Housing affordability is at its highest level since 2003, according to Zoopla. The average UK income earner can now afford to buy 58% of all homes, up significantly in comparison to the property market peak in 2007, when just 34% of homes were affordable. The current levels were last seen in 2003 when the affordability rate was 56%. Over the past 10 years, affordability levels reached their highest point in 2002 at 66% and then fell steadily over the next five years. The most affordable markets were generally in the North and the least affordable were in the South. Bradford was revealed as the most affordable UK city as 82% of homes could be bought for residents on the average local income. Hull came second with 81% of homes now deemed affordable. London tops the list of the least affordable housing markets in the UK with only 32% of homes affordable for residents. Southampton was second with 44%.
March 10, 2010
March 9, 2010
Number Of First-Time Buyers Falling
The proportion of first-time buyers expecting to enter the property market in the next 12 months has fallen for the third consecutive quarter to just 25.8%, shows the first Rightmove Consumer Confidence Survey of 2010. In a typical, healthy market, those buying for the first-time would constitute around 40% of all buyers and so this emerging trend is some cause for concern says Rightmove.
Supply Outpacing Demand, Says RICS
New instructions have outweighed buyer interest for the second month in a row, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. New instruction and new buyer enquiries both recovered in February after the housing market was hit in January by adverse weather conditions. Some 7% more chartered surveyors reported a rise than fall in new buyer enquiries compared with the previous month, up from a negative reading of 20%. A net balance of 15% of surveyors saw a rise in new instructions, again an improvement from January’s negative balance of 5%. But the proportion of surveyors reporting a rise rather than a fall in house prices has dropped, going from 31% in January to 17% last month. RICS says that regional surveyors continue to report an increase in house prices in most areas. Yet surveyors in the North, Yorkshire and Humberside, Wales and the West Midlands are all reporting house price falls. Fewer surveyors are predicting house price rises, with the number of surveyors expecting house prices at its lowest since last July.
Higher Loan-To-Value Products Returning
March 8, 2010
Houses Prices Up 4.7%
Houses prices were up 4.7% in last half of 2009, a gain of 2.5% for year, according to new figures out today from property website, Zoopla.co.uk, revealing the extent of the property market turbulence last year. While property sales in Britain in 2009 were 6.8% lower than a year earlier, it was very much a year of two halves. The number of properties that changed hands in the first 6 months of last year (273,015) was down 36.9% on 2008 but the second half of 2009 showed a 34.6% surge in sales transactions (421,732) compared to the last half of 2008. While home values in Britain managed a gain of 2.5% over 2009, average house prices fell 2.2% over the first 6 months of the year (from £205,607 to £201,067) before recovering in the second half by 4.7% to reach an average value of £210,661 by the year end, according to the latest figures form Zoopla.co.uk. One of the biggest factors in the house price rebound in the second half of last year was the recovery in market activity with increased transaction volumes leading to higher property prices. Transaction volumes were particularly strong in the fourth quarter of 2009, up by double-digits in all regions compared to 2008 with the exception of Scotland where sales levels have been slow to recover and were up only 8% in Q4 09 versus the previous year and were down 33% for the full year 2009, compared to a decline of only 1% in England and 12% in Wales.
March 4, 2010
Base Rate Held At 0.5%
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has voted to keep base rate at 0.5% this month, marking the one-year anniversary of record low interest rates. The MPC has also decided not to extend its quantitative easing programme beyond the £200bn it has already spent on buying up assets to boost the economy. Minutes published by the Committee last month show that the Bank may look to spend more on quantitative easing in the future, but wants to judge how effective its purchases have been before it commits more money to the programme. Figures from the Office for National Statistics last week revealed that the UK economy had grown between October and December by more than was originally thought. UK gross domestic product grew by 0.3% in Q4 according to the latest revision, up from the sluggish 0.1% growth initially estimated by the ONS. The quantitative easing programme was not expected to be boosted further this month as the Bank looks to curb rising inflation. Inflation hit 3.5% in January, the highest level since November 2008 and up from 2.9% in December.
House Prices Fell 1.5% In February
House prices dropped by 1.5% in February, the first decline since June 2009, shows the latest Halifax House Price Index. The fall follows seven consecutive monthly increases and has lowered the average house price to £166,587 On an annual basis house prices in February were still 4.5% higher. This was the largest increase in the annual rate of change – measured by the average for the latest three months against the same period a year earlier – since January 2008. The annual rate increased from 3.6% in January despite February’s monthly fall, partly because February’s decline was lower than the decline in February 2009. Prices are 8.0% above the low reached in April 2009; an increase in the average price of £12,367 over this period. This follows a decline of 23% between August 2007 and April 2009. Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, says: “There has been a decline in the underlying rate of house price inflation – measured by a comparison of the latest three months with the previous quarter – over the last few months. An increase in the number of properties available for sale has helped to reduce slightly the imbalance between supply and demand. “At the same time, the bad weather in the first two months of 2010, together with the return of the lowest Stamp Duty threshold to £175,000, are likely to have had an adverse impact on housing demand. The combination of these factors appears to have helped to curb the upward pressure on house prices.”
March 2, 2010
Valuation Activity Bounces Back In February
10% Rise In Number Of Mortgage Products Available
80% Of Under 30’s Need Help To Buy A Home
The Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates 80% of all under 30s now need financial help from a parent or relative to get on to the housing ladder. The figure nudged up to 45% pre-credit crunch, but has now almost doubled. The CML says the overall effect is that for those in the formerly typical first-time age bracket of 25-34, the likelihood of buying at the moment is around half its level of a decade ago.