06.16.13
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Housing Market Picking Up According to RICS

The general feeling about the UK housing market is much more positive than it has been in recent years according to a senior representative of RICS.

February saw better property sales numbers than at any other point in the last 36 months, but this optimism should be treated with caution and does not signify the start of the next housing boom warn experts.

RICS

Reports from RICS show that each surveyor on average managed to sell just under 20 properties in a 90 day period leading up to February, and this rise in sales looks set to continue. Prices have also seemed to stabilise during this period.

The Funding for Lending Scheme has been praised for improving the availability of mortgages for potential buyers, with many more options than there were previously. The scheme funds participating mortgage lenders, so they are able to offer better mortgage deals.

“While the nation’s economy is still struggling, the housing market appears to be moving in the right direction throughout the UK” added Mr Bolton from RICS.

“We cannot be certain of the main cause for this increase in activity, but these new initiatives launched last year do seem to have had an impact. The main thing is to not get carried away, as housing market activity is still some way off what it was prior to the collapse in 2008.”

In fact, the number of property sales is barely half of the number that was sold in 2007, which was just before the recession started. Since then the market has struggled from year to year, with unfavourable conditions prompting the public to adopt a “rental” mindset. Various government initiatives during that period have helped, but the vast sums required to secure a mortgage have made it impossible for the majority of people to buy a home.

06.15.13
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Ramping up Housing Construction is Key to Economic Progress Claims CBI

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has proposed a new housing development project that would see the creation of 50,000 new affordable homes for a total cost of just over £1 billion.

It is predicted that the development would create approximately 75,000 new jobs and £18 billion in revenue for the economy. The CBI has also advised the government to allocate more funding to infrastructure projects, and suggested people should be offered tax deductions if they renovate vacant properties.

If all of these plans were enforced it would cost the government a total of £2.2 billion, which could be raised through the sale of state property and budget cuts within government facilities.

A senior representative of the CBI said “The country has a fiscal plan in place, and we agree that that should be followed, but the country’s confidence needs to be restored.”

“The plan we have proposed would help to kick-start the housing sector, providing more opportunities for first time buyers to make their first steps onto the property ladder, help second-steppers escape from low equity situations and provide incentives for renovations.”

The organisation believes that economic growth in 2013 will be modest, after the end of 2012 saw the UK economy contract.

Reports from the Council of Mortgage Lenders highlight the problems currently being experienced in the housing sector, with housing starts at the end of 2012 almost half of what they were during 2007. In terms of construction activity at the start of 2013, rates also experienced a decrease, falling just over 6 percent from December 2012 and close to 8 percent when compared with January 2012.

The CBI is not the only organisation advocating an increase in funding for housing and infrastructure projects. The British Chambers of Commerce also believes this is the way to proceed, even if welfare benefits have to be further slashed. They set a goal of 100,000 new homes in the next two years.

06.14.13
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Homeowners Finding it Difficult to Progress up the Property Ladder

A large proportion of recent reports have been related to new schemes that are making the property market more accessible for first-time homeowners. Initiatives such as the Funding for Lending Scheme and FirstBuy have made this possible, as have attractive mortgage rates.

But what about property sales to other groups? Current homeowners are finding conditions unfavourable with regards to moving to a different property. Recent reports show the number of sales generated at the start of the year have been relatively low and the number of mortgage applications that were accepted in February was the fewest since July 2012.

These figures may have been influenced by property owner’s commonly referred to as second-steppers — anyone who has already bought their first property and wishes to “trade-up” — who are experiencing difficulties in being able to fund the acquisition of a new property, according to reports released by Lloyds TSB.

Prior to the economic collapse, there was a housing boom, during which many people bought their first property. During that period, prices were higher than they have ever been, but after the market collapsed, these prices plummeted and still haven’t recovered. Consequently, these homeowners now have no real equity in their property, making it difficult to move.

There is also the added problem of an increase in the deposit required to secure a mortgage. In 2012, the average deposit required amounted to just over £60,000, compared to less than £40,000 in 2002.

The problems being experienced by second-steppers can also have a knock on effect to the first time buyer market, as less properties are put up for sale, making new builds the only real option the majority of the time.

06.13.13
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The Housing Market’s Role in the UK’s Economic Recovery

How can the housing market help to rectify the economic situation in the UK? We asked a number of experts for their opinion, which you can read about below.

Dr Richard Wellings (Institute of Economic Affairs)

IEA staff portraits 2012, westminster londonHousing is one of the key components when talking about economic recovery, but in the UK there are so many rules and regulations that it makes it very difficult for anyone to develop a property. We need to ensure properties are safe, but we also need to make the process possible for anyone wishing to build a property. I am also talking about self-build projects here, which could help to reduce the public’s dependence on mortgage loans and other forms of credit issued by the government.

