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Help to Buy helps over 130,000 home buyers in UK
The UK government’s flagship Help to Buy scheme has helped over 130,000 people achieve their aspiration of buying their own home since it was launched, the latest official figures reveal. Some 80% of scheme completions have been made by first time buyers, with more expected following the launch of the government’s Help to Buy ISA scheme at the beginning of this month. Help to Buy was created in 2013 to ensure that working people who saving for a deposit could achieve their aspiration of buying their own home through government support. Home ownership is a key part of the government’s long term plan to provide economic security for working people across the UK. The scheme continues to benefit first time buyers overwhelmingly, with the vast majority of sales outside of London and at prices well below the national average. According to officials Help to Buy is also ensuring the long term health of the housing market by increasing housing supply and stimulating home building. Almost half of the homes bought through Help to Buy are new build properties, helping to contribute to the 38% rise in private house building since the launch of Help to Buy. First time buyers will have a further boost from the Help to Buy: ISA, which banks and building societies across the UK are offering as of last week. Under this scheme, first time buyers can save up to £200 a month towards their first home and the government will boost their savings by 25%, or £50 for every £200, up to a £3,000 bonus. Some 14 banks and building societies have already signed up to offer Help to Buy: ISAs. These lenders are: Aldermore, Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Clydesdale Bank, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, Nationwide, NatWest, Newcastle Building Society, Santander, Ulster Bank, Virgin Money and Yorkshire Bank. With almost all completions outside London, the highest number of homes through the mortgage guarantee scheme have been in the North West region. The equity loan, a scheme for new build properties, is particularly prevalent in the South East region. Figures for the mortgage guarantee scheme also show completions have been least concentrated in regions where house price growth is highest. In London the scheme makes up just 1% of all mortgage lending compared to an average of 3% across the country. The average house price for both parts of the scheme, at £185,972 at £155,573 for the mortgage guarantee and £217,999 for the equity loan scheme, remains significantly below the national average house price of £286,000. ‘This government is committed to helping people achieve the aspiration of buying their own home, and our Help to Buy schemes have now helped 130,000 across the UK do just that,’ said Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne. He also pointed out that the stronger economy and financial system means that the government now expect banks to start to exit the Help to Buy Mortgage Guarantee scheme, which was introduced in times of financial distress… Continue reading
England and Wales house prices break new record, even as monthly growth falters
House prices in England and Wales increase £16,446 annually to £290,640, a 6% increase on November last year, according to the latest index figures. But the monthly rate of house price growth fell to 0.6%, slower than the 0.9% monthly uplift seen in October, the data from the Your Move index also shows. Excluding London and the South East, the annual rate of change drops to 4.4% but the capital is not seeing the strongest growth. While the South East overtook East Anglia as the region with the fastest growth in house prices, London dropped to fourth. The index also shows that home sales fell 15% in November, with completed sales for the year still 3.4% behind the same point in 2014. It is predicted that the Stamp Duty 3% surcharge on second homes and buy to let buyers may cause a late winter surge as these kind of buyers hurry to beat the April 2016 deadline for the new higher rate. Adrian Gill, director of Reeds Rains and Your Move estate agents, pointed out that despite being within grasping distance of the £300,000 mark, it may be a few months yet before average prices reach this symbolic level. He also pointed out that house prices in the South East have risen by an average of 7.1% this month, with values increasing in every local authority in the area. ‘It appears that the double digit price rises first seen in the prime London market, then the other London boroughs, are now rippling out even further to London’s commuter towns, with house prices in Reading rising by 18.3% and Luton increasing 17.3%,’ he explained. He believes that the housing market will need a Christmas boost to sales to beat last year’s figures. And the Chancellor’s changes could be the gift required. ‘House prices soared in the five months following Nigel Lawson’s withdrawal of the multiple mortgage tax relief in 1988,’ said Gill. ‘More recently in Scotland, after the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax was announced there was also a surge in the sales of high end properties to beat the deadline. England and Wales may now feel the same forces, as there will be a growth in demand from both first time buyers with extra financial support and buy to let landlords hoping to invest before the tax changes come into force,’ he explained. ‘While the Chancellor has planned to increase the number of houses being built, none of these will be completed in the next few months. As the number of houses on the market is at an historically low level, those rushing for the April deadline will be fighting for a decreasing number of properties. So we could see a spike in both house prices and sales over the normally frosty winter period,’ he added. He said that this potential surge in demand could be most obvious in places like Salcombe, Devon. The town has the highest percentage of second homes in England. In… Continue reading
A quarter of UK home owners call in builders to fix their DIY
UK property owners are spending an additional £42 million a year to salvage work around the home that they’ve tried to do themselves or abandoned midway through. New research from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) shows that more than a quarter of home owners admit they have started and then abandoned home improvement jobs, with 30% calling in a tradesperson to finish or rescue the job, costing an additional £871 on average than it would have cost if they’d hired professionals at the start. Some 27% claim they have ‘given up’ on a job ever being completed with 19 months identified as the average length of time before a job is abandoned while 40% admit unfinished projects have caused arguments at home. Beyond this, almost 60% don’t even bother starting the work in the first place, continually putting off work that they’ve planned, such as kitchen and bathroom upgrades, painting and replacing windows. One in five say their attempts at home improvement projects have been ‘disastrous’, with 62% of these admitting that DIY building blunders have reduced the value of their property and a further 18% believing their properties are now harder to sell. The biggest disasters came from painting the property themselves, self-installing a kitchen or a bathroom or trying to landscape their garden. When looking at the main reasons home owners have dragged their heels, 55% say they are worried about the cost, while 30% claim they haven’t had time to organise the work. An indecisive 20% can’t decide or agree on what they want, while 17% haven’t been able to find someone to do the work. ‘While it’s noble that people want to have a go at home improvement projects themselves, our research confirms that if you don’t know what you’re doing, you’re risking not just increased costs, but also your property value not to mention your health and safety when it comes to serious builds and renovations,’ said Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB. ‘Unfinished work and botched DIY attempts are increasingly cited as reasons people turn to FMB members, so we urge home owners to be realistic about what they are capable of doing,’ he added. Continue reading
