanie Leech. Any building that takes place on brown field sites, rather than in open countryside must be welcome, according to Edward Heaton of Heaton and Partners property search agency who pointed out that around the UK and even in London it is surprising how many potential sites remain unlocked because of planning policy. But he pointed out that extra funding for new homes will not completely solve the housing crisis. Alison Platt, chief executive of Countrywide, one of the largest property services group in the UK, wants the government to go further. ‘Our analysis shows that there is land for 500,000 homes within walking distance of the train stations in the greenbelt around our cities. We ask the government to review the greenbelt with a vision to freeing up appropriate land for development,’ she said. ‘Last week we put forward 10 proposals to make the property market work better. We believe there is not yet enough clarity in the debate to impact policy and see structural shifts in both the residential and commercial property markets. We want to encourage debate around these proposals and any other solutions to our property market troubles, to get to a position where real positive change is possible,’ she added. According to Rick de Blaby, chief executive of London developer United House Developments, said that cutting the red tape strangling London development is key to this announcement. ‘The Chancellor and the Mayor need to ensure that the delivery of public sector land and brownfield sites to developers is backed by an efficient, lean machine to free up this land to avoid the delays currently snarling up the system,’ he explained. Nicholas Leeming, chairman of national estate agents,… Continue reading
Over a quarter of prospective UK buyers not confident about mortgage applications
Some 28% of prospective buyers in the UK aren't confident their mortgage application will be approved first time and it is even lower among first time buyers, new research has found. Although 27% plan to seek professional advice, 32% have not yet taken any steps to raise their chances of mortgage approval, according to a new mortgage approval confidence index from Unbiased, an online financial advisor. Out of a possible 10 points, confidence among prospective homebuyers sits at 5.7, however, the research reveals that both confidence and success can be greatly improved through taking professional mortgage advice from an independent financial adviser, with 81% of advised applications being approved first time. The research suggests that 32% of UK adults are currently planning to buy a property, but 28% of those who plan to fund their purchase with a mortgage are not confident their first application will be approved. This figure rises to 38% among first time buyers. Many lenders have recently cut their mortgage rates, which is encouraging for prospective buyers, but the research shows these people are pessimistic about their chances of securing a loan, yet are doing very little to address this. The most common steps taken to improve the chances of mortgage success are checking credit rating (28%) and making a detailed analysis of all outgoings (25%), but 32% of prospective mortgage applicants say they have taken no action at all in this area. Although only 19% of prospective mortgage applicants say they have already consulted a professional financial adviser for help with their mortgage application, a further 27% say they plan to do so. Although first time buyers are less likely than other homebuyers to seek professional mortgage advice, many apparently come to appreciate the benefits of having help with their application. Mortgage advisers say people moving home make up 37% of their client base, compared to just 26% who are first time buyers. Overall, one in five potential buyers who seek advice from a professional mortgage adviser, do so after having had their initial non-advised application rejected. Men rank higher on the mortgage confidence index than women at six compared to 5.3, with 66% of men stating they are confident compared to 50% of women. Men are also more likely to have taken action to improve their situation, as 73% have already taken some steps compared to just 60% of women. Only 21% of women who plan to buy a property with a mortgage say they intend to reduce their spending to increase their chances of having their application approved, 40% have not done anything at all so far, and 33% say they don't plan to take any steps to improve their chances of success. ‘I's great that so many people are looking to get on the property ladder, and the recent spate of good deals from mortgage providers means this figure is likely to rise even higher. Having a concrete goal in mind such as… Continue reading
Confidence in US housing market rises, latest index shows
Confidence in the US residential property market is on the rise, especially among those renting homes, new research shows. More than five million renters say they're likely to buy a home in the next year, according to the latest Zillow Housing Confidence Index (ZHCI) and overall both renters and home owners expressed more confidence in the housing market this year than last year. Americans are most confident in the housing market in San Jose, Miami and San Francisco while over the last year, confidence rose the most in Dallas, Detroit and St. Louis. Home owners remain more confident than renters, but renter confidence is growing faster than homeowner confidence in 14 of 20 metro areas surveyed. A breakdown of the figures show that more than 12% of current renters nationwide, roughly 5.2 million, said they plan to buy in the next year, an almost 25% jump from the same time last year, when 4.2 million renters said they had plans to buy within 12 months. The ZHCI, sponsored by Zillow and developed by Pulsenomics LLC, polls homeowners and renters about housing market conditions, expectations for the future and their attitudes toward homeownership in general, across 20 of the large metro areas in the United States. Thanks to historically low mortgage interest rates and home values below peak levels, buyers can expect to spend about 15% of their monthly income on a mortgage payment, compared to 22% historically, according to Zillow research. Typical renters should expect to pay 30% of their income to rent, compared to 25% a generation ago. ‘As home affordability continues to look great and rental affordability looks abysmal, many current renters clearly seem to be re-thinking their attitudes toward homeownership, and are expressing more confidence in the overall housing market as a result,’ said Zillow chief economist Stan Humphries. ‘But while this confidence is heartening, it's important to inject a note of reality as not all renters who want to buy this year will be successful. Saving a down payment, qualifying for a mortgage and finding an affordable home to buy all remain formidable challenges for many,’ he explained. ‘Among all renters surveyed nationwide, 59.7% said they think buying a home is the best long term investment a person can make, compared to 56.9% at the same time last year. This improved long term outlook was especially evident among younger renters. Among all 18 to 34 year old renters, 66.2% said owning a home was the best long term investment, compared to 61.4% last year. The index is measured on a 100 point scale, with readings more than 50 indicating general confidence. Overall, housing market confidence is rising more quickly among renters than home owners. Among only home owners, headline confidence rose 3.7 points year on year, to 70.6 in January. Among renters only, overall confidence rose 4.4 points in the past year, to 62.4. Confidence among all owners and renters rose 3.6 points, to 67.4. Although survey respondents in most… Continue reading
