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Homebuyers reveal what catches their eye when house hunting

Property listing photos remains hugely influential when it comes to attracting homebuyer interest and securing the best price for a house for sale, research by estate agent photography provider Giraffe360 has revealed.

When asked about their recent house hunt, a huge 93% of homebuyers said that the online photos of a property were an important factor when it came to grabbing their attention while scrolling through the property portals.

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An identical percentage of buyers thought that these property listing photos were of great importance when it came to forming the all-important positive first impression of a property.

A high 94% stated they would be more inclined to view a property that was presented online with good photos, an interactive tour, or both.

The survey of over 1,300 recent homebuyers also revealed that estate agents who are not delivering the visual goods are also damaging their own reputation, as well as their chances of selling a home.

Over three-quarters (78%) stated that they would be less inclined to view a property with bad photos, no interactive tour, or both.

What’s more, 40% of buyers said they wasted time viewing unsuitable properties because the photos were poor, or there was no interactive tour, and so they couldn’t tell the property wasn’t for them until they actually viewed it in person.

Also, 62% of homebuyers would offer below asking price for a home they liked, simply because a below par online portrayal had created a bad first impression.

Read about the UK Housing Market via our Specialist Residential & Buy to Let Division

It is not just home sellers who are suffering due to poor digital presentation as 81% of homebuyers stated that a poorly presented property listing would also negatively impact their opinion of the selling agent, making them appear unprofessional, low budget, and giving the impression that they offer a poor service.

“The current market is incredibly competitive and with stock levels remaining insufficient, buyers are falling over themselves to secure a purchase. But that doesn’t mean the basic foundations are no longer important when it comes to presenting your home on the market,” Mikus Opelts, chief executive at Giraffe360, remarked.

He pointed out that a poorly presented property listing can still deter buyers from viewing the property and those that do may even reduce their offer as a result.

“The repercussions aren’t just refined to those looking to sell, and, in this day and age, any agent producing smartphone photos to showcase their latest stock are really shooting themselves in the foot,” Opelts stressed.

“Doing so creates an aura of unprofessionalism and poor service and with the advancements in technology available in today’s market, there’s no excuse.”

The survey of 1,313 homebuyers who have bought a home in the last six months was commissioned by ProperPR on behalf of Giraffe360 via consumer research platform, FindOutNow. It was conducted on April 28, 2022.

By Rommel Lontayao

Source: Mortgage Introducer

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Homebuyers Can Still Benefit from The Stamp Duty Holiday

Homebuyers can still make the most of the stamp duty holiday despite the first phase ending in six days but will have to act quickly, a leading property lawyer has warned.

The first phase of the stamp duty holiday extension – where buyers have not had to pay the tax on the first £500,000 of a property’s value – will end on June 30.

However, some homebuyers are rushing to try to complete before the deadline the second phase – where the first £250,000 is tax free – which will carry on until September 30.

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Simon Nosworthy, head of residential conveyancing at London law firm Osbornes Law, said: “There is a perception that the stamp duty holiday will be over on June 30, but that isn’t the case. There are still reasonable savings to be made until the end of September, but buyers will need to act quickly to make sure they complete before the deadline. I would say that if a buyer starts the process in the next 5 weeks or so they should be confident of completing before the September deadline.”

Simon predicts that the market will remain buoyant despite the lower tax-free amount. He added: “I would expect the lower and the higher ends of the market to remain busy in the next few weeks,” he says. “For those at the lower end the saving on £250,000 is still a substantial amount, while for those at the top end the saving of a few thousand pounds is a drop in the ocean. As a result, I would expect large transactions to be unaffected by the end of the stamp duty holiday’s first phase.”

Read about the UK Housing Market via our Specialist Residential & Buy to Let Division

The main issue for home buyers is that most of the housing stock has already been sold during the last few months.

Simon added: “There is a supply and demand issue as most of the housing stock has been going really quickly. We had one case where the buyer was going for a fairly average 1940s semi-detached but the house went to sealed bids with 12 bidders and each potential buyer had to give reasons why they wanted the property and evidence of their finances. The market has been exceptionally busy, so finding a property to purchase is an issue. However, if you do then it’s not too late to make the most of the stamp duty holiday.”

BY PETE CARVILL

Source: Property Wire

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Majority of Property Transactions Since May 2020 Backed by Mortgages

Mortgages have fuelled 70% of property transactions across Great Britain since the market reopened back in May of last year, after initial lockdown restrictions were imposed, according to a research.

Enness analysed market data on mortgage-financed sales as a percentage of all sales in each area of Britain between May 2020 and November 2020.

