Tag Archives: crisis
New standard format mortgage charge tariff launched in UK
A new tariff of mortgage charges has been launched in the UK that introduces a standard format for how lenders communicate their fees, to make it easier for customers to understand charges and compare deals. Following a campaign by consumer organisation Which? to end the confusion around mortgage costs, the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne asked the Council of Mortgage Lenders and Which? to work together to find ways to make it easier for consumers to understand and compare the costs of different mortgages with different lenders. Since then they have worked jointly to address this problem and believe that the new tariff to help make it easier for people to understand mortgage fees and charges. There are two key improvements within the tariff. Firstly there will be standard terminology. Different lenders will now use the same names for fees, as Which? research previously found consumers find the existing range of names for similar fees too confusing. Secondly it introduces a new common format. Each lender will list fees in the same order, and with the same descriptions, to make it easier to compare between lenders. The new tariff has been tested on consumers, and results show that they found it much easier to understand and compare costs than when they used existing versions. Lenders representing 85% of the market have already committed to introducing this tariff and putting it on their website by the end of the year, and we anticipate that other lenders will also choose to adopt it. Continue reading
More supply sees residential property rent growth slow in the US
Annual rent growth in the United States has slowed for the third month in a row but rents are still rising faster than historical norms, according to the latest index data. Rents appreciated 4.5% year on year in October, down from 5.3% in September, down from a high of 6.6% in July and it is mostly due to more properties, specifically apartments, coming onto the market, the Zillow real estate market report shows. A breakdown of the figures shows that tents in large multifamily buildings rose 3.9% annually, while single family home rents grew 4.5%. Overall, newly built apartment buildings are finally opening for new residents and slowing the rate of rental appreciation across the country, but rents are still rising much faster than the historical norm and continue to rise faster than incomes, according to the report. The report points out that multifamily housing starts have been increasing since late 2009, and as units become available, the pace of rental appreciation is slowing. Lack of inventory has been a leading cause of the ongoing rental affordability crisis, especially in fast growing markets. Even the hottest rental markets, which have seen double digit rent appreciation for the past five months, are growing at a slower pace although rents are still rising there more than twice as fast as the national average. The San Francisco metro has the fastest rental appreciation among the nation's 35 largest markets. Rents there are up 15.2% from last year, but they were growing as fast as 19% annually in June and July. ‘Rental appreciation has started to slow down in part due to more rental supply. Many of the bigger multifamily rental projects that were begun a couple years ago in cities nationwide are finally starting to open for occupancy, easing pressure on rents somewhat,’ said Zillow chief economist Svenja Gudell. ‘But despite this recent slowdown in rental appreciation, the rental affordability crisis we've been enduring for the past few years shows no signs of easing, especially as income growth remains weak. It will take a lot more supply, and a lot more renters turned home owners, to fully reverse this trend,’ Gudell added. As rents have grown and rental affordability continues to suffer, the stability and relative affordability of homeownership may be pushing some qualified renters to make the jump to home ownership. A widely expected December rate hike from the Federal Reserve could be an additional incentive for buyers to enter the market while rates remain low. Reflecting this, home values are growing at their fastest pace since November 2014, up 4.3% to a Zillow Home Value Index of $182,800. Continue reading
Homes in a National Park in England and Wales cost on average 44% more
Buying a home in a National Park in England and Wales will cost an average of £100,000 more than other properties nearby, new research has found. The New Forest is the most expensive National Park with an average price of £531,162 but all properties in these areas are costly and prices have increased by £57,718 over the last decade. The research from Lloyds Bank shows that overall prices in the National s in 2015 are on average, £101,880 higher than their county average, a premium of 44%. Properties in the New Forest command the largest premium relative to the average for the surrounding area in both monetary and percentage terms at £258,042 and 94%. The Peak District at 89% and the Lake District at 72% have the next highest percentage premiums to the surrounding area. Snowdonia is the only National Park where property prices are actually below the average for the surrounding area at 3% less. Of the 12 National Parks included in the research, 11 have higher house prices than the average for their county, with four attracting a price premium of more than £100,000. Seven of the 12 National Parks surveyed have an average house price that exceeds £250,000. ‘Many home buyers are prepared to dig that bit deeper to benefit from the lifestyle associated with living in National Parks,’ said Andrew Mason, mortgages director at Lloyds Bank. ‘As areas of outstanding natural beauty, they are also prime locations for those seeking second properties. The combined impact of these factors is that house prices are typically much higher than those in surrounding areas,’ he explained. ‘When we take average local earnings into account, this situation can make it really tough for many of those living and working in National Parks to afford to buy their own home,’ he added. So it is no surprise that home affordability in National Parks is significantly worse than for the country as a whole. The average house price in a National Park of £332,755 in 2015 is, on average, 10.9 times higher than local average gross annual earnings. The New Forest is both the most expensive and the least affordable National Park with an average house price of £531,162 that is 14.2 times local gross average annual earnings. The South Downs, at 12.5 times average earnings, is the second least affordable National Park, followed by the Peak District at 10.3. Snowdonia is both the least expensive and the most affordable National Park with an average house price of £165,840, which is 6.2 times local average annual earnings. Snowdonia is the only National Park with an average price below £200,000. The average house price in National Parks across England and Wales has increased by £57,718 or 21% over the past 10 years, from £275,037 in 2005 to £332,755 in 2015. The biggest percentage increases were in the South Downs at 44% and the Pembrokeshire Coast at 29%. At the other end of the spectrum, the Broads Authority is the only… Continue reading
