House Price Growth Likely To Be Curbed By Supply Boost Next Spring

Despite rising inflation and the end of both the furlough scheme and stamp duty holiday, UK house price growth continues to deny economic gravity as we head into the festive period. However, what goes up must surely come down - eventually. The latest market analysis from Knight Frank shows that a combination of rising interest rates and a much-needed increase in housing supply are the likely culprits to end the seemingly never-ending streak of stronger than usual house price growth. Nationwide reported that the average UK price exceeded £250,000 in October for the first time. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/house-price-growth-likely-to-be-curbed-by-supply-boost-next-spring.html 

End Of Stamp Duty Holiday Sees Average House Prices Surge

The price of an average house is now as expensive as it has ever been, standing at just over £267,500, according to data from Halifax, who report that following the end of the stamp duty holiday last month, house price growth saw its strongest month since 2007. In June 2020, the month before the stamp duty holiday began, the typical standardised price for a UK property was £239,317. Therefore a home-mover would have faced SDLT costs of around £2,300. From July last year, the zero rate introduced on homes valued up to £500,000 (falling to £250,000 between July and September this year as the holiday was tapered out) meant no stamp duty would be payable on that same property. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/halifax-end-of-stamp-duty-holiday-sees-average-house-prices-surge-to-record-all-time-high.html 

Tenant Demand Sees Average UK Rents Hit Another Record High

 Vast rental demand rippling across the country has fuelled yet another rise in monthly rents according to the latest data and analysis from Homelet. According to the latest figures, the average rent in the UK now sits at £1,061, up 7.5% on the same time last year and a 0.8% increase from the previous month’s figures. In the capital, rents are rising too. An annual increase of 6.4% has taken the average price in London to £1,752 PCM; the monthly jump of 2.3% is the biggest in the country. Excluding London, the average UK rent price is up to £891 PCM, up 7.6% YOY. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

 https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/tenant-demand-sees-average-uk-rents-hit-another-record-high.html

Housing Market Remains Buoyant

 Confidence and resilience in the housing market are expected to remain high beyond the end of government support, as falling numbers of prospective homeowners cite the risk of job losses as a barrier to purchase a property. Although furlough will close at the end of the month just over a third of people cite a risk of job loss as a barrier to homeownership (34%), compared to 68% in September 2020 and 45% just three months ago. The end of the stamp duty holiday also appears not to be denting confidence, with just over one in four people (26%) thinking now is a good time to buy a new home, with a similar number (25%) disagreeing. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/housing-market-remains-buoyant-despite-looming-ending-of-government-support.html

Asking Prices Hit All Time High

Despite the usual traditional summer holiday lull, fierce competition continues among buyers for a record low number of available properties for sale, with many who put off buying during the height of the stamp duty holiday now making their move. The latest data from Rightmove shows that the national average asking prices of newly marketed properties have risen by £1,091 this month to hit a new all-time high of £338,462, with buyer demand per property for sale more than double that of pre-pandemic levels. However, there are early signs of more properties coming to market, which may help to slowly rebuild buyer choice. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/asking-prices-hit-all-time-high-as-buyer-demand-continues-to-rise.html 

Demand Remains Strong Heading Into Autumn

 Following the wind-down of the stamp duty holiday at the end of September, activity levels in the UK property market are predicted to remain high, albeit not at the same frenetic pace seen during the first half of the year. According to new research from Knight Frank, the data for August is unambiguous and shows demand remains exceptionally strong with the number of new prospective buyers registering during the month up 24% against the five-year average. With demand undeniably strong, the big unknown is supply. How quickly it picks up will be a determining factor for transaction volumes and prices. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/demand-remains-exceptionally-strong-heading-into-autumn-market.html