While 270,785 of the 387,667 homes sold across Britain (70%) have seen the buyer backed by a mortgage, there is some regional difference. In London, 80% of all sales have come through homebuyers with a mortgage, with the East of England, West Midlands (72%), the South East and East Midlands (71%) also coming in higher than the national benchmark.

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In contrast, the South West is home to the most cash homebuyers with just 64% of homebuyers purchasing via a mortgage.

With the capital home to the largest regional percentage of mortgage-backed purchases, London also accounts for the top three highest at local authority level. Lewisham is the mortgage hotspot of Britain for homebuyers with 88% of all transactions financed via the sector, followed by Barking and Dagenham and Waltham Forest (87%).

Slough and Crawley are home to the highest percentage of mortgage-based purchases outside of London along with Hillingdon (86%).

At the other end of the spectrum, just 40% of property transactions in East Lindsey have been financed by a mortgage since the market reopened in May of last year. North Norfolk (43%), Argyll and Bute (44%), Torridge, Ceredigion (45%), Scarborough (48%), Rother, South Hams and Pembrokeshire also rank with some of the lowest levels of mortgage-financed transactions.

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“A lot has been made about the boost in buyer demand due to the stamp duty holiday, but it’s the continued low rates of borrowing that have really been the foundation of this heightened market activity.

While a stamp duty saving is nice, the ability to secure finance at a much lower rate of interest than historically possible has brought about a major boost to market sentiment in recent years and the impact is clear, with 70% of all transactions financed as such.

Some lenders have begun to tighten their lending criteria and this could make it harder for those with a less stable financial background to obtain a mortgage. However, it’s unlikely to impact the actual ratio of mortgage-financed buyers in relation to those purchasing with cash, particularly while the Bank of England keeps rates at sub-one per cent.”

BY PETE CARVILL

Source: Property Wire

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Homebuyers left in limbo as coronavirus puts property market on ice

Families are being frustrated in their attempts to move home as coronavirus puts a freeze on the property market.

As part of measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus, Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick has urged people to rearrange and delay moving properties to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Covid-19 has also meant restrictions for non-essential workers, such as removal van drivers, broadband installers and gas assessors making moving arrangements difficult for many.

Lewis Jones, an electrical engineer from Newport, was told by the developers of his new-build home that they would not delay his completion date, despite the fact he was unable to move due to the current restrictions.

I’m paying for a house that I may not be able to move into for some time

The lack of removal men, and the health risk of moving has left Mr Jones, 34, unable to move, meaning he now has to pay bills at his rented property as well as his new home until he is able to make the move.

“I’m frustrated with the Government as they should put a stop to this to protect people and avoid unnecessary travel,” he told the PA news agency.

He argued that the developers “could be more lenient”, adding: “I’m paying for a house that I may not be able to move into for some time.”

Stuart and Kedma Woodmansey from Hull and their six-month-old son Jacob are unable to move because they can’t get a gas safety certificate due to staff self-isolating.

The security consultant and his wife, a 39-year-old carer, were due to leave their current property next Wednesday to move to Market Weighton.

“It could be a month before we are able to complete and our house is all boxed up.”

The couple remain positive, however, with Stuart saying: “I can understand the worry and feel frustrated but it’s bad timing. We have to find a way around it as does everybody else.”

Source: Express & Star

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Thousands of homebuyers in ‘leasehold limbo’

Thousands of homebuyers could still be “sleepwalking into leasehold limbo” despite the government’s pledge to ban new-build leasehold houses, a property expert has said.

In December 2017 then communities secretary Sajid Javid had pledged to end the “exploitation of homebuyers through unnecessary leaseholds” by legislating to prevent the sale of new-build leasehold houses except where necessary, such as shared ownership.

In July this year current communities secretary James Brokenshire put further weight behind the pledge, promising to to tackle “unfair and abusive” practices within the current leasehold system and cease funding of “unjustified” leasehold houses through government schemes.

But one year on from Mr Javid’s initial announcement, it has been claimed developers have continued to sell thousands of new-build houses with leaseholds – some believed to be funded via the Help to Buy scheme.

Phil Spencer, co-founder of property advice site Move iQ, said: “A year on from the government’s pledge to ban the sale of new build leasehold houses, thousands of buyers are still being allowed to sleepwalk into leasehold limbo.

“And in a further ironic twist, many are even being encouraged to do so by the Help to Buy scheme.”

The firm’s analysis of Land Registry figures showed 26,024 new-build properties have been sold with leaseholds since the government’s pledge last December, 2,644 of which were houses.

Data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government showed 5,949 leasehold homes were bought with assistance from the Help to Buy scheme in the first six months of this year- 1,340 were houses.