The idea behind local housing associations is in theory a good one, however these projects are mainly aimed at low income groups who are dependent on government handouts. If our economy is going to recover, we need to reduce this dependence. To do this, private accommodation needs to be prioritised, as it targets employed individuals that generate money for the government.

To further reduce reliance on government funding, private investment should be encouraged. In the last few years people have generally been put off private investment as it has been difficult to achieve respectable returns, due to the high costs involved.

Professor Kenneth Gibb (University of Glasgow)

If done properly, the construction of new property is indeed important for the economic recovery of this country. However it needs to be built in areas where there is sufficient demand. Not only that, but mortgages also need to become more accessible and transaction costs need to be lowered, otherwise private construction companies will continue to find it difficult to finish developing sites. For this reason, initially at least, affordable housing should be emphasised.

Additionally, local partnerships should be encouraged, where resources and expenditure can be kept to a minimum without affecting the development of new housing.

Steven Howell (Localis)

Current government restriction on the construction of new housing by local authorities is preventing the market from progressing. These restrictions should be lifted, or at least made more lenient. If this was done, the housing market could help to revitalise the UK’s economy from the ground up.

Jim Bennett (Homes and Communities Agency)

Across the country there are countless sites that would be perfect for housing development, but  can’t obtain the various permissions due to lack of infrastructure. By ploughing money into developing infrastructure in these areas, new homes could be built in locations that have a high demand for housing.

Support the Get Britain Building initiative, which will provide the funding required to re-commence construction work that has been put on hold. The investment is over £500 million, but it is an investment that can be recouped and is intended to reduce the risk that is shouldered by private developers.

Get Britain Building

Tim Morgan (Tullet Prebon)

I am firmly behind implementing a solution that is backed financially by the government. The amount of personal debt in the UK has doubled over the last decade, and many people are now unwilling to risk taking on more debt, which includes mortgages. Once the economic situation has improved, the housing could be privatised by incorporating a “right-to-buy” clause into contracts.

Since 2008, the number of housing starts has dropped by 100,000, which is a clear indication that we have the ability to be able to improve construction efforts.

Funding could be raised by the government through the sale of valuable social housing and by making it possible for local associations to borrow money against future rental incomes. So rather than having to raise the approximate £10 billion required to fund an increase in construction rates, only £4 billion would be required, which is a relatively insignificant sum when the potential benefits are taken into account.

Kevin Matlon (Social Enterprise & Labour Councillor)

Local authorities are not currently able to invest, due to restrictions imposed by banks they have existing loans with. These authorities are being forced into accepting unfavourable loan conditions if they wish to borrow more credit to build new housing. This is counterproductive to these authorities and the public, and needs to be stopped.

06.12.13
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Depressed Housing Market “Here to Stay” claims Financial Expert

39840Financial ExpertA financial expert at the Bank of England has claimed that he doesn’t believe the housing market will ever fully recover from the economic recession and actually believes a lower number of property owners may prove advantageous for the country.

Housing problems have been on the government’s agenda for a number of months now and recently the Prime Minister announced new housing reforms that are designed to combat the situation, which is hindering the UK’s economic progression.

David Miles, the expert making these claims, believes that financial lenders will no longer issue mortgages for high amounts and believes it could become normal for people to purchase their first home in their forties. To the public, these statements are a cause for concern and suggest that fluctuating property prices may never to return to the level they were once at, due to a lack of market activity. However, Mr Miles also stated that this change in the housing market is not “the end.”

Mr Miles’s statements certainly seem to contradict the plans that government officials have publicised in recent months, which intend to increase the number of property owners in the UK. He also believes that financial lenders would be unwise to once again offer mortgages with relatively small deposits. “Lending within the housing market was one of the contributing factors to the economic collapse we have experienced.”

“In my opinion it is unlikely that conditions in the housing and mortgage markets will ever return to pre-crisis levels, but that is not something that should cause a panic.”

If the economy’s success was less dependent on these markets, it may actually benefit us according to Mr Miles. Additionally, he was keen to point out that renting has a number of benefits that buying doesn’t, including the ability to move easily from one location to another, which could help to lower unemployment levels.

“If larger deposits are required to secure a mortgage, the average age of a first-time buyer will rise significantly and the overall proportion of the country that are homeowners will decline” he said.

“If everything is taken into account, would lower rates of property ownership really have a huge negative impact?”

These comments were made after financial experts reported the country’s economic condition as being at a point close to that of 2008. A questionnaire was issued to a number of experts, and a large proportion of them were of the opinion that the economy was likely to suffer a negative impact in the near future. Whilst the cause of the impact is not clear, most concerns are related to the euro zone.

