Lack Of Suitable Housing Blocks Homeowners From Moving

A lack of suitable housing to buy is the biggest hurdle for people looking to sell-up and move home, following by stamp duty and mortgage costs.  According to the Nottingham Building Society (NBS), 11% of mortgage customers – equivalent to around 1.2 million homeowners – have given up plans to move house in the past three years due to financial issues including mortgages. The cost of stamp duty stopped around one in 12 homeowners (8%) while 3% of owners – around 327,000 people – were turned down for mortgages. Younger home movers – those aged between 18 and 44 – were most likely to be put off by the cost of stamp duty – around 14% who had given up buying blamed stamp duty. Read more on Housing Excellence.

House Prices Fall Month-On-Month

Annual house price growth in the UK softened to 3.5% in March with prices falling 0.3% month-on-month, according to the latest Nationwide House Price Index. The reversal in momentum has been described as a “wake up call” by Jonathan Hopper, managing director of Garrington Property Finders. “It’s nearly two years since the month-on-month number was last in negative territory. But now, as then, the surprise fall in house prices was symptomatic of a listless market rather than a profound shift,” he said. “So it would be overly melodramatic to view the Nationwide’s latest data as a turning point. In reality, average house prices have been meandering for several months against the volatile and uncertain economic backdrop. Read more on Housing Excellence.

Homelessness Figures Reveal “Devastating Impact” Of Expensive And Insecure Private Renting

Evictions from the private rented sector have fuelled the massive rise in homelessness revealed by the latest government statistics, according to Shelter. The latest figures from the CLG revealed that:

·         In the last year alone, 59,260 households were accepted as homeless by their local council – a rise of 22% over the last five years

·         The loss of a private tenancy remains the single biggest cause of homelessness, with 18,750 households becoming homeless after an eviction from a privately rented home in 2016

·         Since 2011, the rise in the number of households evicted from a privately rented home has accounted for 78% of the rise in homelessness

Read more on the Housing Excellence website.

Most Landlords Will Keep Their Letting Agents Despite Ban On Tenant Fees

The majority of landlords using a letting agent won’t be put off if they see their own costs rise following a ban on tenant fees, a survey claims. According to the survey by the UK Association of Letting Agents (UKALA), 71% of landlords would continue to use a letting agent even if their premiums rise. What’s more, the research  shows that eight in ten landlords (79%) think their letting agent will increase their fees as a result of the proposal to ban charges to tenants, as announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement last year. However, just 9% of landlords say they will part ways with their agent if their premiums rise. Read more on Housing Excellence.

Councils Claim Extra £470m Could Be Spent On Housebuilding If Allowed To Keep All RTB Receipts

If the Government slashed red tape and let them keep receipts from right-to-buy sales, then London’s borough councils would have an extra £470 million to spend on building new homes, it is claimed. London Councils, the umbrella body representing all 32 boroughs and the City of London, made this claim in its response to a Government consultation on capital finances regulations for local government, based on data from 2014/15. Read more on Housing Excellence.

Decline In Home Buyers In The Capital In 2016

Home buyers in London declined 3% in the fourth quarter of 2016, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). According to its latest figures, in the fourth quarter, home buyers in the capital borrowed £5.9bn for house purchase, down 5% quarter-on-quarter and 13% year-on-year. They took out 18,500 loans, down 3% compared to the previous quarter and 15% on the fourth quarter 2015. Furthermore, first-time buyers borrowed £3bn, down 3% on the third quarter and 4% on the fourth quarter last year. This equated to 11,000 loans, down 2% quarter-on-quarter and 7% year-on-year. Read more on Housing Excellence.

Rising Rents Gave Landlords A Good Start To The Year

Landlords enjoyed a good start to 2017, according to the latest Your Move Buy-to-Let Index for England and Wales, with rents showing growth in all but one region, though yields continue to vary. Across the whole of England and Wales rents increased by 1% in the last 12 months, despite dropping back slightly between December and January. The average property let for £798 in the first month of 2017. This compares to a figure of £790 at the same point a year ago. The East of England continues to “power” rental scene, according to the report. Read more on Housing Excellence.

