+ Buy to let landlords back in business (03/02/2012 - 11:58:48)
+ Landlords acquire additional rental property (03/02/2012 - 10:37:53)
+ No move in mortgage approvals (31/01/2012 - 14:24:22)
+ Council tenants who sub-let homes face prison or f (11/01/2012 - 17:30:00)
+ UK's average house price falls by 1.3% in 2011 (06/01/2012 - 12:11:54)
+ Lenders will offer more low deposit mortgage deals (06/01/2012 - 11:52:13)
Posted @ 11:58:48 on 03 February 2012 back to top
Posted @ 10:37:53 on 03 February 2012 back to top
Posted @ 14:24:22 on 31 January 2012 back to top
11 January 2012 - BBC News
Posted @ 17:30:00 on 11 January 2012 back to top
6th January 2012 - The Independent
The UK's average house price fell by 1.3% in 2011 after a monthly decline of 0.9% between November and December, lender Halifax said today.
With prices having "held up" well during the year, the bank added that it was hopeful of a similar performance in 2012 if the UK can avoid recession.
Halifax housing economist Martin Ellis said: "There is, however, considerable uncertainty regarding the prospects for the UK economy which will, to a large extent, depend on how events in the eurozone unfold.
"In addition, the extent to which households choose to reduce their debts will also affect growth. As a result, the outlook for house prices is also uncertain."
The average house price at the end of 2011 stood at £160,063. with prices down 0.1% in the final quarter after falls in November and December offset a 1.2% rise in October.
Mr Ellis added: "Whilst there was a modest fall overall in prices during 2011 with an annual decline of 1.3% in December, house prices held up well last year in the face of the difficult and deteriorating economic climate and substantial pressure on households' finances."
Halifax said there was a mixed picture during 2011 with six monthly falls, five increases and one month of unchanged prices.
But there was an improvement in the annual rate from a decline of 4.2% in May to a drop of 1.3% at the end of the year.
Halifax said recently that prices are likely to be strongest in London and the South East as these regions perform better economically.
Prices elsewhere are expected to be constrained by weaker economic performance and their greater dependence on public sector employment, it added.
While admitting that its forecasts are subject to much uncertainty, Halifax said its best estimate showed the UK's average house price was likely to be between 2% higher and 2% lower at the end of 2012.
Posted @ 12:11:54 on 06 January 2012 back to top
6th January 2012 - This Is Money
Lenders expect to offer a great range of mortgage deals to struggling first-time buyers in the next few months – but they will make them harder to get, a survey showed today.
The Bank of England said lenders were planning to launch more innovative deals on high loan-to-value mortgages - those where borrowers, like most first-time buyers, have smaller deposits.
But lenders also predicted that the credit scoring criteria for granting loans would be tightened in the first three months of this year, meaning approvals would drop.
'While lenders expected credit availability to increase a little to the household and corporate sectors in the coming quarter,' the Bank's apparently contradictory credit conditions report said, 'factors such as the economic outlook and tighter wholesale funding conditions were expected to have a negative impact on credit availability.'
It said lenders were worried about the poor economy and falling house prices.
'Factors such as the cost and availability of funds, the economic outlook and expectations for house prices were all expected to pull down on credit availability,' the Bank reported, in its survey of credit conditions.
'Lenders expected the proportion of total loan applications being approved to fall over the coming quarter with some lenders commenting that they had revised down expectations for households' disposable incomes and hence the affordability of taking out new secured loans,' the Bank added.
The Bank's report comes only a day after it revealed a surprise rise in the number of mortgages approved in November.
Loan approvals for house purchase unexpectedly rose to 52,854 in November with a total value of £7.6billion, the second monthly rise in a row and the highest figure since December 2009, according to the Bank's figures.
Samuel Tombs of Capital Economics said the increase in new mortgage approvals from 52,786 a month earlier defied the widely-held expectation for a fall.
