Archive for July, 2011
Monthly report show that house prices are stabilising
House prices have shown a rise of 0.2% in July which compared to last year in July is a decrease of 0.4%. Demand for homes was still not as good as it could be as sales were still running at half of the level compared to previously before the crisis with the banks happened.
Land Registry has said that the average house price has not risen and still remains at £161,479.
“House Prices remain relatively high compared to incomes and, together with more demanding deposit requirements, this is dissuading, or at least delaying, some first time buyers from entering the market.” Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide.
Complaint handling not correct so British Gas face fine
Regulator Ofgem have fined British Gas £2.5m because of the way it has dealt with customer complaints. Customers had said that there complaints had not been resolved and as a result of this British Gas failed to reopen the complaint cases and investigate further.
British Gas also failed to provide customers with any information about the energy ombudsman which is a key detail that they should be providing to their clients. British Gas have said that this is “totally disproportionate” to the issue.
Highest figure of unsold properties for two years
Unsold properties are at the highest level since 2009 according to research. The average number of properties being placed on the market by new sellers is 74 in June which is a slight increase from the month of May. Many sellers have been encouraged that they could get a sale so they have placed their property on the market in order to achieve the quickest sale possible. The number of sales per branch has increased throughout the months even though stocks have risen.
First time buyer mortgages increase
According to research the number of first time buyer mortgage have increase over the past month by 17%. There are many more products available for people with 10% deposit, 312 products have been found for first time buyers this the highest figure since November 2008.
Interest rates on a 90% mortgage had also begun to fall, compared to last year this is a massive fall of 0.53 percentage points. Compared to last month the fall is 0.17 percentage points. Tracker mortgages for 90% are becoming more expensive throughout the year but the average rate has dropped to 5.5%.
Home improvements will not add value to the properties.
As the housing market is at a static point many homeowners are unable to move and have been warned not to rush into any major work of home improvements as they could find that they don’t get the result there were looking for to refund them of money spent making the improvements.
Many agents asked have said that many people are looking into doing home improvements to see if it increases there chance of getting a buyer for their property. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors that people shouldn’t look at the market like that as they will find that they will receive no return for what they’ve paid for any maintance and could also still get the same result from current buyers within the market.
Unemployment falls and benefit claims rise
Unemployment fell by 26,000 over the past three months down to 2.45 million. According to the Office of National Statistics the unemployment rate fell over the previous quarter to 7.7%.
Jobseeker’s Allowance claimant also rose by 24,500 to a massive 1.52 million this is the largest increase that has been seen since 2009. The months of May didn’t look any better for the amount of claimant as that was still at a high of 22,500.
The total number of claimants in the country has reached the highest it’s been since March 2010 this is the second month in a row that claimant count risen and unemployment has fallen.
Undersupply in properties affects the rental market.
ARLA have said that due to a poor supply of properties going onto the market the rental market is being hit quite hard, with supplies not being able to meet the demand of prospective tenants.
There are a growing number of tenants looking to rent properties but due to not many new properties coming to the market they will still be left looking for properties demands are not being met.
The housing market has been split into three different category of tenants; one that are on part or full housing benefits, first time buyers that are renting instead of buying and also long term tenants waiting for the sales market to rise.
Rents surge in June beyond £700
For the first time rents are surging beyond the £700 per month barrier, this shows a record high for June. When asking agents in England LSL Property services have found that the average rental monthly income has rose by 0.7% surpassing previous highs for this year.
The annual inflation of 4.1% is a result of dipping house prices and increasing rents, it have also had an effect on the average yield which has reached to 5.2% in June.
Last year London’s rents climbed the fastest of all regions breaking for a massive high of £1000 per month barrier.
Average house price not due to increase till 2020
Analysis from accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has shown that house prices are not due to increase back to the usual peak until 2020. There is a 50% chance that the increase will happen beforehand but there is a huge risk that the housing market is still going to fall throughout the year, this is now causing for concern as the road is looking a “long, slow road to recovery”. House prices in May fell by 0.5%, causing the annual fall to 1.6%. Due to the fall the average UK home is worth £203,528. First time buyers were paying 21% lower in price than in May 2010. London has been the only place where there has been a price rise recorded. Housebuyers with deposits are the people that are going to gain from the housing market being so low as they will benefit from low mortgage interest rates but if you don’t have a deposit then you would be losing out. “The UK as a whole faces a slow climb to recovery given the continued squeeze on consumer and government spending. Therefore it would be prudent for the BoE to keep interest rates at current low levels for months to come. Although there may need to be an increase in 2012 due to trying to keep inflation under control.” John Hawksworth, PWC The only people that Surveyors believe are considered to be serious are the people that have already sold their property or have a mortgage in place as the housing market is facing strain at the moment as the property supplies have fallen and demands are failing to pick up.
Rents surge in June beyond £700
For the first time rents are surging beyond the £700 per month barrier, this shows a record high for June. When asking agents in England LSL Property services have found that the average rental monthly income has rose by 0.7% surpassing previous highs for this year.
The annual inflation of 4.1% is a result of dipping house prices and increasing rents, it have also had an effect on the average yield which has reached to 5.2% in June.
Last year London’s rents climbed the fastest of all regions breaking for a massive high of £1000 per month barrier.