Rising House Prices See Borrowers Paying Mortgages Off Beyond Retirement

A significant number of borrowers are attempting to stretch mortgage terms to 35 or even forty years, with ‘maximum age at end of term’ the most-searched term by brokers in August. This backs up research which showed a 70% rise in 35 year-plus mortgages over the past two years. This trend for elongated mortgages is potentially a result of rapidly increasing house prices. With higher prices creating affordability issues, some borrowers are looking to spread their mortgage out over a longer time period to lower the monthly repayments. ‘Income multiple used for affordability assessment’, was the second most-searched term in the residential market in August. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/finance/rising-house-prices-see-growing-number-of-borrowers-paying-mortgages-off-beyond-retirement.html 

Three Quarters Of Brits Don’t Spend Enough Money On Home Upkeep

Three quarters of Brits don’t spend enough money each year on home upkeep, new research has revealed. Experts claim that homeowners should spend the equivalent of 1% of their property value on its upkeep each year in order to maintain its worth, and with the average UK house price currently standing at £255,0002, Brits are recommended to spend around £2,550 a year refreshing their home. However, a recent study by ScS found that 75% of the nation spend less than this amount. In fact, more than half (56%) spend under £1,000 each year and one in six (17%) splash out less than £250. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/at-home/three-quarters-of-brits-dont-spend-enough-money-on-home-upkeep.html

Market Shows Signs Of Stabilising After Stamp Duty Holiday

The supply of property is beginning to increase and the number of homes selling for over the asking price is starting to even out, according to the latest data from NAEA Propertymark. Its figures show that the number of properties available per member branch stood at 28 in July, a slight jump from June’s figure of 23.However, year-on-year this is the lowest figure ever on record for the month of July with the previous lowest July being during 2017 when there were 35 houses available to buy per branch. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/property-market-shows-signs-of-stabilising-after-stamp-duty-holiday-naea.html

Help To Buy Prices Stay 'Comfortably' Below Regional Price Caps

The Whathouse? New Homes Index, which tracks Help to Buy average new build prices across Britain, has revealed that prices are comfortably below the regional price cap limits in all regions. This is, Whathouse believes, a sign that concerns over the new Help to Buy scheme - which came into effect 1 April 2021 - and potential lack of affordability are not playing out.  This provides reassurance to first-time buyers now able to benefit from the scheme, with many having made the most of lockdown to save the 5% deposit required to get onto the property ladder. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/help-to-buy-prices-stay-comfortably-below-regional-price-caps.html 

Energy Efficiency Changes 'Could Cost Landlords Billions'

A review of the proposed increases to energy efficiency standards in homes has concluded the overall bill for the private rental sector could reach £29 billion. Geospatial technology company Kamma has released their analysis which estimates that 2.9 million privately rented homes (65% of those on the EPC register) are below the Government target energy efficiency grade C. With 2.9 million homes needing to improve, and an estimated average cost of £9,872 per home, the total bill facing the sector could hit £29 billion. While an enormous cost, this could cut emissions by 2.8 million tonnes a year. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/energy-efficiency-changes-could-cost-landlords-billions.html 

Demand For Flats And Apartments Remains High During Pandemic

 One of the most highly covered trends throughout the pandemic has been that buyer demand has shifted away from the cities with house-hunters clamouring for larger homes and bigger gardens in more rural areas. However, it seems that flats have far from fallen out of favour with homebuyers in England and Wales during the pandemic, accounting for a notable proportion of market activity. Warwick Estates analysed transaction records from the Land Registry since the start of the pandemic and found that since January of last year, 974,153 residential transactions have been recorded across England and Wales. 150,668 of these have been for flats, accounting for 15% of all market activity during the pandemic. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/demand-for-flats-and-apartments-remains-high-during-pandemic.html

Housing Stock Down 40% Since January

Estate agent body, Propertymark, has released worrying data showing the scale of the decline in houses coming onto the market. According to research from Propertymark, the housing stock has been steadily declining since January - with the average estate agency branch having approximately 23 properties, a 38% decrease from June 2020 and June 2019 and a 40% decrease since January 2021. However, demand remains high with around 19 buyers per property prompting the body to warn that the market desperately needs more stock. Figures also show 40% of houses are selling for over the asking price. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/housing-stock-down-40-since-january.html