But he added: 'We fear that approvals for new house purchase might soon start to fall as banks further restrict the availability, and raise the price, of credit in response to the deterioration in wholesale funding markets.'
First-time buyers have found themselves trapped in the rental sector and fell to their lowest proportion of the housing market for nearly three years in the autumn.
Households have seen their budgets squeezed due to high living costs and the failure of wages to keep up with rising bills, amid a backdrop of deteriorating employment conditions.
While demand for lending for house purchase fell in the last three months of 2011, interest in the buy-to-let market picked up although lenders expect overall demand to drop off slightly in the coming quarter.
Mortgage default rates fell slightly in the last three months of last year, despite previous predictions of no change.
But some lenders noted the "depressed" housing market had made it harder for them to claw back any losses.
Demand for unsecured lending went down in the fourth quarter of 2011, despite predictions in the previous quarter that it would go up.
Consumer demand for credit card lending went down slightly while demand for other types of unsecured credit 'contracted sharply', the report said.
Overall, demand for unsecured lending was expected to fall further in the first quarter of this year as consumers continued to shy away from borrowing.
The report said: 'Lenders commented that economic problems in the euro area had impacted negatively on consumer confidence and the demand for unsecured credit.'
Lenders also noted a 'substantial' fall in the default rate on unsecured loans for the eighth quarter in a row, with losses from people defaulting on their credit card payments expected to fall further this year.
They also reported that credit demand from small businesses fell "sharply" towards the end of 2011, with a further fall expected this year.
Demand from large and medium-sized companies had been broadly unchanged but was expected to fall slightly in the next three months.
Posted @ 11:52:13 on 06 January 2012 back to top
19th December 2011 - This Is Money
December is the optimum time for renters to find a new property according to research, as the festive period creates a market slowdown which pushes down prices.
Findaproperty.com’s monthly property review found rental prices fell 1.5 per cent last month and are expected to fall again this month before rebounding in the New Year.
Rental prices reached record highs earlier in the year, peaking at £890 per month for an average property in September - equivalent to half the average household’s net earnings per month.
However, the festive period creates a small window of opportunity for those looking to find rented accommodation and wanting to secure favourable prices.
The drop in rent is caused by landlords looking to avoid vacant properties over the Christmas period and tenant activity slowing down in the run-up to the New Year.
Monthly rents dipped in November for the fourth consecutive year according to the property website, bringing the average asking price per month down to £871.
However, since 2008, rental prices have experienced a temporary lull in the final two months.
Rental asking prices rose consecutively for the first nine months of this year. And Findaproperty.com forecasts rents to rise again in 2012 in line with seasonal trends, making December the optimum time for new tenants.
Regionally, the East Midlands saw the biggest fall in prices last month according to the data, with the average price of a rental property falling -4.8 per cent.
Properties in Wales proved the most resilient in November, with prices rising 1.3 per cent.
Posted @ 16:14:48 on 19 December 2011 back to top
9 December 2011 - The Telegraph
In a demonstration of the dramatic wealth gap between London and the rest of the UK, ING Direct, the mortgage company, found that a parking space in the west London borough of Kensington and Chelsea is worth £95,800.
This is £13,500 more than the £82,300 average price of a house in the north-eastern town of Middlesbrough.
ING Direct based its findings on a poll of 250 property surveyors, who estimated that off-street parking adds 10 per cent to the price of a property. Given that the average property in Kensington and Chelsea costs £958,000, the value of a parking space in this area is £95,800.
Julian Hartley, mortgage director at ING Direct, said that for most Britons, a parking space is a “must”.
However he warned: “In central London locations, where you’ll find some of the most expensive properties in the world, a parking space will bring with it a hefty price-tag.”
While prices in the capital have risen by 0.3 per cent over the last year, they have fallen heavily in every other region in the UK. In the north east, where Middlesbrough is located, prices have fallen by over 7 per cent.