Public Support For Building New Homes Has Doubled Since 2010

Public support for building new homes has doubled since 2010, according to the National Housing Federation. Across the latest British Social Attitudes survey, carried out by NatCen, the public were clear about wanting new affordable homes to be built in their local area. Support for new homes has nearly doubled from 29% in 2010 to 57% in 2016. This figure rises to 73% if the homes are affordable to people on average local incomes. The research reveals that 69% of homeowners support new affordable homes, while 18% would oppose and 70% of those aged 55+ support new affordable homes. Read more on Housing Excellence.

Rents Outside London Rise To £750 A Month

The average rent in the UK outside of London hit £750 a month in December, rising by 2.04% over 2016, according to the latest figures from Landbay. Private tenants outside the capital are now forking out over half (53%) of average take-home pay (put at £1,425), according to Landbay’s latest Rental Index.  Average rents across all property sizes grew by 2.13% in England (without London), 1.42% in Scotland and 1.43% in Wales in 2016, rising to £755, £721 and £634 respectively by the end of the year, it said. Together, this means the average monthly rent paid for a property in the UK outside London has hit the milestone figure of £750. Read more on Housing Excellence.

80% Of Letting Agents Expect Rents To Rise In 2017

Eight in ten letting agents expect rents to rise in 2017 according to the latest Private Rental Sector (PRS) report from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA). The report, which is the first since the Chancellor’s announcement to ban letting agent fees for tenants during his Autumn Statement, revealed that demand from prospective tenants fell again in November. The rental market continued to cool ahead of Christmas with 32 prospective tenants registered per letting agent branch, compared to 34 in October but 53% of agents expect to see a rise in demand next year. Read more on Housing Excellence.

More Than 100,000 Children In England Will Be Homeless At Christmas

Over 100,000 children in England will spend Christmas in temporary accommodation according to the latest Government figures on homelessness. The statistics show that on 30 September 2016 there were 74,630 households in temporary accommodation, up 9% on a year earlier, and up 55% on the low of 48,010 on 31 December 2010. Almost 80% (59,210) of those included dependent children and/or a pregnant woman with an average of two children in each household.  The figures for the third quarter of the year also revealed that 6,680 households were in bed and breakfast style accommodation and 51% of those included dependent children or expected children of which 1,300 had been resident for more than six weeks. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.

Govt Offers “Timid” Response To Lords Committee’s Housing Report

A House of Lords committee has branded the Government’s response to a housing report “inadequate” and even “timid”. In July, the Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee (EAC) published its report ‘Building More Homes’, which criticised the Government’s target of one million new homes by 2020 as inadequate. Furthermore, it said that the level of house building required to meet the housing crisis could not be met by the private sector alone. The committee called on the Government to free local authorities to build more homes for rent and to move away from its focus on subsidising home ownership and do more to support people to rent affordably. Now the response to that report has itself been described as "inadequate to deal with the scale of the crises in the housing market" by Lord Hollick, the EAC’s chair. Read more on Housing Excellence.

Property Supply Across The UK Fell By 11.9% In November

More than two thirds (67.4%) of towns and cities experienced a drop in new listings says the Index. In London supply fell by almost a fifth  with just two of the capital’s 32 boroughs seeing a rise in new property listings in November. The biggest riser was Swansea where new property listings last month jumped 89% while the biggest decrease was in Hereford where supply fell by 42.1%. To compile the Index, HouseSimple looks at data on more than 500,000 listed properties to track the number of new properties marketed every month in more than 100 major towns and cities across the UK and all London boroughs. Read more on Housing Excellence.

