House Sales Tumble In July After Stamp Duty Holiday Deadline

House sales tumbled by almost two-thirds in July after tens of thousands of homebuyers rushed to complete their purchases in order to beat the end-of-June stamp duty holiday deadline. Following a record surge in activity in June, when 213,370 UK homes changed hands, transactions slumped 62% to 82,110 in July according to official data, after the government scaled back its tax break for buyers in England and Northern Ireland. HM Revenue and Customs – which published the new data – said it showed that homebuyers were “completing property transactions earlier to take advantage of government housing market policies”. HMRC also said that following the changes to the rules, “an expected but noticeable decrease [in sales] has been observed”. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/aug/24/uk-house-sales-stamp-duty-holiday-deadline-tax-break

Homebuyers Set To Save £300m From Stamp Duty Taper

Homebuyers in England and Wales are set to save £300m before the stamp duty taper runs out in September, with those in the South East gaining the most, according to data from Muve. The conveyancer says buyers can still save as much as £2,500 for those who complete purchases over the next two months. The firm bases its estimates on historical data from the Land Registry and its own research on first-time buyers to gauge the future value of stamp duty savings between July and September. Read more on the Mortgage Strategy website.

https://www.mortgagestrategy.co.uk/news/homebuyers-set-to-save-300m-from-stamp-duty-taper-muve/ 

‘Frenzied Buyer Activity’ Drives UK House Prices To New High

Months of “frenzied buyer activity” have driven the average asking price for a home in Britain to a new high, according to the property website Rightmove. The property portal said it expected figures to show that June was the busiest month on record for sales, with buyers rushing to complete before stamp duty rules change in parts of the United Kingdom. On 30 June, a temporary tax break on the first £500,000 of the cost of a residential property in England and Northern Ireland began to be phased out, with the threshold cut to £250,000. Wales ended its temporary tax break entirely, while Scotland’s had finished at the end of March. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/jul/19/frenzied-buyer-activity-drives-house-prices-to-new-high 

Mortgage Competition Hots Up And Rates Fall To Under 1%.

Homebuyers are being offered mortgages with interest rates below 1% for the first time in almost four years. Now experts say they could fall even further, as competition among banks and building societies heats up. The best-buy rate for both remortgagors and homebuyers is 0.99% on a two-year deal. Financial data firm Moneyfacts says there have not been cheaper five-year fixed-rate mortgages on offer for at least 14 years. The best deals are firmly targeted at those with large deposits, particularly those remortgaging, and some borrowers may find that lenders’ strict criteria locks them out of the lowest rates. For someone with a 10% deposit, the best-buy rate is considerably higher at 3.09%. Read more on the Observer website.

Mortgage competition hots up and rates fall to under 1%. For some | Money | The Guardian 

Buyers Demand Stamp Duty Holiday Extension

There is growing demand for an extension to the stamp duty holiday from many of those who have started the buying process but have yet to complete, fresh research shows. According to a new survey of existing homebuyers, 67% of respondents want to see the stamp duty holiday extended while almost half are deeply concerned that they will miss the current end of March deadline. The holiday has given the housing market a much-needed boost after it ground to a halt during the second quarter of last year following the lockdown in late March. Read more on the Property Industry Eye website.

https://propertyindustryeye.com/buyers-demand-stamp-duty-holiday-extension-as-petition-hits-72000-signatures/

Homebuyers Warned Of Scams As End Of Stamp Duty Holiday Looms

Homebuyers have been warned to take steps to avoid being scammed during their purchase and after they move, with criminals targeting large sums of money, including house deposits. The looming end of the stamp duty holiday has fuelled a boom in the property market as people attempt to secure a new home without having to pay tax. But UK Finance, the organisation representing financial firms, said buyers were in danger of being manipulated by fraudsters into paying money into the wrong account. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/jan/02/homebuyers-scams-stamp-duty-holiday-