Posted @ 13:41:56 on 09 December 2011 back to top
2nd December 2011 - This Is Money
Mortgage rates are set to soar as the Governor of the Bank of England warned the 'extraordinarily serious and threatening' crisis in the eurozone is damaging Britain.
The Bank's financial policy committee said banks were facing higher borrowing rates and may try to pass this on within months – resulting in a 'significant increase' in lending rates.
The sobering report came as governor Sir Mervyn King issued a dire warning about the threat posed to Britain by the euro crisis – because our banks have more than £500billion tied up in European institutions.
Sir Mervyn said the situation was spiralling out of control and deteriorating conditions in the markets were 'characteristic of a systemic crisis'.
'Faced with a crisis of the euro area system, we are seeing at first hand the costs of financial instability,' he said.
As a result, the Bank's governor:
The Financial Stability Report raised the spectre of a rerun of the last credit crunch that crippled the banking system and plunged the global economy into recession.
The Bank gave no estimate of the likely rise in mortgage rates – effectively to pass on increases in the inter-bank lending rates. But even a one per cent increase would add almost £1,000 a year to the cost of a typical £140,000 mortgage.
One economist said the report 'read like an obituary' and suggested the unusually stark language showed that 'alarm bells are ringing' at the Bank.
Deputy Governor Paul Tucker described the situation as 'exceptionally perilous' and warned that 'anything could happen'.
The warnings came just a day after central banks around the world joined forces to pump 'unlimited' amounts of cheap money into the financial system in a desperate bid to prevent another crash.
The emergency operation – led by the U.S. Federal Reserve with the support of the Bank of England – was launched amid fears that at least one major European bank may be teetering on the brink of collapse.
Downing Street has already said Britain is 'experiencing a credit crunch'. Yesterday Sir Mervyn confirmed the grim prognosis.
Plans must be put in place to stop debt 'exploding to ever more sustainable levels,' he said.
He added: 'An erosion of confidence, lower asset prices and tighter credit conditions are further damaging the prospects for economic activity and will affect the ability of companies, households and governments to repay their debts.
'That, in turn, will weaken banks' balance sheets further. This spiral is characteristic of a systemic crisis.'
The report said that British banks were among the strongest in the world. But it is feared that the chaotic collapse of the eurozone would leave UK banks nursing heavy losses and plunge the economy into crisis.
The report showed that UK banks have £578.5billion tied up in Europe. Sir Mervyn said: 'The interconnectedness of major banks means that banking systems and hence economies around the world are all affected.
'Here in the UK, we must try to bolster the resilience of our financial system, better to withstand the storms that may come in our direction.'
He said banks should 'limit' the amount of money they hand out to staff and shareholders to 'improve the resilience of their balance sheets'.
Banks are expected to pay out a whopping £4.2billion in bonuses to staff this year.
The Bank's report recommended that banks raise more money by selling shares – which could see the taxpayer inject yet more cash into Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland.
He said the Bank of England, the Government and the Financial Services Authority are drawing up 'contingency plans' for the break-up of the euro.'Maybe the eurozone won't break up, maybe it will continue in various forms but maybe there will still be questions of default,' he said. 'None of us really know.'
Posted @ 16:31:32 on 02 December 2011 back to top
30 November 2011 - The Telegraph
George Osborne froze the threshold for the tax next year. It would normally increase in line with inflation.
As a result, individuals selling shares or property they do not live in will only be able to make £10,600 before incurring the duty.
The Government’s own economic projections, also published yesterday, suggested that the freeze could continue until 2017.
At the same time, the Treasury announced a capital gains tax holiday for individuals who invest up to £100,000 in start-up companies.
Tax experts said that the changes would disproportionately hurt ordinary people while helping the rich.
With the cost of living rising at five per cent a year, the relative value of the £10,600 threshold is reducing all the time, meaning that small investors will effectively lose money.
Experts said that the decision would affect thousands of ordinary people already struggling with rising inflation and stagnant wages and who need to sell assets such as shares bought through employee schemes to make ends meet.
