Self-employed mortgage house-buying UK Property Prices Expats Rightmove Stamp duty holiday
Marketing No Comments

House-Buying Surges, Gazumping Is Back

Recent house-buying interest has been so great that property portal Rightmove has thought fit to issue guidance on how to avoid gazumping.

July, which is typically a quieter time for the property market, was extraordinarily busy across the UK, reported Rightmove.

‘We saw a massive £37bn worth of property sales-agreed in July – the busiest month for home buying since we started tracking this data over ten years ago. Our latest weekly-sales agreed figure is also up by 60 per cent compared to the same week in 2019 as buyers continue to press ahead with their home-moving plans’.

The portal has also recorded all-time highs in seven regions for new seller asking prices, with rising popularity of countryside locations driving up prices in places such as Devon and Cornwall.

To find out more about how we can assist you with your Mortgage requirements, please click here to get in touch

‘More property is coming to market than a year ago in all regions, and at a national level the new supply and heightened demand seem relatively balanced’, commented Rightmove’s’ Miles Shipside. ‘However, those expressing most desire to move on are unsurprisingly in London and its commuter belt.

‘London has 69 per cent more properties coming to market, with the South East at 60 per cent and the East at 56 per cent. With work and transport patterns potentially changing most around the capital, commuter-belt properties need to have more appeal to prospective buyers than just proximity to a station.

‘Many buyers do appear to be satisfying their new needs in these regions, as the number of sales agreed in each is also at a record level. The out-of-city exodus has helped push prices to record levels in Devon and Cornwall, for example, where working from home means a different lifestyle much closer to your new doorstep’.

Source: Residential Landlord

Marketing No Comments

ARLA: Tenant demand reaches highest number on record

The number of prospective tenants continued to rise in July, hitting the highest number on record, the ARLA Propertymark July Private Rented Sector (PRS) report has revealed.

The average letting agent branch registered 97 new tenants, compared to 79 on average in June. This breaks the previous record of 88 in January 2020.

Phil Keddie, president, ARLA Propertymark, said: “Our latest figures show the rental market still continues to gather momentum following the reopening of housing markets across the UK.

To find out more about how we can assist you with your Mortgage requirements, please click here to get in touch

“We have seen a record-breaking level of rental stock, and demand from tenants continues to grow, providing a positive outlook for the future of the private rented sector.

“For the market to fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is vital that landlords have good communication with their tenants, and that they continue to keep paying their rents, especially in light of rule changes and announcements impacting notice periods and additional government financial support being offered to tenants and landlords.”

The number of rental properties available in July also rose, with an average of 208 properties managed per letting agent branch.

This is the highest number recorded in July.

BY RYAN BEMBRIDGE

Source: Property Wire

house prices
Marketing No Comments

UK house prices to ‘hold firm’ in 2020 despite Covid-19 crisis

UK house prices are set to hold firm for the rest of the year despite the looming recession and rising unemployment sparked by the coronavirus crisis.

Annual house price growth has been sustained at 2.5 per cent as demand continues to outstrip supply, despite fears that the pandemic would cause property values to plunge.

According to the latest research the UK housing market is performing at its strongest for five years, with the volume of sales agreed per agent up 76 per cent on the five year average.

The most recent UK house price index from property platform Zoopla found that house prices will end the year two to three per cent higher than the start.

Annual house price growth in London was 2.1 per cent in July, compared to the same time last year where the capital was registering house price falls of 0.9 per cent.

Zoopla research and insight director Richard Donnell said: “Housing market conditions remain unseasonably strong despite the UK moving into recession.

To find out more about how we can assist you with your Mortgage requirements, please click here to get in touch

“Demand continues to outpace supply and support house price growth of 2.5% per annum.

“Meanwhile, houses are selling faster than flats as we see a shift in buyer priorities in the wake of the lockdown and movers prioritise more space.

“The next important milestone for the housing market comes in September when schools reopen and the UK starts to get back towards a full reopening of the economy.

“ The ‘once in a lifetime’ re-evaluation of housing requirements on the back of the lockdown will be a counterweight to the impact of the recession on housing market activity over the rest of 2020.

“While demand has softened over August, we expect the current momentum in market activity to continue into the fourth quarter.”