High Court Test Case Will Determine Future Of Rural Housing Development

A judicial review of a Suffolk district council’s planning decision in the High Court will be a test case with potentially far-reaching implications for rural housing developments in England. The case, which is being brought by East Bergholt Parish Council, concerns the building of 10 homes in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty best known for inspiring the works of John Constable. A separate decision on the same day by the same district council to allow 144 homes to be built on another site in East Bergholt is now being reconsidered and could depend on the outcome of this test case. Overall, the development of more than 415 houses in rural parts of Suffolk depend on the outcome of this case. Read more on Housing Excellence.

House Price Growth Eases Back In November

Annual house price growth slowed in November, according to the latest House Price Index from Nationwide. In October, growth was at 4.6% but it eased back to 4.4% in November. House prices increased by 0.1% month on month in November, with the average house price put at £204,947, down from October’s average of £205,904. “UK house prices increased by 0.1% in November, after taking account of seasonal factors,” said Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist. “As a result, the annual rate of house price growth slowed slightly to 4.4%, from 4.6% in October, though this is still in line with the growth rates prevailing since early 2015. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.

Buy-To-Let Landlords’ Voids Experience

More than a fifth of buy-to-let landlords have to wait longer than four months before signing up their first tenants, suggests research for the Nottingham Building Society (NBS). Its study among landlords across the country shows 21% said they had to wait four months or more after completing their buy-to-let mortgage before they had their first paying tenants. The research found 53% of landlords have paying tenants within a couple of months of buying their first buy-to-let through lenders across the UK but substantial numbers are facing delays which pile the pressure on their finances. Costs involved in setting up as a landlord are not trivial – the average landlord has to pay out £2,000 on their first property before they find tenants although one in three (35%) manage to spend less than £1,000. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.

Buy-To-Let Index Records Second Highest Rents Ever

Recent rent increases in England and Wales levelled off in October, with the average rent coming to £900 a month according to the latest buy-to-let index from Your Move. This monthly average rent was down marginally from September’s figure of £907. Despite the slight drop from September to October, this represents the second highest rent ever recorded in the survey, it said, with rents across England and Wales having grown by 12% in the year to October 2016. “After a turbulent year for the economy it is no surprise the rental market has paused for breath this month,” said Adrian Gill, director of lettings agents, Your Move. “Despite economic uncertainty and the European Union referendum result, the lettings market has powered through the year so far.” Read more on Housing Excellence.

Healey Slams “Disappointing” 11% Rise In Net Housing Supply

Despite an 11% increase in net supply over the last year, England continues to fall short on the number of new homes needed to tackle the housing crisis, the latest official statistics have revealed. The Home Builders Federation (HBF) was generally upbeat in its response to the net housing supply figures, suggesting that it indicated the housebuilding industry was on track to meet the Government target of one million homes over the course of this Parliament. Annual housing supply in England in 2015-16 came to 189,650 net additional dwellings – up 11% on 2014-15 – according to today’s figures. Newbuilds accounted for 163,940 of these net additions. Read more on Housing Excellence.

Exempt Rural Landowners From CGT

The extension of right-to-buy to housing association tenants has served to discourage rural landowners from making sites available for new affordable homes, according to country business lobby CLA. The organisation, which represents landowners, farmers and rural businesses, has told a cross-party group of MPs that landowners have the potential to inject life into rural areas by making land available to house young families, local workers and older people seeking to downsize or retire. The CLA is calling for the Government to encourage landowners to release land at a discount for affordable housing by exempting the value of land sold for affordable homes from Capital Gains Tax. Read more on Housing Excellence.

First-Time Buyers Still Down

Buyer confidence is bouncing back to pre-Brexit levels but the number of first-timers buying has fallen, according to the National Association of Estate Agents’ (NAEA) September housing market report.  Sales to first-time buyers dropped five percentage points from August, with 23% of sale in September made to first timers. The organisation said this is the lowest level seen since November last year, when 21% of sales were made to this group. Read more on Housing Excellence.