Toby Ryland, a partner at the accountancy firm Blick Rothenberg, said that Mr Osborne had engineered the freeze to pay for the capital gains holiday for the rich.
The so-called Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) offers 50 per cent income tax relief to people who invest in certain start-up projects. This would be followed by capital gains tax relief the year after the investment.
“It looks like this freeze will pay for the SEIS,” Mr Ryland said.
“That will be very good for start-up businesses, but will have limited appeal for ordinary investors. This is robbing the ordinary people to pay for perks for the very rich.”
Mike Warburton, a tax expert at Grant Thornton, said that the SEIS would be “very helpful” to wealthy people who can afford to risk investing in smaller firms.
“However, there are a much larger number of people who use the capital gains tax exemption,” he said. Alison Smith, a tax expert at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, said that the decision to keep the threshold at £10,600 would have a growing effect over time.
“With higher inflation, the cumulative effect could be significant, even though the immediate effect may appear relatively small,” she said.
“This could be a worrying sign in a higher inflationary environment. It is clear from the Treasury’s numbers that the Chancellor is expecting this freeze to continue, so anyone looking to make a capital gain in the future could be a loser,” she warned.
“Over the years, the Chancellor will gain significant revenue from this and now the precedent has been set the worry is, there will be further freezes to come.”
Sophie Dworetzsky, a partner at the law firm Withers, called the freeze a “stealth tax”, and pointed out that government figures showed a £31 billion increase in taxes by 2017. She said that the SEIS scheme would go some way to mitigating the damage for investors.
People who make capital gains above the £10,600 threshold must pay tax at 18 per cent if they are basic-rate taxpayers, and 28 per cent if they pay higher rate income tax.
Posted @ 12:15:30 on 30 November 2011 back to top
29 November 2011 at 10:02 - BBC News
UK house prices have remained "surprisingly resilient" in recent months, with values rising again in November, the Nationwide has said.
It said the average home rose in value by 0.4% in November to £165,798.
This was a 1.6% year-on-year increase, according to the figures based on Nationwide's own mortgage data.
Meanwhile, the number of mortgages approved for house purchase, but not yet completed, has risen slightly to its highest level for nearly two years.
The Bank of England said there were 52,743 approvals in October, up from 51,193 the previous month and the highest monthly total since December 2009.
The fact that approvals last month were higher than the average for the previous six months suggests that sales may pick up slightly in the coming months.
But Howard Archer at IHS Global Insight said: "A pick up in mortgage approvals in October and firmer house prices in November is highly unlikely to herald a significant, sustainable upturn in the housing market's fortunes given largely unfavourable economic fundamentals."
Contrasting figures
The Nationwide's house price figures differ with those from the Land Registry published on Monday which showed that prices in England and Wales had slipped slightly in the past year.
The Nationwide predicted that prices would stay the same or fall in the next 12 months.
"House prices have remained surprisingly resilient in recent months, despite the deterioration in the economic outlook," said Robert Gardner, the Nationwide's chief economist.
"But, with the UK economic recovery expected to remain sluggish well into 2012, house price growth is likely to remain soft, with prices moving sideways or drifting modestly lower over the next twelve months."
Homes on the market
The best measure of current trends in house prices is to compare the average price of the past three months with the average price of the previous three months.
On the Nationwide's data this three-month on three-month comparison shows a rise of 0.2%.
Mr Gardner said the apparent resilience of house prices reflected a lack of supply in the market.
He welcomed the latest announcement from the government on encouraging first-time buyer activity, but said that any action should also include measures to increase housing supply.
The government's housing strategy, announced earlier in the month, included a mortgage guarantee scheme to encourage lenders to offer 95% mortgages to buyers of new homes.
Posted @ 12:11:29 on 30 November 2011 back to top
The property forecaster Hometrack has warned that 2011 could have the lowest level of housing turnover in 40 years for England and Wales, as figures showed prices dipped again in November.
