Friday 27 February 2015

The average value of a home in Britain is almost £180,000.

House prices jumped by 1.3 per cent in January pushing property values to within £2,000 of their previous record high, figures showed today.

The gain was the largest recorded since July last year, and bucked the recent trend of subdued price growth, according to the Land Registry.

The gain left the average home in England and Wales costing £179,492, within touching distance of the £181,101 property values reached at their peak in 2007 before the housing market correction.

The annual rate at which house prices are rising remained unchanged at 6.7 per cent, down from a recent high of 8.2 per cent reached in August last year.

But the headline figures masked considerable regional variation.

Prices soared by 2.6 per cent in the North West, while the South West and East also saw gains above the national average of 1.5 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively.

But at the other end of the scale, the average cost of a home slumped by 1.5 per cent in Yorkshire and the Humber.

In London, previously the powerhouse of the property market recover, values dipped by 0.2 per cent in January, with the North East posting the same reduction.

On an annual basis, London and the east were the only regions to see double-digit growth at 12 per cent and 10.4 per cent respectively.

In the north east prices edged ahead by just 0.1 per cent year-on-year, with house prices in Wales performing only slightly better with a gain of 1.6 per cent.

Despite the slowdown in the housing market during the second half of 2014, activity was still higher than it had been a year earlier.

An average of 79,549 homes changed hands each month between August and November, the latest period for which figures are available, up from around 77,694 per month in the same period of 2013.

But there was a significant drop in sales at the top end of the market, with the number of properties changing hands for more than £1m falling by 18 per cent in November, compared with the same month of 2013.

The reduction was particularly acute in the London market, with seven-figure home sales falling by 24 per cent year-on-year.

But despite the slowdown a total of 869 homes still changed hands for more than £1 million in November, the equivalent of 29 a day.

Today’s figures are in line with ones reported by Halifax, which also showed a pick up in house price growth in January, with property values surging ahead by 2 per cent.

Matthew Pointon, property economist at Capital Economics, said: “The month-on-month changes tend to be quite volatile, but the underlying rates have picked up a bit recently.

“While it is too early to say for sure, that could reflect the reform to Stamp Duty.

“In any event, a strong economic backdrop and record low mortgage rates are both supporting house price growth.”

Tuesday 24 February 2015

Confidence in property market reaches three year high in UK

Almost a quarter of people plan to change their current property either by extending or carrying out home improvements, the research found. A further 14% said they want to sell their house in the coming year. 

Finances are also high on the agenda with 11% planning to either pay off their mortgage, make overpayments or re-mortgage in the coming 12 months.

The results, which show a consistently improving picture in the three years since homeowners were first asked about confidence levels, were revealed in the latest Annual Housebuyers Survey by the Banks.

The survey supports the latest findings from the Council of Mortgage Lenders which reported that 2014 lending levels were the highest since 2007.

Among those surveyed by the Banks in 2013, 62% of people said they planned to simply stay in their current home. The figure dropped to 58% a year later and dipped by a further 17% to 41% in 2015.

Of those planning a move in the next 12 months, Londoners are most likely to move with 22% putting up a For Sale sign. Within that group, some 8% of Londoners plan to move up the property ladder, a further 8% have aspirations to relocate and 6% hope to downsize. In contrast only 10% in Scotland and 8% of those in Yorkshire plan to move in 2015.

The optimism can also be seen with 44% expecting the value of their home to increase, while 54% think it will remain the same. Men are more optimistic about an increase with half of those surveyed anticipating an increase in value compared to 38% of women. Of those who believe the value of their home will increase the main reason is the increase in property prices in their local area, as well as an upturn in demand.

Confidence is at its highest in London where 64% believe their property will increase in value in 2015 in sharp contrast to Wales where just less than a quarter, 24%, share a similar view.

‘We have seen optimism returning to the property market over the last few years and this seems to be growing with more people planning house changes whether it is to move, make home improvements, pay off their mortgage or even help a family member to get onto the property ladder,’ said Steve Fletcher, head of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks Retail Network.