Stamp Duty Backlog Could Hit Unsuspecting Homebuyers For £1bn

With as many as 325,000 property sales agreed between September of this year and January predicted to fail to complete before next year’s stamp duty holiday deadline, many homebuyers could be hit with an unwanted surprise. This is due to the sheer volume of sales currently stuck in a market backlog, as the industry struggles to cope with the huge levels of market activity seen in recent months. New research by estate agent comparison site, GetAgent.co.uk, has revealed the extent of the potential stamp duty bill for unexpecting homebuyers caught in the current market backlog. The figures show that with England accounting for 97% of transactions, 315,534 sales could be impacted. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/stamp-duty-backlog-could-hit-unsuspecting-homebuyers-for-1bn-warns-new-research.html

New Ombudsman To Protect Homebuyers From ‘Rogue’ Developers

Homebuyers who are faced with shoddy building work in their new homes will be protected by a new, independent Ombudsman, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has confirmed. According to reports, the New Homes Ombudsman will step in to help homebuyers with a range of issues – and will have statutory powers to award compensation, ban rogue developers from building, and order developers to fix poor building work. Where people are in dispute with developers, the new Ombudsman will work to resolve any issues – ending the injustice of people facing potentially long waits and costly court cases. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/new-ombudsman-to-protect-homebuyers-from-rogue-developers/

Homeowners Regret Buying Their Property

Nearly half (44%) of British homeowners would not buy their home again if given the chance. This is typically due to issues with the house like heating and plumbing (59%), as well as the size of the house (43%) and having troublesome neighbours (34%). Less common reasons are not liking the area (29%), or wanting to live closer to friends and family (25%). Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/some-homeowners-regret-buying-their-property

Renters Still Paying Up To 18% More Than Buyers

The gap between home buying and renting is at its smallest margin for 10 years, but renters are still paying up to 18% more in some parts of the UK, according to the latest research from Halifax. At a UK level, homeowners are saving 3% on average (£227 annually) with the gap reducing from 17% year-on-year since 2015, when buyers were saving an average of £,1476 per year. This has reversed from 2009 when it was buying that was more expensive, and renters saved on average £209 per year or £17 per month. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/finance/renters-still-paying-up-to-18-more-than-buyers.html

Most Homebuyers Take Maximum Help To Buy Loan In London

Three-quarters of home buyers in the capital taking advantage of government loan used maximum amount allowed. Three-quarters of homebuyers in London using the government’s Help to Buy loan scheme borrowed the largest amount possible during the last three years. Data from MHCLG showed that of the 15,623 homes bought in the capital since the beginning of February 2016, when the government boosted the upper limit of the Help to Buy loan for purchasers in the capital to 40%, 11,783 – 75% – were made with a maximum loan. And across England, the 52,268 Help to Buy deals in the year to June 2019 represented a 6% increase. Read more on Housing Today.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/most-homebuyers-take-maximum-help-to-buy-loan-in-london/5103005.article

Housing Affordability Gap Continues To Widen

The results of newly conducted research from Stone Real Estate, have revealed that the gender affordability gap for aspiring homeowners continues to open up, with the male affordability ratio currently at 12.2 across the UK, compared to 18.1 for female homebuyers. The research looked at the current level of affordability for male and female home buyers based on an affordability ratio using house price deposit costs and salary and the gap between the two. Salary data for the area in which people live rather than work was used to compare like for like when it comes to house prices and purchasing power. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/finance/ousing-affordability-gap-continues-to-widen-between-male-and-female-buyers.html

Housing Market Fractured As Prospective Buyers Remain In Limbo Over Brexit

NAEA Propertymark data has revealed that sentiment in the housing market is continuing to fall to new lows as the UK remains the hostage of increasing political uncertainty. According to the figures the number of properties available per member branch fell in October, from 40 in September to 39, the lowest amount seen since June. The figures also show that year-on-year, housing supply is down, falling from 40 in October 2018. NAEA Propertymark found that the number of house hunters registered per estate agent branch decreased by 12% in October, from 387 to 341. Year-on-year, housing demand is up, rising from 294 house hunters per branch in October 2018. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/housing-market-fractured-as-prospective-buyers-remain-in-limbo-over-brexit.html