Hometrack says 840,000 sales are expected this year – almost 50% lower than the figure for 2007. Its latest housing survey showed prices fell by 0.2% in November from the previous month, following another 0.2% tumble in October.
Prices are down by 2.3% year on year and have fallen every month since July 2010, apart from April this year when the market was flat with no change recorded.
Hometrack said prices were being propped up by people's reluctance to put their homes up for sale, creating a scarcity of supply.
Richard Donnell, the director of research at Hometrack, said: "2011 looks set to register the lowest level of housing turnover for 40 years – a trend which Hometrack expects to continue into 2012.
"An expected 840,000 sales in 2011 is almost 50% lower than in 2007 and equates to the average private sector home changing hands every 26 years.
"This is creating a scarcity of housing and is acting as a support to pricing levels."
Hometrack said the tough economic backdrop meant only "committed sellers" were putting their homes on the market and meeting what buyers were prepared to pay in order to push sales through before Christmas.
It said a weak UK economy coupled with eurozone turmoil had contributed to a "rapid reduction" in new houses coming on to the market, with 0.8% fewer property listings in November.
This was acting as a counterbalance to weakened demand, which fell by 2.2% in November, Hometrack said.
The average time for a house to stay on the market rose to 9.9 weeks in November, up from 9.8 weeks the previous month and the proportion of the asking price achieved remained relatively unchanged, standing at 92.5% this month.
The survey questions estate agents in England and Wales about achievable selling prices. Prices were down in every region apart from greater London, which recorded no change for the second month in a row.
The south-west, east Midlands, Wales and north-west have felt the greatest downward pressure on prices – all falling by 0.3% or more in November.
Hometrack said that looking ahead it was unlikely London would escape the continued turmoil of the financial markets. "When prices start to fall in the capital, so the scale of headline price falls will start to accelerate."
The government unveiled a series of measures last week aiming to inject life back into the housing industry, including underwriting mortgages for first-time buyers.
It is hoped the scheme will allow people to buy newly built homes with deposits of about 5% rather than the 20% now regularly demanded by commercial lenders. Ministers have denied the move risks stoking another borrowing boom and potentially saddling the taxpayer with big losses.
Fears have been growing of ideal conditions for a slump in housing, with construction at its lowest since the second world war, mortgage lending tightly restricted and rents stubbornly high.
Posted @ 17:25:26 on 28 November 2011 back to top
Friday 25th November 2011
Sales to first-time buyers have fallen to a three-year low, the NAEA reported this morning.
The Association’s market report for October claims that just 16% of overall sales made last month went to FTBs, down from 22% in September.
This is the biggest slump recorded by the NAEA in nearly three years – December 2008 was the last time agents reported such a decrease, when FTBs made up just 10% of the market.
The number of house hunters registering at branches across the country also fell slightly, with 305 per branch in October compared with 308 in September.
Overall sales remained consistent across the property market in October, claimed the NAEA, with an average of eight per branch. Supply levels remained in line with figures in September, with 72 properties available per branch.
NAEA President Wendy Evans-Scott said: “This week’s housing strategy announcement from the Government is welcome news for first-time buyers.
“But our latest figures show that despite reported increases in mortgage approvals by the larger UK banks over the course of 2011, there is still a lending barrier facing those entering the housing market for the first time.
“To address this, the Government could ensure that banks are given clearer incentives to offer mortgage finance to the UK’s embattled first-time buyers, and also extend the mortgage guarantee for first-time buyers announced this week beyond just new-build homes.”
Posted @ 17:38:30 on 25 November 2011 back to top
Parliament's expenses body is consulting on proposals to allow MPs to keep claiming mortgage interest on second homes and claim "lump sum" allowances without receipts.
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority says it is against both ideas and is simply inviting views.
New MPs cannot claim for mortgage interest but those elected before 2010 can do so until August 2012.
Ipsa is reviewing the scheme set up in the wake of the 2009 expenses scandal.
