Tag Archives: real estate
England and Wales asking prices up 0.9% in August, says latest index
Asking prices in England and Wales increased by 0.9% month on month in September taking the average asking price to £264,875, according to the latest index from Rightmove. This followed a 2.9% contraction in August and it is the first rise at this time of the year since 2011. Rightmove says that it marks an earlier than usual sign of autumn activity picking up. London also saw prices edge up by 0.9% over the month to reach £557,792 on average. Three regions have seen prices fall. They were down 1.8% in the West Midlands, down 1.6% in Wales and down 0.8% in the North West. The report says that the indications are that pent-up demand remains in spite of a summer lull and enquiries to agents are up overall by 16% year on year, the second highest ever monthly level. It also suggests that the upturn has been aided by holidaying home hunters being constantly in touch, with 45% growth in enquiries from mobile devices in August compared to last year. However it adds that the current ‘window to move’ may be compromised by economic uncertainty if Scotland votes for independence with the referendum vote later this week as markets do not like uncertainty. ‘We usually see a price fall at this time of year as potential home movers are generally still in holiday mode. However, it looks like there are early signs of a bounce back in demand after the summer lull, leaving those estate agents with a shortage of stock at a potential disadvantage and therefore eager to attract new instructions,’ said Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst. ‘While there is more property coming to market this year, it has been more than swallowed up by increased sales. There is already 10% less property available per estate agency branch compared to this time a year ago, and with enquiries by phone and email to agents up by 16% compared to August last year, and at near record levels, you can see why there has been an earlier than usual price pick-up,’ he explained. ‘The ability of potential buyers to remain on-watch and in-touch and react more quickly is also a factor. While you may be switched off from work during the summer break, many people’s mobile devices are still switched on to the internet to see what’s coming to market,’ he added. But he pointed out that there is a risk of less certain consumer outlook for remainder of 2014. So far 2014 has proved to be the ‘year to move’, with consumer confidence buoyed by consistently low interest rates and improving economic data after several years of an uncertain outlook. The number of housing transactions recorded by HMRC in England and Wales for the year is currently on course to be between 1.1 and 1.2 million, which would be a significant improvement on the 970,000 transactions last year and the 800,000 average of the previous five years. HMRC’s transaction numbers for completed sales in… Continue reading
House purchases rather than remortgages driving UK home lending market
The mortgage market in the UK remains driven primarily by lending for house purchase, rather than remortgage, according to the latest data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. There were 30,200 first time buyer loans in July, up 3% from June and 25% up on July 2013. By value, there was £4.6 billion of lending to first time buyers in July, some 10% up on June and 39% higher than July last year. Lending to home movers also grew. In July, the number of loans advanced to movers was 37,500, 15% up on the previous month and 19% on July last year. By value, lending to movers totalled £7.2 billion, 20% up on June and 31% up on July last year. Remortgage lending remains muted compared with both first-time buyer and home mover lending. The number of remortgages in July was 4% up on June but 15% down on July last year. The value of these loans at £3.9 billion was up 3% on the previous month and down 5% on July last year. Buy to let lending grew 9% over the month to £2.4 billion in July, and an increase of 26% from £1.9 billion in July last year. House purchase lending to home buyers increased month on month in July totalling 67,700 loans, up 10% compared to June and the value of these loans totalled £11.8 billion, a rise of 15% on June. Compared to July 2013, the number of loans increased by 21% and the value of lending by 33%. The typical loan size for first time buyers continued to rise to £127,500 in July, up from £123,750 in June and the highest average loan size for a first time buyer on record. The typical gross income of a first time buyer household also grew to £38,900 in July compared to £37,095 in June. First time buyers' in July paid 19.6% of gross income towards covering capital and interest payments, up from 19.3% in June, but still significantly less than the recent peak of 24.8% in December 2007. Home movers typically borrowed 3.03 times their gross income in July, compared to 3.08 in June. The typical loan size for home movers was £156,000 in July, up from £153,800 in June. The typical gross household income of a home mover was £54,400 in July compared to £52,000 in June. ‘The market has shown steady growth in house purchase and buy to let over the past few months with general improvements in economic factors across the UK allowing for more people to enter the property market,’ said Paul Smee, director general of the CML. ‘There have been many factors over the past year that could have caused disruption but the market has remained resilient and lenders have shown themselves adaptable to all this change. The CML will continue working towards making sure future initiatives affecting the market, such as the European Mortgage Credit Directive, are introduced with equally minimal disturbance to borrowers and lenders,’ he added. Continue reading
Finding the right home is most stressful part of buying, research has found
Finding the right property is the most stressful aspect of the buying process for people in the UK, according to new research. Moving day is seen as more stressful than finding a mortgage or negotiating on price and one in three people claim that buying a property is either more or as stressful as the end of a serious relationship. The research, conducted on behalf of Ocean Finance, also reveals that 22% claim buying a property matches or exceeds the death of a relative in terms of stress. Following the house market crash of 2008, the UK’s property market has shown signs of recovery with house prices rising across much of the country supported by continuing low interest rates and schemes such as Help to Buy and 16% of survey respondents said they have bought a home in the last five years. There are many steps to take when purchasing a home, but the one voted as most stressful by those who have bought in the past five years is simply finding a property. Some 45% of people who have bought in the last five years say finding a place they wanted was the most difficult part. However, despite the recent credit crunch, securing a mortgage is seen as less stressful than moving day itself. Some 42% of buyers rate packing and physically moving their belongings as the most stressful thing about moving house, compared to 37% who cite applying for a mortgage. Moving also beat negotiating with the sellers on price (41%) in the stress stakes. ‘Buying a house can be incredibly stressful as there’s so much involved but it’s still surprising to find that some people rate it as more stressful than breaking up with a partner or a loved one dying,’ said Ian Williams, spokesman for Ocean Finance. While finding a suitable home, applying for a mortgage and actually moving can all cause anxiety, the end result is often worth it. Owning your own slice of the property market can be a great feeling and hopefully it will be a few years before you have to cope with all that stress again,’ he added. Continue reading
