Press Releases from Propacea Limited (15 total)
Why House Price Stagnation Is A Good Thing
News from the Land Registry that average property prices fell by 1.1 per cent in March to £160,996, with other surveys painting a similar picture of tiny falls, or tiny rises, has caused commentators and property experts to bemoan the ‘stagnation’ of the market.
Certainly from one point of view, stagnation is a bad sign, since the livelihoods of estate agents, surveyors, mortgage advisors and many others depends on a…
Property market snapshot
As winter turns to spring and people’s minds turn to the likely upshot of the economic turmoil in Britain and its impact on the property market (at least mine does), we present a snapshot of the sentiment among property experts and commentators:
Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS):
“I think that confidence has improved since the end of the year but it remains fragile…
Mortgage Demand Falls Off A Cliff
The government’s spending review, along with sliding house prices, has dampened demand for mortgages to its lowest level since the third quarter of 2008 – which was the lowest rating on record.
The Bank of England’s analysis of credit conditions for households and businesses placed demand for home loans at -41.5 on a scale of -100 to +100.
But while demand is down, the banks insist that they…
UK Rental Squeeze Continues
The imbalance between high demand for private rented accommodation and the limited supply will continue to distort the market and produce unforseen quirks.
According to the Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA), there will be various new factors emerging: home owners who cannot sell will turn to renting their properties, knowing that rates are currently high. But this will go nowhere near saoking up the rising demand and will…
What Are The Buy-To-Let Prospects For 2011?
According to the latest figures from the Young Group, based on a survey of the group’s 500 property investors and landlords, sentiment in the private rented sector remains buoyant and there is a positive outlook for 2011.
In particular, the London market is expected to outperform the UK market in the coming year, with 89 per cent of respondents believing that London residential property prices will be at least at…
Christmas Wishes From The Quick House Sale Advisory
In the season of good cheer, let’s try to ignore drooping house prices and stingy lenders, and turn instead to all the good things that have happened in the property world this year.
To look on the bright side, the fact that homes have become cheaper is great news for first time buyers and brings us back closer to historic averages, and in line with other similar countries. The…
Royal Institute Of Chartered Surveyors Downbeat About 2011
Despite the Christmas party season coming into full swing this week, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) issued a gloomy report on the housing market, noting that prices, sales and numbers of properties for sale all fell in November.
When asked whether prices were rising or falling, 44 per cent more surveyors said they were falling in November, while 41 per cent more predict that they will continue…
Farm Land Values Set To Rise
After a whopping increase of 8 per cent in the value of farmland in 2010, countryside property experts are forecasting a further 6 per cent rise in 2011, and as much as 12 per cent ‘where there is purchaser competition’, according to Savills.
Besides the traditional buyers – farmers (funnily enough) – there is increasing interest from overseas bidders, including Italians, Indians, Germans and Chinese. Part of it…
UK Property - The Year Ahead
TheAdvisory stares into the crystal ball (or maybe the crystal whiskey glass) to forecast what will transpire in the property world in 2011.
The trend towards tightening mortgage conditions will continue for the first half of the year, with lenders remaining reluctant to extend loans to any but the most reliable and safe borrowers. This will keep up the pressure on the private rented sector, meaning higher rents, less…
House Prices In UK Market Towns On The Rise
After decades in the outer reaches of fashion, property in England’s market towns has made a surprising return to popularity, according to Lloyds TSB, which has tracked the price of homes in 111 market towns.
Figures show that homes in these towns include an average £30,000 premium. “In a market town you can have all the advantages of the larger towns or cities without some of the distractions. There is…
London House Prices Fall
Property agents in London have reported a record gap between asking prices and actual sales prices. According to analysis by agents Douglas & Gordon, which compared the asking prices on the Rightmove website with those logged on the Land Registry, there is now an average £79,000 gap between the two figures.
This compares with a gap of £6,574 in 2003. Buyers now routinely offer £50,000 or more beneath…
What Next For UK Interest Rates?
Home owners and potential buyers have been peering into the tea leaves for months, trying to second-guess movements in interest rates. Will we have another six months of historically low rates, or a year, or two years?
A new survey from The Worldwide Property Group has found that half of its respondents think rates will rise in the next 12 months, while half think they will stay as they…
House Prices Bubbles Update
The Economist has just published its annual Global House Prices survey, noting that average prices in Australia have jumped by 18 per cent in the year to September 2010, as a result of China’s thirst for minerals and an appreciating currency. It also argues that prices in Spain have been kept artificially high by government action and property is overvalued by 46 per cent (Australia’s market is overvalued by…
Grey Mortgages On The Rise
The number of pensioners with mortgages is rising relentlessly, accoriding to new research from the Saga Group. There are already a quarter of a million people over 65 who are still repaying mortgages and that figure could rise to a million within five years.
“A lot of pensioners are relying on endowment policies or lump sums from their pensions to pay back their mortgage debt, but these things…
Bank of England Pessimistic On Home Values
In response to the savage cuts to public spending announced last week, the Bank of England has warned that property prices are unlikely to rise – and will probably fall – during 2011, as lending remains stubbornly low and household budgets are squeezed.
In September, mortgage lending fell to a 10 year low, with none of the traditional post-summer ‘bounce’ that agents were hoping for.
“In those parts of…
