Uk
Mortgage approvals end 2015 on a strong footing, bank data shows
Approvals for home purchases in the UK increased towards the end of 2015 with December being a strong month, according to the latest figures from the Bank of England. The number of loan approvals for buying in December was 70,837 compared to an average of 69,462 over the previous six months while the number of approvals for remortgaging was 41,708, compared to the average of 39,540 over the previous six months But the next few months are likely to be very different, according to David Whittaker, managing director of Mortgages for Business. ‘The next wave of activity will be powered by landlords scrambling to complete transactions before they are hit with extra taxes. This is only just beginning,’ he said. ‘With 01 April marking the point at which Stamp Duty on buy to let properties bites, many investors have been rushing to get their mortgages completed and expand their portfolios before this date,’ he pointed out. ‘Expect this flurry of activity to continue into the first few months of 2016, as investors rush to apply for their buy to let mortgages and lenders do everything in their power to get the good applications completed before the April crunch point,’ he added. Peter Williams, executive director of Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association, pointed out that December was the busiest month for remortgaging in over two years, with activity growing more than twice as fast as overall approvals. ‘The continued appetite for remortgaging was likely to be a sign of home owners eager to capitalise on market competition and lock into lower rates, especially with US raising interest rates for the time in nine years and expectations the UK would follow suit in the not too distant future,’ he explained. After the Autumn Statement extensions to Help to Buy, and the rock bottom base rate lasting out the year, first time buyers were feeling decisive, and this was mirrored by a clear upswing in house purchase approvals from November to December, according to Peter Rollings, chief executive officer of Marsh & Parsons. ‘This energy has definitely been carried over into 2016, and January has already seen an impressive influx of motivated buyers, eager to progress up the property ladder,’ he explained, adding that 2015 was also the year of remortgaging for many existing home owners and this momentum is showing no signs of dissipating while cheaper fixed rate mortgages remain available. ‘But in the coming months we can expect strong buy to let lending, as the April introduction of higher stamp duty for second homes gives a new sense of urgency for those looking to invest in property or expand their existing portfolio,’ he added. Continue reading
Consumer group blasts new second home property tax as dangerous and flawed
The new 3% surcharge on second homes in the UK is dangerously flawed and it could harm the very homeowner that the government wants to help, it is claimed. According to the Home Owners Alliance, a consumer group for home owners, said that while the surcharge is welcome in principle, the way it is going to work is not helpful due to a number of situations which have not been taken into account. In its response to the proposed change due to take effect from 01 April, the HOA says it is so overly complex and flawed that it will lead to massive unintended consequences. ‘It is great the government is trying to use stamp duty to help home owners, but they have made a real hash of it. The ridiculously complex way they are planning to introduce the scheme will end up harming many of the very home owners it is meant to help, and lead to widespread confusion among home buyers,’ said Paula Higgins, HOA chief executive. ‘We are already being contacted by distressed home owners who have worked out they will be caught by it, and not be able to buy the home they want to. Rather than push ahead with a well-intentioned but dangerously flawed scheme, it should go back to the drawing board and put it right,’ she added. In its consultation response, the HOA has suggested many remedies to iron out some of the worst problems with the proposals, but points out that almost none of the problems would exist if the government used the more simple system. ‘It is really simple, no one should pay the stamp duty surcharge if they are going to buy a home to live in, and home owners need confidence that will be the case. However, if you are buying a residential property for any other purpose, you should pay the surcharge,’ said Higgins. The HOA consulted widely with members and other stakeholders, and identified various problems. It pointed out that many ordinary buyers who are not buying a holiday home or one to let out will be hit by the 3% stamp duty surcharge at the last minute, forcing them to give up purchasing their new home. For example, a first time buyer will be charged the stamp duty surcharge if they jointly purchase their home with someone who already owns a property and they could pay more stamp duty than an existing home owner with a major property portfolio. Separating couples could be hit by the surcharge when one of them sets up a new family home and people moving to new build homes where the timetable is dictated by the developer will generally have to pay the stamp duty surcharge, only to reclaim it from the government later. This will particularly hit hard stretched pensioner downshifters moving into newly built retirement homes, says the document. Also, home owners who move for work and rent out their homes… Continue reading
New home registrations up 7% year on year in UK
The number of new homes registered to be built in the UK increased by 7% year on year in 2015, reaching an eight year high of over 156,000, new data shows. The figures from the National House Building Council (NHBC) show that 75% more new homes were registered in 2015 than at the time of the housing crash in 2009 and there were 156,140 registration compared to 146,359 in 2014. Private sector registrations increased by 7% to 118,611 in 2015 compared to 110,674 in 2014 while public sector registration increased by 5% to 37,529 from 35,685 in 2014. Continuing the trend from 2014, the number of detached homes registered reached 42,173, the highest for over a decade. Additionally, the number of semi-detached homes registered in 2015 at 35,423 was the highest in more than 20 years. NHBC's latest data also revealed that the majority of UK regions experienced notable growth on 2014 levels, with the Eastern region up 23%, the North West up 16% and Scotland up by 15%. In the East Midlands growth was 12%, the South West up 9% and West Midlands also up 9%. While Northern Ireland saw the biggest increase at 30%, the NHBC pointed out that this was from a relatively low base. London is still leading the way in the number of new home registrations. Although the 2015 figure of 25,994 registrations is down 9% on the record 2014 total of 28,518, although 2015 saw the third highest number of registrations on record. Yorkshire and the Humber was down 13% on 2014 and Wales down 2% on 2014. As the leading warranty and insurance provider for new homes in the UK, NHBC's registration statistics are the lead indicator of the health of the country's new homes market. ‘2015 was a year for continued housing growth in the UK. Both the public and private sectors have performed well and we have seen encouraging levels of house building across most regions of the country,’ said NHBC chief executive Mike Quinton. ‘The detached home continues its resurgence, with our figures showing that house builders are building the highest number of detached properties for over a decade, with semi-detached homes also at their highest level in more than 20 years,’ he pointed out. ‘There is still a way to go before we are building the levels of new homes that were seen before the economic downturn, but 2015 represents consolidation on the growth seen over the last three years,’ he added. However, it would seem that this is not translating into work for smaller builders. According to the Federation of Master Builders’ (FMB) workloads for small builders across the country took a downward turn towards the end of 2015. ‘The building industry remains confident of continued growth but the slowdown we saw in the last quarter is a cause for concern,’ said Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB,, who added that despite the growth in registrations both current and expected construction workloads are… Continue reading