‘Whatever the circumstances Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks have a range of products to suit different needs and budgets and to help make the UK's property aspirations for 2015 a reality,’ he added.

Friday 20 February 2015

Mortgage lending drops despite wage growth

Fall blamed on subdued activity in the housing market during the second half of last year, leading to a lower level of loans in the pipeline.

Mortgage lending slumped to a 21-month low in January as the market started the year on the back foot, figures showed today.

A total of £14.3bn was advanced during the month, the lowest level since April 2013, and 14 per cent below December’s figure, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

The group attributed the dip to subdued activity in both the housing and mortgage market during the second half of last year, leading to a lower level of loans being in the pipeline for January.

Bob Pannell, CML chief economist, said: “The softer pace of approvals through the second half of last year contributed to the relatively weak pace of mortgage lending in January. 

“Although seasonal factors will continue to weigh on activity levels for a while longer, we expect the underlying picture to pick up over the coming months, in line with stronger earnings and employment, gentle interest rate trends and recent Stamp Duty changes.”
Despite the weak start to the year, he said the group still expected gross lending to reach £222bn this year, up from £204bn in 2014.

Today’s figures cover all types of mortgage advances, including lending to people buying a new home, those remortgaging and advances to buy-to-let investors.

A breakdown of the data will not be available until next month, so it is not yet clear if the drop was driven by a fall in one area, such as remortgaging.

Figures released by the CML earlier this week for December showed that mortgage lending for house purchase was 1 per cent higher by number and 3 per cent higher by value than in November.

Within the total, advances to first-time buyers jumped by 3 per cent in number and 6 per cent in value compared with the previous month.

The Bank of England also reported an increase in the number of mortgages approved for house purchase in December.

These figures are in line with other indications that suggest activity in the property market may be beginning to pick up again, after being subdued for much of the second half of last year.

A Bank of England report yesterday said estate agents and builders had reported seeing a pick up in sales since late December.

In the new build sector, house builders said they had seen improved levels of reservations, while across the rest of the market first-time buyers, people trading down the property ladder and buy-to-let investors were driving a new wave of demand for lower value properties.

Strong house price growth during 2014 has left the average British property costing £265,388.

Wednesday 18 February 2015

House prices in Wales are now above pre-recession levels - for the first time since January 2008



House prices in Wales have overtaken their pre-recession peak for the first time.

According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), prices in Wales rose 4% in the year to December, up from the 3.1% annual rise in the year to November.

In December 2014, Wales house prices surpassed their previous peak of January 2008 and are now at record levels.


The average house price in Wales rose to £173,000, from £171,000 in November.

House price growth in Wales since February 2003 

 


UK house prices increased by 9.8% in the year to December 2014, down from 9.9% in the year to November 2014.


In December 2014, the UK mix-adjusted House Price Index reached 206.9. This is 0.4% lower than the record level witnessed in August 2014, when the index reached 207.7 but 11.5% higher than the pre-economic downturn peak of 185.5 in January 2008.


During the year to December 2014, average house prices increased 10.2% in England, 4.0% in Wales, 5.5% in Scotland and 4.9% in Northern Ireland.


Average house prices in Wales since 2002 



Average house prices increased strongly in the majority of the nine English regions over the year to December 2014.


The largest increase was again in London at 13.3% followed by the South East (11.5%) and the East (11.4%).


Wales spokesman for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Tony Filice said the market has been restored to a healthy balance.


He said initiatives like shared equity scheme Help to Buy – Wales, whereby loans are available to both first-time buyers and home movers for properties up to £300,000, have got the market moving again.


Mr Filice, a director at Cardiff based Kelvin Francis said: “It’s encouraging that the levels are what they are. It drives home the fact the market has stabilised giving it a healthy vote of confidence for firsttime buyers to come into the market.


“At the same time we know the availability of funding is there with 5% deposits and the additional benefits of Help to Buy Wales.”