Majority Declare New-Builds To Be Unaffordable And Unattractive

New research from FJP Investment has uncovered UK homebuyers’ sentiment towards new-builds, with the majority saying they are deterred from purchasing one because they are “unattractive”. The investment provider commissioned an independent survey of 1,000 UK-based homebuyers and property investors and found that half felt new-builds in the UK are usually unattractive, while even more (63%) consider them to be “devoid of character”. Two thirds (67%) of homebuyers criticised new-build properties for being too expensive, saying they feel developments are often aimed at the top end of the market. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/majority-declare-new-builds-to-be-unaffordable-and-unattractive.html

Homebuyers Turned Off By ‘Characterless’ New-Builds

Prospective buyers have been deterred from purchasing new-build homes in the UK because they are “unattractive” and “devoid of character”. Roughly half of homebuyers and property investors believe new-builds are usually unattractive, while 63 per cent consider them to lack distinctive features, according to a new survey. Two-thirds of potential buyers criticised the style of property for being unaffordable, saying they felt the developments were too often aimed at the top of the market. Read more on the City AM website.

https://www.cityam.com/uk-homebuyers-turned-off-by-characterless-new-builds/

Survey Shows Private Tenants Not Interested In Buying A Home

The government is urged to end its “penalisation” of landlords on the back of a new study showing the majority of the UK’s private tenants don’t want to buy a home. The Landbay study, based on responses from 2,000 private renters in the UK, has only 42% of private tenants interested in getting on the housing ladder in the near future. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/survey-shows-many-private-tenants-not-interested-in-buying-a-home/

Bank Of Mum And Dad 'One Of UK's Biggest Mortgage Lenders'

Parents spend so much money to get their children onto the housing ladder that they are now among the biggest lenders in the UK, a survey suggests. The average parental contribution for homebuyers this year is £24,100, up by more than £6,000 compared to last year, according to Legal & General (L&G). Collectively parents have given £6.3bn, high enough to rank the bank of mum and dad 10th if it was a mortgage lender. Clydesdale Bank, the UK's 10th largest mortgage lender lent £5bn last year. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49477404

Brokenshire: Let Young People Use Their Pensions To Buy Homes

      Young people should be allowed to dip into their pensions so they can afford to get on the housing ladder, the housing secretary James Brokenshire has said. Speaking at an event hosted by the think tank Policy Exchange, Mr Brokenshire said the country needed to look at allowing people to use some of their pension pot as a deposit to buy their first homes. He said: “It seems rather obtuse that we would deny people the opportunity to do this, given that we know those who own their own home by retirement are on average wealthier and do not have the burden of the largest expense in retirement – accommodation.” Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news-banner/brokenshire-let-young-people-use-their-pensions-to-buy-homes-61703

Persimmon Launches Retention Scheme For Home Buyers

Persimmon is launching a ‘retention’ scheme for home buyers to protect them from construction problems. The scheme will see 1.5% of a home’s value withheld by the buyer’s solicitor until any build faults are resolved. The average amount withheld based on current selling prices will be around £3,600 per home. Persimmon lawyers are now drawing-up details of the new standard contract which is expected to be in place by the end of June. Read more on the Construction Enquirer website.

http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2019/03/21/persimmon-launches-retention-scheme-for-home-buyers/

Call For New Rules To Safeguard Owners Of New Builds Against Defects

People buying new-build homes should be able to hold back 5% of the purchase price until the house builder has fixed any problems or defects with the property, says a new report. Think tank, the Social Market Foundation, believes that new rules are needed to fix a broken and uncompetitive market for new build housing where builders can prioritise profits over customers and leaves buyers increasingly unhappy about quality and services. The report says that some house builders have a ‘culture’ of neglecting customers’ interests, and is calling on the Government to do more to boost consumer power and back new entrants to the market. Read more on the Propertywire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/call-for-new-rules-to-be-introduce-to-safeguard-owners-of-new-builds-against-defects/