Landlords Warned To Prepare For Rise In Tenant Fraud

The events of the past 18 months have dealt a devastating socio-economic impact on private renters in the UK, with an estimated 840,000 building up arrears as a result of covid. Compounding this is the softening of eviction regulations and virtually no consequences for fraudulent rental applications - fuelling a rise in tenant fraud. Rising unemployment and affordability amongst renters are also impacting the number of fraudulent applications. According to tenant due diligence and guarantee firm, Homeppl, there was a 71% increase in the number of fraudulent applications between the second half of 2020 and the first half of 2021 meaning that one in 50 rental applications are now fraudulent, rising to one in 20 in London. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/landlords-warned-to-prepare-for-rise-in-tenant-fraud.html

What Are The New Rules For Help To Buy?

Rules have changed for the government-backed Help to Buy scheme and many buyers are confused about what the new rules mean. The new scheme came into effect this June, only first-time buyers are able to benefit from the scheme and the current plan is to end it completely by 2023. Crucially the other big change is new regional property price caps, which the government says will help them to focus on who needs the scheme the most. To benefit, the new build home being bought must be within the relevant regional property price-caps. Read what the price caps are and more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/what-are-the-new-rules-for-help-to-buy.html 

Market Begins To Cool As Stock Levels Fall To All-Time Low

There are early signs of the UK property market beginning to lose pace due to record prices and lack of choice, according to data released by Rightmove. The portal revealed that the price of property coming to market saw a 0.8% increase this month, pushing the national average to a new record high for the third consecutive month to £336,073. This is a much smaller rise than last month’s 1.8% or April’s 2.1%, indicating an early sign of a slowing in the pace of the current market. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/market-begins-to-cool-as-stock-levels-fall-to-all-time-low.html 

ONS: Average House Prices Up 8.9% In April

UK average house prices increased by 8.9% over the year to April 2021, down from 9.9% in March 2021, according to the latest data released by the Office for National Statistics. Albeit slightly historic, this morning's data revealed that the trend of accelerating house price growth seen in the latter half of 2020 continued into the beginning of 2021, but has slowed to 8.9% in April. According to the report, average house prices increased over the year in England to £268,000 (8.9%), in Wales to £185,000 (15.6%), in Scotland to £161,000 (6.3%) and in Northern Ireland to £149,000 (6.0%). Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/ons-average-house-prices-up-89-in-april.html 

House Price Growth At Highest Rate Since 2004

House prices are increasing at a staggering annual rate of up to 20.9% in the North West, driven by a high demand for semi-detached homes, according to the latest data released by e.surv. According to this morning's figures, the average price of a home in England and Wales stood at £343,658 in May - up 0.5% on the month and 13.4% on the year, the highest year-on-year growth since December 2004, and despite England and Wales having been in various states of lockdown and economic contraction since March 2020. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/house-price-growth-at-highest-rate-since-2004.html 

A Perfect Storm For FTBs As Listings Dwindle And Prices Continue To Rise

Agreed sales and average house prices have continued to rise ahead of the stamp duty deadline as the number of new listings entering the market fell for the second month in a row - a perfect storm for those attempting to get their first foot on the property ladder. According to the latest data and market analysis from RICS, during May, the number of people looking to buy a new home continued to rise, with 32% more respondents noting an increase from prospective buyers. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/a-perfect-storm-for-ftbs-as-listings-dwindle-and-prices-continue-to-rise.html 

Covid Arrears Leaving Thousands Of Renters Unable To Move Home

Thousands of private renters who have built arrears during the pandemic are struggling to find a new home because of damage to their credit scores, according to a new survey. The research, from the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), found that approximately 210,000 tenants may face severe difficulties in getting landlords to let to them in future. Ahead of emergency restrictions easing in the private rented sector on 1st June, results from the survey show that 7% of renters have built arrears since lockdown began in March 2020. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/finance/covid-arrears-leaving-thousands-of-renters-unable-to-move-home.html