house prices
-
Latest property news
House prices to rise by just 1% this year, says leading lender
House prices will rise by just 1% this year, the latest house price report from the Nationwide reveals, returning to growth only in the “the longer term”. The lender says the average house price increase last year was 2.6%, down from 4.5% during 2016 as housing affordability problems and mounting pressure on household incomes continued to put the brakes on activity within the property market. Despite this, during 2017 all regions of the UK experienced house price gains except London, where they dipped by half a percent. “The major surprise during 2017 was undoubtedly the slowdown in London house prices. It’s been 13 years since the Capital sat at the bottom of the house price growth table, and since then we have seen prices surge to unprecedented and unaffordable levels,” says Alex Gosling, founder of HouseSimple.com (pictured, left). “Fortunately, there’s no longer the reliance on the London market to prop up the rest of the country. Growing regional business hubs have seen other major UK cities prosper, while London has suffered as property prices have become unaffordable for the majority. The West Midlands was the top performing region in the UK last year for house prices, where they rose by 5.2%…
Read More » -
Latest property news
Property sales rising across UK, helped by London
Estate agency chain Your Move says the number of property sales during November increased by 4% year-on-year and that the average price in the UK is £300,859, an increase of 0.9% year-on-year. The company says London has seen some of the most dramatic increases in transactions. Within the two most expensive boroughs of the capital property sales have increased by 28% on average recently (Westminster, Camden) and by 23% within Kensington and Chelsea. “It seems momentum is returning to sales in prime central London,” the company says. Its monthly report on the housing market, which is produced by Cambridge University Economics Fellow Dr Stephen Satchell, also reveals an improving overall picture for the market – the first time the dials have begun to twitch upwards since the EU Referendum vote. The improvement in transaction levels and house prices is being driven by what it calls an “easing” of the problems within the London property market, which has helped drag the rest of the UK’s results downwards in recent months. New Year property sales Your Move,which is owned by corporate giant LSL, also says the company is positive about the New Year because the Chancellor’s recent Stamp Duty and Help to…
Read More » -
Features
House price growth is failing to keep up with inflation, says expert Kate Faulkner
Designs on Property tracks and summarises the monthly property indices. Kate Faulkner says, “Property has, in the past, been seen a ‘sure-fire’ earner with some people earning more in a year from their home than from their wages. Now it’s failing to keep up with inflation.”
Read More » -
Features
Stop obsessing about London’s house price problems
Daniel Owen-Parr, Commercial Sales Director at Together says, “As long as there is a housing shortage we will have continuing demand for rented homes.”
Read More » -
Resources
House price myths debunked
Designs on Property tracks and summarises the monthly property indices. Kate Faulkner says, “The average age of a first time buyer today is hardly that different from 2003, 14 years ago, even in London!”
Read More » -
Features
What’s really happening to house prices?
House price reports What’s really happening to house prices? Jeremy Leaf endeavours to make sense of the various property market surveys.
Read More » -
Latest property news
Rightmove tells agents: Get the price right to sell homes quickly
Following last week’s report from Which? on overpricing homes, Rightmove says that agents must get the price right to avoid deterring price-sensitive buyers. Rightmove reports that the price of property has increased by just 2.0 per ent (+£5,986), the smallest price rise at this time of year since February 2009; well below the average +5.0 per cent February uplift over the previous seven years. This contributes to a further slowing in the pace of price rises, with the annual rate of +2.3 per cent being the lowest since April 2013. Miles Shipside, Rightmove director said, “While the prices of goods in shops are rising at a faster rate, the pace of price rises in property coming to the market is slowing. They’re still 2.3 per cent higher than a year ago, but perhaps we’re approaching the territory where many buyers are unable or unwilling to pay what sellers are asking, given the negative combination of rises in the cost of living, tighter lending criteria, and a dose of Brexit uncertainty. The housing market has had a long sprint since April 2013 when the annual rate was last below this level, so it’s not surprising that upwards price pressure is running on tired legs…
Read More » -
Resources
House prices and sales hold steady
Designs on Property tracks and summarises the monthly property indices. Kate Faulkner says, “It’s time for agents to be the ones that inform and educate on local property markets.”
Read More » -
Latest property news
Number of property sales rise in August by 5.2%
The August Land Registry figures just out reveal that the number of residential properties sold in England and Wales increased between July and August by 3,353 sales or 5.2%. This chimes with recent mortgage figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders, which revealed that £22.5 billion was lent in August, a rise of 7% on July’s figure and an increase of 15% on the year before. The number of houses sold in August compared to July increased across the board including detached, semis and terraces although the number of apartments that were sold decreased, albeit by only 400 properties or 2.3%. But the prime market is clearly showing signs of weakness, the figures reveal, as George Osborne’s Stamp Duty increases kick in for higher-value properties. The number of homes sold for over £1m decreased from 581 in July to 552 in August while the decline in London was more marked. There sales of homes over £1m dropped from 339 to 297 during the same period. The data release by the Land Registry also shows the breadth of the market. The most expensive sale during August was a terraced property in Westminster, central London, at £25.5 million while the cheapest homes were…
Read More » -
Uncategorised
How long does it take first time buyers to save up?
Shocking figures just out reveal that it takes five and a half years for the average couple to save up for a deposit while it takes singleton savers ten years. The data from the London market is even more hair-rising. There, couples are taking on average nine years to save up a deposit while single savers require 14 years, says Hamptons International. This is despite recent help for from the Bank of England, which announced a cut in interest rates in early August. This has been passed on by lenders in recent weeks including to first time buyers (FTBs) and, if they shop around, rates for ‘discounted mortgage’ products can be found for under 3% while several two-year fixed rates are available at 3.5%. Overall, August’s 0.25% cut to interest rates, if fully passed on, mean that mortgage payments could on average be £244 a year lower for the average first-time buyer home in England and Wales. In London, the agent says, mortgage payments would be £518 lower. But despite the long wait to gather a deposit, enthusiasm for property ownership is not waning; figures from the National Association of Estate Agents show that the number of sales to FTBs has…
Read More »
