Tag Archives: house
Home owners in London more confident about house price increases than rest of UK
Households across the UK believe that the value of their home increased this month with people in London more so than the rest of the country, says the latest house price sentiment index. Households in all of the 11 regions covered by the index reported that prices rose in February, led by households in London at 68.1 and the East of England at 62.3. Households in Scotland reported the most modest rate of growth at 51.7 followed by the North East at 53. The data from the Knight Frank/Markit index also shows that households expect house prices to rise over the next 12 months, with the strongest growth expected by households in the South East. However, the rate of growth expected over the next year eased compared to January and while 23.2% of the 1,500 households surveyed said that the value of their home had risen some 4.1% said that prices had fallen. This resulted in a HPSI reading of 59.6, the 35th month in a row that the reading has been above 50. Any figure over 50 indicates that prices are rising, and the higher the figure, the stronger the increase. Any figure below 50 indicates that prices are falling. Indeed, February’s reading was the highest recorded by the index since October 2014, indicating that households perceive that the value of their home rose at its strongest rate since then. However, February’s reading remains well below the peak of 63.2 reached in May 2014, reflecting the easing in average UK house price growth seen since then. The future House Price Sentiment Index (HPSI), which measures what households think will happen to the value of their property over the next year, fell in February to 69.8, from 70.5 in January. While still indicating that households across the UK expect the value of their home to rise over the next 12 months, the future HPSI remains below its peak of 75.1 reached in May 2014. There remains a clear north-south divide in terms of the outlook for house prices, with households in Southern England more confident about future growth over the coming 12 months. Indeed, households in the South East were the most confident that prices will rise at 78.7, followed by Londoners at 77.8 and those in the South West at 74.1. In Scotland, the North East and Wales expectations for future price growth remain positive, but are more subdued at 62, 60.6 and 62.5 respectively and the data also show that those who own their home outright are the most confident that prices will rise over the next year at 75.4, followed by mortgage borrowers at 75.2. ‘The HPSI indicates that house prices are set to continue to tick up modestly in the coming months. The market is being underpinned by the solid economic recovery and ultra-low interest rates which now look as if they will stay put for some time to come,’ said Gráinne Gilmore, head of UK residential research at… Continue reading
UK government criticised for having a short term approach to new home building
The wave of new home building in the UK could harm the longer term housing market as sustainability, design, quality and planning risk being pushed aside in the rush to build new properties, it is claimed. A new report from the House of Lords Built Environment Select Committee Report outlines concerns that the short term approach to building new homes is being carried out at the expense of long term considerations, and criticises the removal of initiatives such as zero carbon homes. It points out that the planning, design, management and maintenance of the built environment has a long term impact upon people and communities and that policy towards the built environment in England should not be the sole preserve of any one Government department. ‘There is an urgent need to co-ordinate and reconcile policy across numerous different areas and priorities. Recently, however, one priority has become dominant in debates concerning built environment policy. Increasing the overall supply of housing, and the speed at which housing is delivered, is a central part of the Government’s policy agenda,’ the report says. ‘When seen in the context of the housing crisis facing many communities across England, this is understandable and, overall, we welcome the Government focus on increasing and speeding up the supply of housing,’ it explains. ‘Restrictions on financial freedoms and flexibilities, however, pose a threat to the ability of local authorities to build houses of their own. The private sector, throughout the post-war period, has very rarely achieved the delivery of 200,000 homes a year. We do not believe the Government can deliver the step change required for housing supply without taking measures to allow local authorities and housing associations each to play their full part in delivering new homes,’ it adds. The report also says that Government initiatives have so far failed to address a further part of the house building problem, which is the gap between planning permissions granted and new homes built. ‘We recommend measures intended to address this, and other, barriers to increasing the number of housing completions. More fundamentally, however, we are concerned that the overall emphasis on speed and quantity of housing supply appears to threaten place making itself, along with sustainable planning for the long-term and the delivery of high quality and design standards,’ the report says. ‘The Government is pursuing a deregulatory agenda as seen, for example, in the introduction of more flexible arrangements for office to residential conversions and the strong policy emphasis placed on the financial viability of new developments. These… Continue reading
Survey reveals many British buyers find buying a home confusing and unfair
Some 62% of British people find the UK property buying process confusing and 37% think it is unfair, according to new research. The main reason buyers think it is confusing is the number of expensive and complicated processes they have to go through to buy a new home, the survey from estate agent Tepilo shows. Almost a third, 27%, said the buying process is far too complicated and expensive, 21% think transactions take too long and 14% worry about the risk of a sale falling through prior to exchange when they've already forked out money on legal and survey fees. Out of the 37% who found the buying process unfair 40% said that it could be fairer if once a sale has been agreed it could be made legally binding so no one could pull out, which would help to reduce the worry of losing money spent on legal and survey fees if a sale falls through. A further 35% think bidding above an already accepted offer shouldn't be allowed and almost 31% think that sellers should be responsible for paying for the survey on the house they are selling. When buyers were asked whether they knew the meaning of key house buying terms, the results were surprising, with many not knowing what phrases like conveyancing, EPC and land registry fees mean. Just 41% know what a mortgage in principle is, only 45% know what a homebuyers report is and 48% know what conveyancing means. The survey found that 60% know what the terms exchange of contracts and stamp duty mean, 53% understanding what the land registry fee is and 50% knowing what an EPC is. Some 5% did not know any of these terms. A staggering five per cent of buyers admitted to not knowing what any of the terms meant! Actually moving was stressful for 42%, while 31% said it was deciding how much to offer on a property. Getting a mortgage agreed in principle was stressful for 28% and deciding which solicitor to use by 27%. ‘It's staggering to see just how many people think that buying a house in the UK is complicated and unfair. It shouldn't be this way, as the actual process of buying and selling houses is fairly straight forward if you understand it,’ said Sarah Beeny, owner of Tepilo. ‘However, many estate agents and solicitors benefit from people thinking the process is complicated, as it allows them to charge astronomical fees to look after key elements of transactions on behalf of buyers and sellers,’ she pointed out. ‘To feel more comfortable when buying and selling, I'd advise people to really research the process thoroughly before purchasing a new home or selling an existing one. Gen up on all the steps involved, the average costs for each and all the terms associated with property transactions. That way, you'll feel much more empowered and in control of the process, which will help… Continue reading
