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UK buyers taking longer to make up their minds than a year ago
Property buyers in the UK are taking longer to make up their mind about a home with many taking a second or even a third viewing before making an offer, new research has found. On average it now takes 53 minutes of viewing a property, up from 38 minutes a year ago, according to the research from online estate agent eMoov. Indeed, just 6% make an offer after the first viewing. The majority of buyers, 53%, return for a second viewing, with a further 41% feeling the need to view a property more than twice. Buyers in London are more likely to seek a third viewing. The research also suggests that buyers undertake a considerable amount of research before they view a property. Some 67% read the full property description before arranging to view and 59% look at other properties listed in the area. It also found that 56% check out the road where the property is on Google street view, 53% take a detailed look at the floor plan and room sizes, 49% research the local amenities, 44% research the historic value of a property or surrounding properties and 25% check out schools. ‘UK buyers are taking that extra bit of time viewing a property, before submitting an offer. Although demand is still high in a number of areas, particularly London and the surrounding areas, the market isn’t quite as competitive as it has been in previous years, so many potential buyers are opting for a second or third viewing before committing to a property,’ said the firm’s chief executive officer Russell Quirk. ‘It makes sense given the enormity of such a decision and with buyers not feeling as pressured, there is no need to rush to submit an offer and secure a property after the first viewing,’ he added. But he pointed out that the data shows that there are still those 6% of buyers that will view a property for less than 10 minutes, before deciding to buy it. ‘This still amazes me but highlights the speed the market can move at, in the areas where demand is still outstripping supply,’ said Quirk. Continue reading
Demand from buy to let landlords for remortgages likely to rise in 2016
Buy to let remortgage transactions outstripped purchases by more than two to one in 2015 but this could be reversed in 2016, according to the latest industry sector index report. Remortgages for vanilla buy to let property accounted for 64% of transactions with Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and Multi-Unit Freehold Blocks (MUFBs) seeing even greater remortgage activity at 78% and 88% of transactions respectively, the data from specialist brokers Mortgages for Business shows. The results aren’t surprising, according to David Whittaker, managing director of Mortgages for Business. ‘For some time now landlords have been making considerable savings through remortgaging. Many have also been releasing equity to make improvements and plan further purchases,’ he said. ‘However, I anticipate that we will see a reversal of this trend in the first quarter of this year as landlords hurry to expand their portfolios before the stamp duty surcharge kicks in on 01 April,’ he explained. ‘The number of enquiries for purchase finance is already well ahead of where we were this time last year, particularly from those looking to sell their personally owned property into a corporate vehicle,’ he added. Although yields across all property types rallied in the fourth quarter of 2015, in real terms they continue to plateau as rental income fails to keep pace with rising property prices. However, returns for the more complex properties remain healthy and well above the psychologically important 6% mark. The number of lenders operating in the market remained static at 33. However, the number of buy to let mortgage products available to borrowers grew slightly to an average of 975. ‘It is unlikely that this average figure will be topped going forward unless new lenders enter the market, or some of the existing providers start to offer products to limited companies. Of course, that figure is only an average, at one point at the beginning of December our tracking system showed 1,168 products,’ Whittaker pointed out. Continue reading
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