The euro zone has been in trouble for some time now and it was recently reported that interest rates on short-term loans given to Spain have been doubled. There has also been a lot of speculation that the French are in danger of forfeiting their AAA credit rating. Meanwhile Germany, who have largely staved off the effects of the recession, have warned other countries that they must support plans to save the euro zone, which include continent-wide bonds. “We don’t have a magic solution to make all these problems disappear” said a financial expert from Angela Merkel’s party. “As far as we are concerned, there is no other solution other than the current policy.”

06.11.13
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State of Housing Market Reflects the Condition of the UK’s Economy

That’s the opinion of the Council of Mortgage Lenders anyway, who are totally behind the new Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS).

The number of property sales in the UK during the summer of 2012 was extremely low, largely owing to the economic instability across the country.

According to CML reports, the value of mortgages issued in August 2012 was £12.6 billion, down from £12.7 billion the previous month. This statistic is made to look even worse by the figure from the same month for the previous year, which was 4 percent higher.

The FLS was developed to try and reverse this trend and spark some new life into the market, by funding financial lending institutions with tax subsidiaries, allowing for better mortgage and loan rates. Another initiative that was launched is known as the NewBuy scheme, and aims to provide newly built property for potential homeowners who aren’t able to put down a large upfront deposit.

Bob Pannell of the CML said “The FLS is certainly a radical move not without its own risks, but it could potentially reverse current trends and kick-start the housing market in the near future.”

housing-market“Whilst it’s not going to be a universal solution to all problems the housing market is facing, it will hopefully make mortgages and other loans more accessible for a large number of people. We just have to wait and see, as we won’t really know what affect it has had until it has been operating for a year or so.”

Not everyone has been totally supportive of the initiative however, with some sceptics believing it is not providing a solution to the main problems in the housing market.

“We are seeing changes as a result of the FLS, but problem areas have not been affected. I don’t deny that credit has become more accessible, but it’s become more accessible to sections of the population that don’t need it” said Ashley Brown of Moneysprite.

Recent reports from the CML indicate fairly low market activity, which is to be expected with current economical conditions. “Until buyer confidence picks up, housing market activity will remain subdued” added Mr Pannell.

06.10.13
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2013: Housing Market Finally Starting to Recover?

housing-marketThe start of 2013 has been the best indication to date that the fortunes of the UK housing market are finally starting to change, with more mortgage applications being approved in January than in any other month during the last 5 years. First-time homeowners have been influential in this revival and industry experts consider this to be a sign that the much hyped Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) is starting to have an effect.

Since the economic recession began in 2008, market conditions have been extremely unfavourable to people wishing to make their first steps onto the property ladder, but January was the third month in succession that this group received close to half of all mortgages that were issued (42 percent).

The last time statistics (which are gathered and released periodically by the Council of Mortgage Lenders) for mortgage approvals were so positive was in January 2008, when just under 40,000 mortgage applications were approved. Current approval rates are a drastic improvement on the rates reported for January 2011, which were just over 10 percent lower.

Upon analysing trends in these statistics, CML have identified individuals falling into the “first-time homeowner” category as the main reason for this improvement. A spokesperson said “In terms of the total number of mortgages that were issued by mortgage lenders, a far greater proportion were issued to applicants purchasing their first property, as opposed to those people looking to move from one property to another.”

The actual number of mortgages that were issued to first-time homeowners was a little under 16,000 and amounted to £2 billion, which is close to a quarter increase when compared to the previous year’s figures.

But what has helped to improve market conditions for people seeking to purchase their first property? Many mortgage experts believe that the Funding for Lending Scheme, which is backed by the Bank of England, has played a major role. The initiative was only set-up in 2012 and has made it cheaper for banks to provide mortgages, by funding them using taxpayers’ money.

“Admittedly, when the initiative was first announced, many people were sceptical, but now that banks can offer better deals on mortgages, buying a house is now a realistic option again — especially for those looking to buy their first property” a senior representative at one mortgage broker said. “First-time buyers are vital to the market and things cannot improve without them. If this scheme didn’t exist, mortgage providers would once again ask for deposits that are simply out of the question for these people, and we will be right back where we started.”

Mark Harris of SPF Private Clients believes that the figures reported by the CML are an indication that the housing market is heading in the right direction. “The Funding for Lending Scheme is making it possible for mortgage lenders to offer 90 percent loan-to-value deals, which should increase the number of property sales made to first-timers during the remainder of 2013″ he said.

From the time the scheme was launched until the end of December 2012, almost £14 billion of funding was given to banks and financial lenders throughout the country. During the same period the amount of personal and business credit issued fell by £2 billion.

