Tag Archives: london
Over half a million have taken up UK flagship home buying savings product
Over 500,000 people have opened Help to Buy ISAs, which offer government bonuses of up to £3000, as they save towards buying a home, the latest data shows. Figures also show that since the launch of the Help to Buy equity loan, mortgage guarantee and ISA schemes over 160,000 completions under the schemes have taken place, with 80% having been made by first time buyers. The average house price being purchased with support from the Help to Buy schemes is £189,795, significantly below the national average and 94% of Help to Buy completions have taken place outside London. The figures also show that over half of Help to Buy completions have been for new build homes. The Help to Buy schemes continue to benefit first time buyers overwhelmingly, with 129,000 households buying their first home thanks to the scheme. This is 80% of overall Help to Buy buyers, demonstrating that the scheme is successfully helping people get on the housing ladder. The highest number of homes completed through both the Help to Buy: ISA and mortgage guarantee schemes has been in the North West region. The equity loan, a scheme for new build properties, is particularly popular in the South East region. First time buyers and second steppers have been supported further by the London Help to Buy scheme launched in February 2016. The scheme supports purchases of new build homes in the capital by offering a 5% deposit backed by an equity loan of up to 40% from the government. There were 256 completions in London between 01 February 2016 and 31 March 2016 using the equity loan. Help to Buy was designed to support responsible lending and the figures show that the average house price for the three schemes combined is £189,795, significantly below the national average house price of £292,000. The average house price-to-income multiple under the mortgage guarantee scheme is capped at a four and half times ratio to ensure responsible lending. More than 1,000 households a month on average have purchased their own home through Right to Buy since the scheme was reinvigorated in 2012, over 52,500 households in total. The latest quarterly figures show more than 3,250 people bought under the Right to Buy scheme between January and March 2016. In total, more than 309,000 households have now been helped to purchase a home through government backed schemes since 2010, that’s 141 new home owners a day and around 4,350 a month. ‘It’s hugely encouraging that over 500,000 people have already opened Help to Buy ISAs. The Government’s Help to Buy schemes offer responsible lending, and the vast majority of those who are benefiting are first time buyers,’ said Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne. Anyone who aspires to own their own home should have the opportunity to do so, wherever they are in the country, according to Communities Secretary Greg Clark. ‘Today's figures clearly show how we’re helping people realise home ownership dream, with… Continue reading
First time buyers paid more for a home in England and Wales in May
First time buyers in England and Wales paid an average of £173,282 to get on the housing ladder in May, a record high that fuelled by intense competition for properties. This was despite some uncertainty creeping into the housing market ahead of the referendum on the future of the UK in the European Union, according to the latest first time buyer tracker index from real estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains. But transactions in the first time buyer sector were down by 0.8% compared to the previous month at 24,900 completed sales in May compared to 25,100 in April. However, the report points out that without a pre-referendum supply shortfall first time buyer numbers would have been even higher. The amount paid by first time buyers was up 2.7% from £168,656 in April and 15.8% more than the average of £149,645 seen in May 2015. First time buyer house prices have now increased by more than £23,000 in the last 12 months and current average prices paid are the highest on record. Across the market as a whole, house prices dipped in May in anticipation of the EU referendum on 23 June, with the latest Your Move House Price Index showing house prices in England and Wales fell 0.4% month on month in May. But the bottom of the market has defied this trend fuelled by unwavering first time buyer demand. The overarching trend remains strong, with first time buyer numbers some 13.2% higher than the 22,000 seen in February and 5.1% higher than a year ago. The tracker report also shows that the average mortgage rate for first time buyers slipped further in May to 3.08%, a new record low, following a fall of 0.37 percentage points over the past year. And while there is a climbing cost of purchasing a home, these cheaper rates mean mortgage repayments have not increased significantly as a proportion of first time buyer’s income. As of May, mortgage repayments accounted for 21.1% of income, just 1.7% more than a year ago. Meanwhile, the average first time buyer deposit currently sits at £27,669, up 12.8% or £3,146 from £24,523 a year ago. When compared to the average first time buyer income of £39,651, this represents an extra 29 days’ worth of salary. As a proportion of income, the average deposit has climbed 6.1% compared to May 2015. Continue reading
New home sales in Australia fall for second month in a row
Total new home sales in Australia fell for a second consecutive month in May 2016 but experts say it is cyclical downturn and nothing to worry about. Total seasonally adjusted new home sales declined by 4.4% following a 4.7% fall in April 2016. The sale of detached houses fell by 6.7% but apartments were up by 4.9%. The data also shows that detached house sales declined in three of the five mainland states with a fall of 11.5% in New South Wales, a fall of 8.2% in Victoria and a fall of 11% in Queensland. But detached house sales increased by 3.8% in South Australia and by 5.4% in Western Australia. The figures should not cause alarm, according to the Housing Industry Association. ‘There is a cyclical downturn ahead for new residential construction activity, as new home sales signal, but the early pull-back will be mild by historical standards,’ said HIA chief economist Harley Dale. ‘We remain of the view that a decline in new dwelling commencements will gather momentum in 2016/2017 and 2017/2018, following four years of growth which has delivered enormous benefits to the broader Australian economy,’ he explained. ‘This economic benefit delivered by new home construction in recent years is unprecedented. It creates a platform for the Federal government to provide leadership on the key issues of new housing supply, affordability and home ownership, which will in turn benefit Australia’s economic growth and future standard of living,’ he added. Meanwhile the HIA’s regular review of Australia’s $30 billion home renovations market show that the sector is very much in recovery mode with 2015 marking the second consecutive year of growth. This followed a deep slump during the early years of the decade. The Renovations Roundup report projects that renovations activity will increase by 2.5% this year with growth of 1.7% forecast for 2017. The HIA also projects that activity will grow by 2.8% in 2018 followed by a 2% increase in 2019, bringing the total volume of renovations activity to $33.30 billion. According to Shane Garrett, HIA senior economist, the recovery in renovations activity is being supported by the environment of remarkably low interest rates and very strong dwelling price growth in key markets. ‘In this context, many home owners have decided to shelve plans to move house and instead conduct major renovations work on their existing homes. The large pool of available home equity has made this possible,’ he explained. ‘However, the pace is growth is being held back by the weakness of earnings growth in the economy and the fragile condition of consumer sentiment. The importance of home renovations activity is often underestimated and it accounted for about 35% of total residential construction during 2015,’ he said. ‘With new home building set to decline over the coming years, the expansion of the renovations market means that its importance will only increase. The revival in renovations activity will provide a welcome offset to the more challenging situation emerging on the new… Continue reading
