The UK’s recent housing market rally has run out of steam, according to the latest poll from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Following the upturn in activity seen towards the expiry of the stamp duty holiday in March, prices edged lower in April with 19% more surveyors reporting falls rather than rises. Looking [...]
housing market
February bounce in housing market activity
February saw a marked improvement in housing market conditions in England and Wales, according to Hometrack, with the number of buyers registering with estate agents up 18%, compared to January. Activity levels were boosted by first-time buyers looking to complete before the ending of the stamp duty concession (24th March), and on a regional basis [...]
Housing market horizons end with stamp duty concession
In a new report, the Bank of England notes a “modest” increase in housing market activity since the start of the year, beyond what was expected. However, according to the Bank’s agent contacts, the market has been catching-up from a particularly subdued late 2011 while being bolstered by the ending of the stamp duty concession, [...]
Housing market horizons end with stamp duty concession
In a new report, the Bank of England notes a “modest” increase in housing market activity since the start of the year, beyond what was expected. However, according to the Bank’s agent contacts, the market has been catching-up from a particularly subdued late 2011 while being bolstered by the ending of the stamp duty concession, [...]
Housing market confidence slips
More people expect house prices to fall rather than rise over the next year, according to the latest housing market confidence index from Halifax. Thirty per cent of respondents were downcast over the prospects for the next twelve months, compared with 28% expecting house price increases. The resultant balance of -2% compares with a positive [...]
House sales show August rise
The UK’s stagnating housing market experienced something of a bounce in August, according to data from “For Sale” board contractor, Agency Express. Activity proved surprisingly resilient given seasonal trends, with “Sold” properties up 3.9% on July, the highest August rise recorded by the firm since 2007. The South East topped the list of hot-spots with [...]
House sales show August rise
The UK’s stagnating housing market experienced something of a bounce in August, according to data from “For Sale” board contractor, Agency Express. Activity proved surprisingly resilient given seasonal trends, with “Sold” properties up 3.9% on July, the highest August rise recorded by the firm since 2007. The South East topped the list of hot-spots with [...]
Cash buyers make up 40% of house purchasers
Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), seen by the BBC, show a huge rise in the proportion of home buyers paying in cash. In January, nearly 40% of purchasers had no need of a mortgage, meaning that the proportion of loan-free buyers had more then doubled since CML records began, in 2005, the [...]
Sharp fall in private housing starts
A leading construction industry analyst has reported a sharp year-on-year decline in the underlying value of private housing project starts during the first quarter of 2011. Overall, the Glenigan Index for March is down by 31% on a year earlier, with a 61% fall in the underlying value of new private housing project starts weighing [...]
Housing market confidence on the rise
Agency Express has hailed its latest Property Activity Index as further evidence that confidence is returning to the housing market. According to the UK’s biggest “For Sale” board contractor, March saw the second consecutive monthly rise in the number of homes sold, with sales up 23.2% on February and up 4.8% year-on-year. All regions saw [...]
UK housing market “stuck in a rut”
Gross mortgage lending remained flat in February, at around £9.5 billion, according to new data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). The total is less than 1% up year-on-year and any seasonal pick-up in house purchase demand appears to be weaker, despite a lull in activity at the start of 2010, following the end [...]
Pressure for interest rate rises mounts
Pressure is mounting on the Governor of the Bank of England over interest rate rises as inflation, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index which excludes housing costs, rises to 4%.
Mervyn King is obliged to write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer when inflation exceeds the Government’s target of 2% and in his latest letter [...]
Mortgage demand weakens
Lenders have report that demand for house purchase mortgages fell “markedly” in the three months to December, with the trend expected to continue over the current quarter.
According to the Bank of England’s latest Credit Conditions Survey, the decline reflected “a recent fall in house prices, a general weakening of sentiment towards the housing [...]
Homes no longer investments for old age
The era in which Britons saw their homes as investments for retirement is over, according to housing minister, Grant Shapps.
In a recent interview with The Guardian, Mr Shapps argues in favour of a stable housing market, which he describes as a market with slow-rising prices that could result in prices dropping, in real terms, over [...]