Many MPs have complained that it is not working properly - and a committee of MPs has been set up to review the legislation that introduced it.
The main focus of the second annual review by Ipsa relates to staffing, but the mortgage interest and allowance suggestions are among the most controversial.
Second homesUnder the old expenses system MPs were able to claim taxpayers' money towards second homes.
It was a key issue during the 2009 scandal when some MPs were accused of renovating properties at taxpayers' expense before selling them on and pocketing large profits.
Scrapping mortgage interest payments and insisting MPs claim to rent properties instead was a key recommendation of a lengthy inquiry into the whole system by the Committee on Standards in Public Life, which said MPs should not expect "to acquire a valuable asset at public expense".
Under Ipsa's rules, MPs who already owned taxpayer-subsidised second homes were allowed to continue claiming towards mortgage interest for a transitional period - until August 2012, although when they sell the property they have to surrender a share of any rise in value of the property since last summer.
But some have argued that claiming for mortgage interest is actually cheaper for the taxpayer than claiming rent.
The consultation document says a previous Ipsa review concluded that the issue was "important for public confidence".
But the body says: "Ipsa's position on this issue has not changed but it is inviting views in this consultation to ascertain whether public opinion has shifted on this issue."
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown raised the idea of MPs getting a flat-rate allowance at the height of the expenses scandal - in a widely criticised video on the Downing Street website. But it was criticised at the time as a payment for MPs to "turn up and do their jobs".
The issue has resurfaced recently at hearings of the MPs' committee which is reviewing the legislation which set up Ipsa - the Commons members' expenses committee.
'Properly incurred'At a recent hearing Conservative MP Priti Patel pointed out that the current London weighting allowance was not controversial - while expenses seemed to be "much more expensive and costly to administer".
The consultation says Ipsa still believes expenses and costs should remain "based on the reimbursement of costs incurred" but adds: "There remains a number of MPs who believe that there should be a return to lump sum allowances which would, amongst other things, allow MPs to continue to fund their mortgage interest."
Another issue raised during the consultation is whether rules should be relaxed on strict pay structures for MPs' staff - allowing them to decide how to split pay between staff within an overall budget - and whether those representing poorer areas should be allowed more staff.
Ipsa says that there is a "discernible trend" - supported by both staff members' views and Ipsa's own payroll data - that an MP's workload is linked to constituencies with a lot of social deprivation - which have more time-consuming cases such as those involving immigration, housing and child welfare issues.
Among its proposals are that while most MPs will be allowed 3.5 full-time equivalent staff - those in particularly deprived communities should be allowed four. Ipsa notes that this could mean the overall expenses bill goes up by up to £2.1m - if it was extended to the most deprived 25% of constituencies.
The consultation runs until 20 January.
Posted @ 15:26:08 on 25 November 2011 back to top
The six squatters "moved in" to the Victorian home in Highgate, north London, a fortnight ago.
The home is located a short distance from homes owned by Kate Moss, the model, and actor Jude Law.
They even put a sign up in the window stating that they are claiming squatter's rights and do not intend to move until rents in the area fall.
Figures show that rent for a five bed home costs about £5,000 a month.
One 24-year-old squatter told a local newspaper: "There are so many empty big buildings not in use - it's a big waste.
The £1m property is believed to be in the process of renovation.
But locals say that builders downed tools after the owner told them he couldn't afford the work until the recession ends.
One local, who did not want to be named, said he had spoken to the six Polish squatters and told them the owner had been informed of their "occupation".
He said: "The house was bought a couple of years ago and was being done up, but work has stopped since the recession bit.
"I spoke to the squatters who said they wanted to stay in the area, but couldn't afford the rents so just moved into this empty house."
He added: "They don't cause too much of a problem, but this is a nice area where people pay millions of pounds for their homes and don't want to see a bunch of squatters moving in."
Posted @ 18:13:01 on 24 November 2011 back to top