Mr Spencer said: “Millions of Britons live happily in leasehold homes. But anyone buying a leasehold property needs to do so with their eyes wide open, and should take legal advice to understand the obligations that go with owning a home this way.

“While leasehold tenure is normal for flats, the government says it is determined to stop newly built houses being sold in this way – while at the same time offering Help to Buy incentives. These mixed messages are deeply confusing.”

Mr Spencer said when the ban is introduced there should be some redress for the thousands who have bought leasehold houses.

He said: “At the very least they should be given first refusal on the freehold of their home at a reasonable rate, before it is sold on to a third party.”

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has recently launched a technical consultation on how to implement reforms to the leasehold system, which shut at the end of November.

It is now considering next steps with a view to bringing forward legislation in due course.

A spokesperson said: “It’s unacceptable for home buyers to be exploited through unnecessary leaseholds on new houses.

“We have announced measures to ban leaseholds for all new build houses unless there is a genuine reason, and ensure ground rents on new long leases are set to a peppercorn.”

It is understood that development contracts in place until March 2021 prevent the introduction of an outright ban on the sale of leasehold houses or setting terms around ground rents without giving risk to legal challenge.

But the government said: “We have been clear in telling developers that Help to Buy funding should not be used for leasehold houses, and recent statistics show this practice is already reducing.”

Source: FT Adviser

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Buyers eye up Christmas offers as prices slip in November

Homeowners hoping to sell their house are slashing prices and expectations, in a move that signals a boon for buyers in the run-up to the festive season.

Property prices tumbled 1.7 per cent this month, marking the largest November drop since 2012, with London’s stagnant housing market continuing to see a sharper decline than any other UK region.

While prices typically edge down ahead of the Christmas period, today’s data from Rightmove signals a higher-than-usual drop as sellers lower their demands in a bid to lure in cautious buyers amid Brexit uncertainty and wage stagnation.

Inner London’s house prices saw the sharpest monthly fall, with values from October to November dropping 2.5 per cent to an average £754, 726. However, the lowering of prices has signalled a slight uptick in activity, with a modest one per cent rise in the number of November sales compared with the same month last year.

“Some new-to-the-market sellers and their agents have acted early to try to improve the buying mood and avoid the traditional “buyer humbug” dislike of Christmas housing activity,” according to Rightmove director Miles Shipside.

He added: “While many thought that the down-to-the-wire Brexit deal uncertainty would hold people back from buying, more buyers have actually jumped in. Some buyers see this pre-Christmas price lull as a gift to their negotiations. It proves that people need to get on with their lives and will continue to buy homes if the underlying economic fundamentals remain strong.”

Prime Central London’s market has seen one of the most noticeable price drops in the last 12 months, underlined by a slowdown in high end residential areas such as Kensington.

Stamp duty and market volatility have helped deter a swathe of wealthy buyers looking to snap up homes in the capital, with a recent LonRes study showing prices across prime London dipped three per cent in the third quarter of 2018 in the wake of greater buyer uncertainty.

Source: City A.M.

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Third of homebuyers ineligible for new Help to Buy

More than a third of homebuyers who would have previously qualified for the government’s Help to Buy scheme, will be ineligible in 2021, under rules outlined in this week’s Budget.

In his speech on Monday (29 October) the chancellor announced Help to Buy will be extended until 2023 but revised rules mean only first time buyers and homes within new regional price caps will be eligible.

This means 38 per cent of homebuyers who used Help to Buy to buy a home in 2018 would no longer be eligible to use the scheme, research from a home moving quotes provider has found.

In London, assistance will be limited to homes worth up to £600,000, while in the north east of England, homes beyond £186,100 will be ineligible.

The caps have been calculated at 1.5 times the average first time buyer price, as estimated by government forecasts.

Rob Houghton, CEO of reallymoving.com., said: “Our data shows that around 38 per cent of people who have used Help to Buy Equity Loans so far this year would no longer qualify after the changes in 2021, indicating that the revised scheme is quite rightly much more targeted towards first time buyers who need help onto the first rung of the property ladder.”

Research released by the home moving quotes provider earlier this month suggested first time buyers using the government’s scheme were paying on average 8 per cent more than those buying new homes without the scheme.

According to data collected from 41,000 of its first time buyer clients, the firm found those purchasing a new build home without Help to Buy paid on average £257,908, compared with £277,968 paid by those using the scheme.

Mr Houghton added: “Despite its improvements, we’re pleased to see the scheme being scaled back, given that our analysis suggests there’s a risk that the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme encourages higher prices, more than it helps first time buyers get on the ladder or encourages new properties to be built.”

Paul Gibson, a chartered financial planner and managing director of Granite Financial Planning, also said he believes the Help to Buy scheme has not worked as well as it should have and has driven property prices up.