By Jessica Clark

Source: City AM

UK house prices Property prices housing market
Marketing No Comments

Property transactions start to rebound

There were 70,710 property transactions in July, 14.5% more than in June but still 27.4% less than in July last year, the HMRC’s seasonally adjusted figures show.

The HMRC said the stamp duty holiday announced on July 2020 is unlikely to impact transactions until late August or early September.

Anna Clare Harper, author of Strategic Property Investing, said: “The upward trend in transactions data reflects a piece of positive news for all of us: the housing market is moving again after a complex start to the year. This change reflects a release of pent-up demand and supply.

“What we’re seeing in the market, which will be reflected in August’s and September’s data, is the further influence of recent and temporary policies.

To find out more about how we can assist you with your Mortgage requirements, please click here to get in touch

“The temporary stamp duty land tax change is helping those home buyers and investors who are looking to buy a property worth less than £500,000 in particular.

“We don’t know for sure what will happen next: economically, or in policy. But what we can predict accurately is that two crucial factors – economic confidence and policy – will prove fundamental to the future of the UK housing market.”

Jonathan Sealey, chief executive at bridging lender Hope Capital: “Although there’s clearly a long way to go for the market as a whole to get back to where it was, at Hope Capital we are seeing stunning levels of inquiries, way up on last year.

“Covid-19 has created changing patterns of demand, as people adapt to a slightly different lifestyle, with less commuting and more working at home. This is also likely to feed through into increased transaction volumes, with many people considering a move away from large towns and cities.

“As the recovery unfolds, we’re expecting to see a lot of demand from buy-to-let landlords, taking advantage of the Stamp Duty cut to expand their portfolio and provide rented housing that meets people’s desire for somewhere quiet to work at home, and better access to the great outdoors.”

By RYAN BEMBRIDGE

Source: Property Wire

mortgage
Marketing No Comments

Pent up demand sees residential transactions increase in July

The provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of UK residential property transactions in July 2020 was 70,710, 14.5% higher than June 2020, likely due to pent up demand following lockdown, according to the HMRC UK Property Transaction Statistics.

However, this was 27.4% lower than July 2019.

The seasonally adjusted estimate of UK non-residential property transactions in July 2020 was 8,380, 18.3% low er than July 2019, but 27.6% higher than June 2020.

The non-seasonally adjusted estimate of residential property transactions was 80,490, 23.2% lower than one year previous.

The non-seasonally adjusted estimate of non-residential property transactions in July 2020 was 8,770, 16.6% lower than July 2019.

To find out more about how we can assist you with your Mortgage requirements, please click here to get in touch

The Q2 2020 residential transactions count is the lowest quarterly total within the period of April 2005 to April 2020, reflecting the impacts of coronavirus.

Mark Harris, chief executive of SPF Private Clients, said: “While it’s still too early for the stamp duty holiday to feed through to HMRC’s July numbers, transactions continued to pick up owing to pent-up demand.

“Of much more interest will be September’s data when the full impact of the stamp duty exemption will be felt and the bustle of activity that we are seeing will feed through to the official numbers.

“Lenders remain keen to lend although they are exceptionally busy due to higher demand, dealing with the summer holidays and other demands placed on them by the fallout from the pandemic, with closer scrutiny of borrowers’ incomes meaning everything is taking longer.

“Rates are still competitively priced although at higher loan-to-values in particular they are creeping up.”

Anna Clare Harper, author of Strategic Property Investing, said: “The upward trend in transactions data reflects a piece of positive news for all of us: the housing market is moving again after a complex start to the year.

“This change reflects a release of pent-up demand and supply.

“What we’re seeing in the market, which will be reflected in August and September’s data, is the further influence of recent and temporary policies.

“The temporary Stamp Duty Land Tax change is helping those home buyers and investors who are looking to buy a property worth less than £500,000 in particular.

“We don’t know for sure what will happen next: economically, or in policy. But what we can predict accurately is that two crucial factors – economic confidence and policy – will prove fundamental to the future of the UK housing market.”

Alan Cleary, managing director, mortgages at OneSavings Bank, said: “It’s no surprise that market activity is down on 2019 transactions, but it’s encouraging to see a significant uptick since the easing of lockdown.

“With the market experiencing its busiest month for enquiries in more than 10 years in July, according to Rightmove, as a result of pent up demand and the government stimulus on stamp duty we should see an improvement in transaction levels in months to come.

