Bartram & Co (Towcester) Ltd

UK house prices saw modest rise in May, Nationwide says Houses for sale Lower mortgage rates have helped to boost activity in the housing market

UK house prices recorded a "modest" rise in May, increasing by 0.4%, according to the latest survey from the Nationwide building society.

It said the increase provided further support for "the view that the housing market is gradually gaining momentum".

The annual rate of price growth rose to 1.1%, the fastest pace since November 2011.

The increases mean that the average house now costs £167,912, the Nationwide said.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said a number of factors were likely to have contributed to the recent pick-up in activity.

"There has been an improvement in the availability and a reduction in the cost of credit, partly as a result of policy measures, such as the Funding for Lending Scheme," he said.

"With the UK returning to growth in the first quarter of 2013, the improvement in wider economic conditions may also be playing a role in boosting sentiment."

The Government today announced the launch of Help to Buy, a housing initiative that will enable home-movers to purchase a home with a 5% deposit.

The scheme will be available on new homes properties from 1 April 2013 and on resale homes from January 2014 and will apply to properties for sale at £600,000 or less. For further details please visit http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/10012.htm

Rightmove research finds that Help to Buy would apply to around 9 out of every 10 listings currently on the Rightmove website, including 97% of new build properties currently listed via a developer.

Rightmove director Miles Shipside comments:
“Over the last three years Rightmove’s research has consistently shown that raising enough of a deposit is the single biggest concern cited by those looking to get on, or trade up from, the bottom rungs of the housing ladder. It is encouraging that the Government appears to be going further than most anticipated in addressing the major issues in this area of the market. The extension of Help to Buy to the resale sector could also be crucial in enabling overlooked pockets of the housing market, such as second-steppers, to trade-up and help build chains across the wider market.”

[ARCHIVED CONTENT] Help to Buy - HM Treasury The Chancellor announced a £5.4 billion package of financial support to tackle long-term problems in the housing market at Budget, including the launch of Help to Buy - which offers two schemes aimed at helping those who want to get on, or move up, the housing ladder. This FAQ answers some of your q...

Time to Move Folks?

Household confidence grows in house prices rising

Friday 26th April 2013

Home owners are expecting house prices to rise by 4.5% over the next six months, according to new research from Zoopla.

It based its findings on replies from 4,116 people, of whom 3,485 were home owners, in the last week of March.

This is the biggest predicted house price increase by home owners in more than three years, the site said.

The proportion who think that house prices will increase this year is also at the highest level for almost three years, with three-quarters (74%) predicting prices in their area will increase, the most since the second quarter of 2010.

Confidence has grown notably over just the past few months as only 65% of owners predicted an increase back in December.

Just 13% of owners now expect prices to fall over the course of the next six months, down from 19% at the end of last year.

Owners in Yorkshire and the Humber are the least bullish with only 61% expecting property prices to rise over the next six months, compared with 89% of London home owners who predict rises by the end of this summer

MORTGAGE RATES SET TO FALL?

A Bank of England survey shows Mortgage rates are about to drop “significantly” over the next three months, a Bank of England survey discovered, offering an extra boost to the housing market in the wake of government measures unveiled in the Budget.

Deals are becoming markedly cheaper while lenders are also making more credit available for house purchases, according to the central bank’s quarterly survey of lenders on credit conditions.

The Government’s Funding for Lending scheme, launched last August to give lenders access to cheap finance, was cited by many as a factor pushing down on bank funding costs and helping to reduce interest rates for customers. Since then, the Chancellor has used the Budget to offer further stimulus to the housing market, under the banner Help to Buy.

The availability of loans for home purchases has meanwhile risen for the past nine months, the survey showed, with the biggest improvement experienced by borrowers taking out mortgages with loan to value (LTV) ratios above 75pc.

Banks said that ambitions to grow market share were driving this increase. “Given that most large lenders are still reducing the size of their mortgage books, this suggests that some smaller lenders are trying to ramp up their lending,” said Matthew Pointon, property economist at Capital Economics.

However, lenders also said their credit scoring criteria for mortgages was little changed and the proportion of applications which were approved fell slightly. Separate data from the Bank showed that Britons reduced their mortgage debt by £8.6bn in the last three months of 2012, as flow of lending remains weaker than the amounts of money being paid back.

Housing market sees spring bounce according to Bartram & Co

And the number of people trying to buy or sell homes has picked up in the past month generally, according to estate agents.

The number of potential sellers rose in March to its highest level for six months and the number of prospective buyers went up by 7% last month.

The NAEA said spring had brought its usual increase in activity, and suggested sales would improve in the coming months.

"Spring has finally arrived and brought with it a much needed boost to the housing market, particularly among sellers," said Gary Smith of the NAEA.

"This figure has been low in recent months and this is a welcome indication that reflects a growing confidence that the recovery is well underway."

Encouraging signs

Earlier this week, a survey by the the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), some of whose members also work as estate agents, reported that the number of people trying to sell their homes last month had reached its highest level since May 2007.

With the bad weather now behind us buyers and sellers alike are returning to the market with a renewed vigour

According to the NAEA's survey, the average number of homes for sale at each of its member's branches rose in March.

At the same time, the number of house hunters registered with each branch went up by 7% last month.

Sales have also risen, the NAEA said, from an average of 6.8 per branch in February to eight last month.

The NAEA said all this was encouraging, especially with more sellers around.

"This month's figures reveal an increase in the levels of housing stock with more properties available for sale per branch - the highest value recorded over the last six months," the NAEA said.

"More house-hunters also registered their interest. With the bad weather now behind us buyers and sellers alike are returning to the market with a renewed vigour," it added.

House prices in the UK are continuing to rise modestly, according to the Halifax.

