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British women say strict mortgage rules are discriminatory
A number of women who apply for mortgages in the UK believe that they have been discriminated against by lenders because starting a family would have an impact on their finances. Getting a mortgage in the UK has become tougher since new regulations were introduced in 2014 and applicants are now asked to fill in a form detailing their monthly outgoing, including things like gym membership, and how they would fair when interest rates rise. Now new research shows that 25% of women have intentionally not disclosed plans to start a family as they fear this would lead to their application being refused and 9% said they have been discriminated against by lenders over their plans to have children. Indeed, the research from comparison website uSwitch also found that 11% would delay having a child in order to secure a mortgage while 48% save up to cover payments during maternity leave. The research also found that the pressure of disclosing information for a mortgage application is having a significant emotional impact. Some 71% of women who concealed their family plans from lenders experienced high levels of stress and anxiety during the mortgage application process. Overall 27% of women think the current affordability criteria is out of step with modern family finances and many said savings should be taken into account. ‘There is a strong feeling that mortgage lenders, rightly or wrongly, may be penalising women for starting a family,’ said Tashema Jackson, money expert at uSwitch. ‘A worrying outcome is that some female mortgage applicants are feeling forced to withhold information from potential lenders. Not only can this have severe implications in terms of invalidating any mortgage offers, but it is causing stress and anxiety for home buyers at a critical time in their life,’ she pointed out. ‘While it’s vital that lenders help people only borrow within their means and ensure they can afford future payments, it’s not fair for lenders to make blanket assumptions. Those planning a family may be able to manage their repayments even with a drop in household income, thanks to careful planning or savings,’ she explained. ‘We believe lenders should be making decisions based on a broader picture of an applicant’s financial situation, including the amount that they have in savings, rather than on assumptions about a woman’s personal circumstances or intentions,’ she added. She also pointed out that anyone who feels that they may have been discriminated against for any reason should lodge a complaint with the mortgage provider and if there is no resolution they can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Continue reading
UK property demand now higher outside of London, says market report
Demand for property in the UK is now higher outside of London, increasing by 5% since the second quarter of the year, according to latest market intelligence report. Bexley remains the hottest spot in the UK with demand climbing a 3% quarter on quarter to 77%, followed by Watford at 72%, Bristol at 71%, Reading at 68% and Barking at 65%. The rest of the top 10 is made up of Sutton at 64%, Cambridge at 67% and Medway, Havering and Brentwood all on 64%, the property hotspot index from online estate agent eMoov shows. The London Borough of Ealing has seen the most drastic turn around in property demand with growth of 74%, although at an index figure of 38%, demand in the area is still relatively low. Aberdeenshire is the coldest spot in the UK with demand at just 10% and demand in the area has halved since the third quarter of 2014. Highland is the only other Scottish region in the top 10 coldest spots, with demand at just 17%. Westminster at 15% and Kensington and Chelsea at 17% are the only London entries, with the other six coldest locations all located in the North West. Camden is the fifth biggest faller over the course of the year, with demand reducing by a quarter year on year with Westminster down 33% and Islington down 15%. The rest of the year’s biggest fallers are again, located across the north of the country. ‘In early 2014, we predicted the ripple effect London as an individual, market would have on the UK property market. Although there are pockets of the capital that have enjoyed sustained demand, it’s the commuter belt that is currently top for property demand in the UK,’ said the firm’s chief executive officer Russell Quirk. ‘The uncertainty of the situation in Aberdeenshire and the local oil industry, seems to have had serious repercussions to the local property market. Not only is it bottom, but demand has halved in just a year. Unfortunately there can only be one consequence to property prices in the area, which is inevitably a drop,’ he added. Continue reading
Average home price in London set to reach £1 million by 2020
If the current annual rate of price growth in London continues, the average price of a home would be £1 million by the end of 2020, new research has found. The prediction is made as the price of property coming to market in London has rebounded from its holiday season lull to jump by 2.2% or £13,177, according to online property portal Rightmove. Indeed, the average price of a newly marketed home in the capital is at a new all-time high of £620,003, up by 0.8% or £4,888 on the previous record set in July of this year. ‘This month’s 2.2% rise more than reverses the seasonal slowdown over the last two months when the average price of property coming to market fell by 0.6%,’ said Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst. ‘It’s a volatile time of year for average prices however, as potential sellers of higher priced properties tend to refrain from coming to market in the holiday period, but then get on with their home moving plans again in September partly influenced by children going back to school. The back to normal service has resulted in new seller asking prices reaching another milestone, with a new record high,’ he explained. The annual rate of increase is now up to 9.5% as London’s long term supply/demand imbalance and international allure result in underlying upwards price pressure, enabling the capital’s property market to maintain its upward trajectory through temporary upheavals such as the recent election. Rightmove calculates that if the current annual rate of price growth was maintained for the next five years the average price tag of a London home would be £1 million by the end of 2020. ‘The average price tag on a newly-marketed property is £53,923 higher in September this year than last and if this trend were to continue it would hit £1 million in just over five years. While we are not suggesting that this level of growth can or will be maintained, this extrapolation illustrates the desperate need for more building and more affordable housing in and around the capital,’ Shipside added. Lee James Pendleton, director of James Pendleton Estate Agents, confirmed that the summer has been good for London property. The firm has experienced a huge upturn in the market around Wandsworth, Lambeth and Hammersmith and Fulham. ‘While there have been less buyers overall, there are more quality buyers. One example of a place that’s booming is Nine Elms in Battersea, where studios that had been selling for £450,000 are now selling for over £600,000. These new developments have had a ripple effect on Wandsworth in general, with prices up around 15% in some places,’ he pointed out. Continue reading