“First time buyers, homeowners and landlords wishing to take advantage of the stamp duty relaxation should move sooner rather than later to ensure they don’t miss the deadline.”

By Jessica Bird

Source: Mortgage Introducer

Marketing No Comments

Housing market booms since the UK lockdown

THE UK’S housing market has experienced a boom since the country went into lockdown.

The housing market is ‘incredibly busy’ across the Cumbria region with buyers seeking to find more space, says conveyancing specialist Adkirk Law.

Linda Kirk, director of conveyancing, said: “We are seeing the move to more space inside and outside of a property as a priority for many of those buying or seeking to buy. The benefits of the stamp duty holiday, added to the experience of coronavirus, seems to be fuelling the trend in all regions.

To find out more about how we can assist you with your Mortgage requirements, please click here to get in touch

“People are also looking for property with enough space to be able to work from home in the new way businesses are looking to the future.

“The north west market is certainly buoyant, and people are also realising how much more property and space they can buy in the region than in the south.”

Farrell Heyworth Barrow In Furness’s manager Louise Stewart said: “The market is certainly getting busier. There’s a bubble that’s been created by the lockdown. It’s happening across the board. We still have local investors, but many people who have been living with mum and dad and seem to want to move.”

By Luke Jarmyn

Source: In Cumbria

Stamp Duty Holiday Housing Market brokers Support RICS property investment House prices Government Scottish housing market Remortgage instructions Masthaven
Marketing No Comments

Brokers report buy-to-let bounce

More than half of mortgage brokers have seen an increase in buy-to-let purchase business in recent weeks, according to new research from broker forum Cherryplc.co.uk.

The survey, carried out with Click2Check, found that 57% of intermediaries have seen demand for buy-to-let purchase deals increase, compared to just under 12% who reported an increase in demand for capital raising on a remortgage.

The study found there had been an increase in the number of clients with more specialist requirements. Almost one in ten (8%) brokers saw a jump in demand for HMO purchase loans, while almost 4% have seen a rise in enquiries for lending on both multi-unit blocks of flats and holiday lets.

There has also been a rise in short-term lending popularity, with 8% of advisers working with more clients on sourcing bridging loans for refurbishment tasks.

Donna Hopton, director at Cherry, said it was clear that there has been a spike in buy-to-let activity in recent weeks.

She explained: “Whereas the buy-to-let market has been dominated by remortgage business in recent years, it is purchase enquiries that are currently keeping brokers busy. The window of opportunity for reduced Stamp Duty Land Tax will certainly be helping to drive this demand, but we are seeing that the market is generally buoyant, which is a positive sign for advisers, and the economy.”

Jeff Knight, director of marketing at Foundation Home Loans, pointed to recent research which had suggested confidence among landlords is now higher than it has been in the last few years.

He continued: “This presents a great opportunity for landlords and it’s no surprise that many have seen this period of reduced Stamp Duty as an opportunity to grow their portfolios.”

By John Fitzsimons

Source: Mortgage Finance Gazette

Expat Remortgage Case Study Covid-19 Property viewings Mortgage adverse credit Advance bookings for viewings BTL Landlords
Marketing No Comments

Property viewings up 30% in July

Property instructions and viewings were up in July following the stamp duty holiday, according to data published by property group Andrews.

Viewings saw a monthly increase of 29% in July, with physical viewings up 45% as buyers returned to the market. There were almost 6,000 viewings in July compared to just 20 in April, with a third of those viewings still being carried out virtually. Offers made and accepted by sellers were also up 12% in July. Instructions were up by more than a fifth (22%) from June, with valuations up by a third.

To find out more about how we can assist you with your Mortgage requirements, please click here to get in touch

David Westgate, group chief executive at Andrews Property Group, said: “What a difference four months makes. In April viewings and instructions across the industry fell off a cliff as the country was gripped by coronavirus and the Government asked us to stay at home. But the rebound has been swift as lockdown eased and the Chancellor’s stamp duty announcement at the start of July gave the market a timely boost.

“Buyers and sellers alike have shown renewed vigour in the past six weeks. With a lengthy window of opportunity to purchase before the stamp holiday comes to an end, we expect buyer activity to remain buoyant over the coming months. And we saw an immediate uplift in valuations and instructions since stamp duty was frozen, with sellers keen to take advantage of motivated buyers and more confidence to list thanks to stable house prices.