Despite receiving praise for the positive effect it has had to date, very few lenders actually joined the initiative in its first 5 months of operation — just 13. The UK’s Business secretary, Vince Cable, would like to see certain aspects of the initiative altered, recently stating “to be truly successful, parts of it have to be changed” during a radio interview.

Three of the biggest lenders that have been part of the scheme since it was launched, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and Lloyds Banking Group, had a huge impact on lending activity. The other participating banks and building societies actually increased lending, but with the “big three” experiencing a significant decline, loan activity was down by almost £2 billion.

Compared to the previous month, lending in the first month of 2013 decreased by close to 17 percent. However, as respected economist Howard Archer stated, January does traditionally experience a dip in lending.

“The housing market is definitely looking more stable at the start of 2013, and I expect it to move forward slightly over the course of the year, largely owing to the greater number of mortgages being issued” he added.

“Having said that, I think the economic trouble the UK is experiencing right now will prevent any major breakthrough from happening and it is still possible that property prices will fluctuate.”

In addition to the statistics released by the CML, information reported by other organisations such as the National Association of Estate Agents seems to support the notion that 2013 will see a rising number of sales. The NAEA recently said the start of the year has seen an influx of new property seekers; the highest figures since 2008.

03.27.13
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Stricter Letting Agent Regulations Could Be the Way Forward

As the country’s decision makers look for ways to generate more revenue for our economy, studies undertaken have highlighted one possible way of doing so; enforcing stricter regulations on UK letting agents. If implemented, it is predicted that new regulations could generate as much as £20 million in financial benefits per year.

regulations1Somewhat surprisingly, virtually anyone at present is able to set up a letting agency. There are no formal qualifications that need to be completed, no prior experience required and there is no real code of conduct for these businesses. What does this mean? It increases the likelihood of letting agents abusing their positions and exploiting each party involved in the rental process.

The studies that were conducted explored the potential benefits and results of imposing stricter regulations, by taking into account the number of active letting agents currently operating in the country – 11,560.

Whilst all the talk has been related to the financial benefits that could be achieved, it must be stressed that significant investment would have to be made initially. It has been estimated that the cost of actually putting all systems and structures into place would cost in the region of £45 million.

Both landlords and tenants would be better protected and agents would no longer be able to hit clients with suspicious charges or withhold deposits without good reason. It is thought that the new regulations would also increase efficiency and reduce the required input of landlords, saving them both time and money. Letting agents would have to undergo proper training which would better position them to advise clients and lessen the risk of disputes escalating to court.

A senior official at the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors recently said “The findings from these studies really highlight several reasons why the government needs to take action. Tenants and landlords across the country are currently at the mercy of letting agents, which not only impacts those parties financially, but also the nation’s economy in general.”

03.19.13
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Things Looking Up For Housing and Job Markets

Two forward-looking studies that were conducted by OnLet (An Online Letting Agents) have suggested that both the housing market and employment rates are actually beginning to steady themselves. These are very positive signs for the country’s economy, although it is reported that it might get worse before it gets better.

November in particular showed property prices stabilising, with barely any movement, whilst the total number of properties sold rose slightly. Only a very small percentage of letting agents actually realised a drop in the prices of properties they were advertising.

online letting agents on the riseFebruary’s numbers were very similar, showing signs that the market is beginning to settle. As is typical in the UK, the only location where property saw an increase in value was in the capital. Almost half of all letting agents said that the value of homes had increased during these months.

That doesn’t mean to stay things aren’t improving elsewhere though, with market stabilisation being realised across the whole country. It appears that rather than being resigned to the rental market, people now have the money to buy again. It’s unlikely that the market will see a dramatic increase in the average property value, with things on that front likely to remain the same for a period of time, but the number of properties that are sold each month is predicted to steadily rise.

A senior official from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors agreed with these predictions, stating “Whilst the housing market has been in the doldrums for some time, the general feeling is now one of optimism. It is definitely a good sign to see statistics that show the number of sales rising in areas across the country that were hit particularly hard by the recession.”

In addition to this, the official also spoke about the government’s notice that they will provide the financial resources needed to secure building land for new, large-scale housing projects. “It is a long term project that needs to be given time to have any real effect on the market. The effect of a near 5 year recession cannot be fixed quickly.”

In addition to positive news about the housing market, there’s is also a great deal of optimism surrounding employment rates, with recruitment company Manpower saying that employment rates are rising. In fact the rates for 2013 are better than any in the last 5 years. In a survey conducted recently, 6% of employers said they were actively searching for new staff this year.

A senior partner from the firm added “Things have certainly changed in the last year. 12 months ago the jobs market was looking particularly grim, but the year actually ended well, with a significant number of companies looking to take on new staff for the first time in years. The market appears to have weathered the storm brought about by the recession and now it’s rebuilding itself.”