Prices over the first three months of 2013 were 1.1% higher than in the same period of time in 2012, the lender said in its latest survey of the market.

This is the third consecutive month that the figures have been in positive territory.

However, the rate of increase has slowed since February, when prices were up 1.9% on an annual basis.

The Halifax is now forecasting only a small rise in house prices for the rest of the year.

"Weak income growth and continuing below-trend economic growth are likely to remain significant constraints on housing demand during the remainder of this year," said Martin Ellis, the Halifax's chief housing economist.

"Overall, we expect to see a modest increase in UK house prices during 2013."

Earlier this month, the Nationwide reported that prices in March rose by 0.8% when compared with March 2012.

In many areas of the UK, price rises seem altogether out of sync with economic reality”


But even though the cost of a house is going up, the number of people taking out mortgages is not.

According to the Bank of England, mortgage approvals fell by 5% between January and February this year to the lowest level in five months.

"Despite the positive signs that are emerging, and despite the launch of Help to Buy and the Funding for Lending scheme, 2013 will likely be another year of low transaction levels and high uncertainty for the UK's property market," said Jonathan Samuels, of the lender Dragonfly Property Finance.

"In many areas of the UK, price rises seem altogether out of sync with economic reality," he said.

However, house sales appear to be rising.

Sales in February this year were 10% higher than in the same month a year ago, according to figures from HMRC

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The chancellor also announced a new mortgage guarantee, which he claimed would dramatically increase the availability of loans. It extends the previous NewBuy Guarantee scheme to include older houses as well as new-builds.

"We're going to help families who want a mortgage for any home they're buying, old or new, but who cannot begin to afford the kind of deposits being demanded today," he said.

It will run for three years from the start of 2014 and will be used to support £130bn of mortgages.

The New Government Funded Mortgage Guarantee Scheme in Brief

Starts in 2014
Run for 3 years
Homes up to £600,000
Covers new or old houses
Government guarantees 15% of value of mortgage

If a borrower defaults on a mortgage, he or she would stand to lose their 5% deposit. Thereafter the government would have to pay just under 15% of the outstanding amount, while the lender would be liable for just over 80%.

But in theory, lenders taking part will be happier to accept smaller deposits as security for loans.

Up to now, the best mortgage rates have only been available to those able to put down a deposit of up to 20%.

"It's a great deal for homebuyers," said the chancellor.

The news was also welcomed by lenders.

"We believe that the mortgage guarantee scheme will give a much-needed boost to the housing market and, most importantly, address the issue of accessibility," said Stephen Noakes of Lloyds Banking Group.

"Crucially, this scheme will not only help first-time buyers, but also second-steppers," he added.

The government should consider new laws for lettings agents to improve the rights of tenants and landlords, the Office of Fair Trading has said.

The recommendation, which follows a review of consumer complaints about the burgeoning private rental market, comes alongside a call for lettings agents to be forced to provide a full tariff of charges before a tenant signs a contract.

The move to renting has been swift in recent years, as high house prices and stricter mortgage lending criteria have made it increasingly hard to get on the property ladder – in 2010/11 3.6 million households in England were renting, up 2 million on 1999's figure. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, 2012 saw the number of buy-to-let loans taken out jump by a fifth.
As the numbers of landlords and tenants have increased, so complaints have grown, with the Property Ombudsman seeing a 26% rise in inquiries between 2010 and 2011.
"This is a market where large numbers of landlords may lack expertise, and the complexity of housing law means tenants may not understand their rights and obligations properly," the OFT said. "Agents can cause problems where they exploit customers' behavioural biases by not being transparent about their fees or what they have on offer … Further, agents' interests are not always aligned with those of landlords who instruct them or the tenants who may rely on them for guidance."
The regulator reviewed about 4,000 complaints made to Consumer Focus in 2011. It found that 1,557 involved fees and charges, 1,211 were about agents providing poor service, and 1,015 were about deposits.
The OFT said some of the complaints concerned "surprise" charges which were introduced or "drip-fed" once contracts have been signed. These included things like administration fees, and fees for checking in and out of a property.
It said some of the problems could be solvable if agents complied better with existing consumer protection legislation, but that government, industry, enforcers and consumer bodies needed to take action to empower tenants and landlords.
Among its recommendations were:
• Better compliance with legislation and in particular better upfront information. "Ideally we would like fees to be set out in a clear tariff of charges at the start of the process, and certainly before any contract is signed."
• A general redress mechanism so landlords and tenants can sort out problems when they occur.
• More consistency within the industry so common principles are applied throughout the industry, such as what information is used for pre-tenancy checks.
It also urged the government to consider "whether the level of consumer protection law coverage is right in the context of the lettings market, and if not whether any legislative changes should be made to deal with this."
The OFT said that by the end of the year it would produce and consult on a document providing guidance for letting agents on what constitutes unfair contract terms.
Cavendish Elithorn, senior director of goods and consumer at the OFT, said: "Our findings show that tenants and landlords are often dissatisfied with their agents, but we also know most agents want to do the right thing.
"It's important that tenants ask for key information, but we also believe that government, industry and enforcers working together can have a real impact and improve overall standards in the lettings market."
The consumer group Which? described the recommendations as "a step in the right direction", but said the government and lettings agents needed to go further.
The group's executive director, Richard Lloyd, said: "Information on compulsory fees should be provided upfront, in adverts, or at the first point of contact with an agent so people can shop around. "And the government must act quickly to require all agents to sign up to a complaints scheme so tenants know where to turn to for redress when things go wrong. This should be done by amending the enterprise bill currently before parliament."
lettings market, and if not whether any legislative changes should be made to deal with this."

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6 Bedroom farmhouse
£795,000 / ref 10030

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