He said: “The scheme has not really worked as intended as evidenced by the fact that those using the scheme are paying more.”

“I don’t think the government should be subsiding house builders but do feel more needs to be done to help first time buyers in general. Perhaps more stringent tax rules for those with second homes would release more capacity on the market as a starter.”

the price caps set by the government are:

Region                                    Price Cap

North East                               £186,100

North West                              £224,400

Yorkshire & The Humber         £228,100

East Midlands                         £261,900

West Midlands                        £255,600

East of England                       £407,400

London                                    £600,000

South East                               £437,600

South West                              £349,000

Source: FT Adviser

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Fifth of homebuyers seek mortgage alternatives

Alternative finance, including crowdfunding, mezzanine finance or unregulated loans, was used by 19 per cent of home buyers in the past decade, research has found.

Research commissioned by bridging lender Market Financial Solutions, found 52 per cent of borrowers used a mortgage or remortgage to finance a property purchase in the past decade and 42 per cent had purchased using cash.

Alternatives were the least popular options, with bridging considered by a mere 13 per cent of homebuyers. However, alternative finance was used by a respectable 19 per cent of borrowers.

The lender had surveyed 2000 residential homebuyers who had a bought a property in the last ten years, with a quarter of the sample owning two or more residential properties in the UK. About 37 per cent of homebuyers had sought advice from a broker when considering their funding options.

It found 46 per cent of homebuyers felt they did not have the knowledge or confidence in alternatives beyond mortgages to choose them.

The lender claimed homebuyers were restricting their ability to find funding because they lacked the confidence to consider alternative finance options.

Paresh Raja, chief executive at Market Financial Solutions, said: “To remain reliant on the mortgage market could restrict an individual’s ability to get the funds they need.

“Indeed, in the UK’s competitive property market, it is essential that buyers are aware of the financial products they can choose from, in turn putting themselves in the best position to progress with a purchase quickly and efficiently.”

Mr Raja added: “Over the past decade, a range of new alternative finance products has arisen to give buyers different options that might be better suited to their needs – however, today’s research demonstrates that there remains a lack of understanding about what these options are and how to use them.”

But Ruth Whitehead, financial adviser and director at Ruth Whitehead Associates, said she was pleased that bridging loans remained a minority pursuit, considering them an expensive option that should be used as a last resort.

She said: “Traditionally their function has been to ‘bridge’ the gap between sale and ongoing purchase, if the sale process is too slow. However, in the current market in London, which is significantly affected by the uncertainty around Brexit, this situation rarely obtains.

“Property values are going down, and it’s better for a purchaser to complete on their sale, bank the proceeds and then couch-surf while looking for a property to buy without a chain behind them – bridging loans are only ever intended to be short term, and are extremely expensive.

“They have some applicability to a shrewd property investor who can afford to take the risk of not being able to raise the finance to pay off the bridging loan, but for our clients buying and selling their main residence, the word ‘bargepole’ springs to mind.”

Source: FT Adviser

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Homebuyers need to be more aware of new build risks

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has released figures that show where homes are being built including those on flood risk zones and potentially contaminated land.
Its figures for 2016-17 show that more homes were built on flood risk areas and the green belt.

More than one in ten (11%) of new residential homes were built within areas of high flood risk. This is an increase on 9% recorded the year before. However, it could be more according to Future Climate Info Urban Homebuyer Flood Risk Report.

Geoff Offen, managing director at Future Climate Info, said: “The government notes more than one in ten new homes in 2016-2017 were built on sea or river flood plains which are prone to flooding. But with more granular information available, it’s possible that even more homes may be susceptible to flooding.

“Our data shows that around one in seven homes in 2016-2017 were at risk of flooding, a figure that climbs to one in three in some urban areas.”

Previously developed land

MHCLG said that over half (56%) of new residential addresses were created on previously developed land, which is 5% down on 2015-16. The main previous land use categories are:

  • Agricultural land – 16%
  • Other developed use – 14%
  • Industrial and commercial land – 13%

Offen commented: “As we build, more secrets beneath our feet may become apparent too late. According to government figures, nearly half of new build properties were built on previously developed land in 2016-17, which means these homes could lie on contaminated land, unstable ground or in areas that exceed legal air quality levels. Homebuyers will only become aware of all risks by assessing an environmental report and then following its advice.

“The risks of flooding, subsidence, sink holes and contaminated soil can all leave unprepared homeowners out of pocket every year. It’s crucial that all homebuyers are informed, prepared and aware of the risks around them.”

The MHCLG report also showed that 2% of new homes were built within the green belt in 2016 but that doubled in 2017 to 4%.

Source: Mortgage Finance Gazette