“It won’t be all plain sailing from here, but the Government has shown how important it sees a healthy and stable property market for the general wellbeing of the overall economy. And house prices have proven to be extremely resilient in the past when faced by strong economic headwinds, which suggests the market is well placed to cope with some potentially heavy bumps in the road ahead.”

Source: Property Wire

Marketing No Comments

Buy-to-let market proving more “robust” than residential

The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed landlords to broaden the types of property and locations they are looking to invest in, according to analysis from Leeds Building Society.

The mutual noted that industry data suggested that the volume of applications for buy-to-let mortgages held up better than for residential loans between March and the middle of July.

Matt Bartle, director of products at Leeds Building Society, said: “In terms of the volume of applications over this period, the buy-to-let market fell less steeply and recovered more quickly than residential.

“We’ve also seen increased purchase activity; suggesting landlords are taking advantage of a combination of factors, including stamp duty relief, low interest rates and tenant demand.”

To find out more about how we can assist you with your BTL Mortgage please click here

The society’s own research with landlords, as part of its ‘lockdown learnings’ series, supports this, with 79% of landlords who were considering purchasing a buy-to-let property before the pandemic saying their plans had changed. This doesn’t mean they are withdrawing though, with half saying they still want to buy but are taking a fresh look at their plans.

Of those surveyed, almost a third (29%) are reconsidering the type of property they want to invest in, while the same proportion are also looking at new locations. Around one in five (20%) of landlords are reassessing precisely how much they are willing to invest, with almost a quarter (22%) rethinking their timings.

However, half of the landlords surveyed saying they hadn’t been planning to buy before lockdown, and still have no plans to do so.

Bartle added: “Bearing in mind the changes that coronavirus has brought to all our lives it’s not surprising to see landlords reviewing future plans for their property portfolios as tenants’ needs and priorities are also affected by the pandemic.

“The recent Government announcement on stamp duty appears to be spurring prospective purchasers into action, including buy-to-let landlords.”

By John Fitzsimons

Source: Mortgage Finance Gazette

UK house prices Property prices housing market
Marketing No Comments

UK housing market at decade high after COVID-19 bounce back

The UK housing market had its busiest month for a decade in July as the value of property sales reached a record £37 billion, according to Rightmove.

Agreed property sales increased by 48 per cent compared with the same month in 2019 and were 20 per cent higher than the previous record noted by Rightmove’s monthly survey in March 2017. The momentum in the market has continued this month, with the latest weekly figure revealing a 60 per cent hike in sales.

Rightmove said that the £37bn of agreed sales that it had recorded was the highest since it started tracking the data a decade ago. Its report is the latest evidence of bounce back in the UK housing market since the coronavirus lockdown measures were eased and Rishi Sunak reduced stamp duty by raising the threshold at which buyers start to pay the tax to £500,000.

Pent up demand for property is driving the soar in housing market activity, the stamp duty cut and people rethinking where they want to live because of the nature of life under lockdown and the possibility of working from home more regularly.

To find out more about how we can assist you with your Mortgage requirements, please click here to get in touch

However, while Rightmove and other reports have suggested that the market is enjoying a rebound, economists fear that it could come to a swift end by a rise in unemployment and further economic slowdown when government support schemes come to an end.

Furthermore, the housing market could be hit with a wave of home repossessions once banks end the mortgage holidays that they have offered during the pandemic, The Times reports.

The stamp duty holiday is also due to end at the end of March 2021. Banks across the UK are also anticipating a decline in house prices with their recent financial results revealing various plans put in place to account for losses stemming from this. Metro Bank said it expected prices to drop by 14.6 per cent.

Rightmove said that the average asking price on a property in the UK was now £319,497, slightly lower than the record high of £320,265 in its July report.

The mass city exodus has helped to push prices to record levels in Devon and Cornwall, but prices in London have fallen by 2 per cent month-on-month, with some landlords opting to put their city flats on the market in the wake of a slump in the number of tourists and students.

Nevertheless, the 0.2 per cent monthly drop in prices is lower than the average of 1.2 per cent usually recorded at this time of year as activity slows in the market.

Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst, said: “There have been many changes as a result of the unprecedented pandemic and these include a rewriting of the previously predictable seasonal rulebook for housing market activity and prices. Home movers are both marketing and buying more property than we have recorded in any previous month for over ten years, helping to push prices to their highest ever level in seven regions.”

Source: Scottish Legal