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Annual average property prices in the UK dropped for 2007 for the first ime since 1995. The average price in England was £174,000 which is down 11K on the prevfious year. The CEBR (Center For Economic Research)predicts a fall of 2.5% duing 2008.
This follows Northern Rock, US financial/lending crisis and last weeks stock market crash.
The lack of new available housing has not balanced out this trend, and people in new build housing and in outlying rural areas appear to be most affected.
Average property prices have not decreased since before New Labour took over and whether Gordon Brown is about to cut interest rates we will find out in the months to come.
With an election in the offing will Gordon Brown go medium term or short term? Average property prices will be determined by interest rates which there are predicted to be 4 this year….
The Scottish Parliament has put aside £24 million of tax payers to give first time buyers a step up on the housing ladder after a successful pilot scheme in Lothian.
Certain councils with higher than average property prices have been asked to join the scheme which allows buyers to buy a 60% to 80% stake in a property with a housing association paying the rest. The terms of this agreement have not been stated, is there a maximum spend or a minimum spend and are there any other restrictions? More as we get the details.
There was a 20 year low in first time buyers in 2007, with prices still rising in areas such as Glasgow and Edinburgh to record levels.
This scheme will most likely be extended to the rest of the UK in time, but for the moment places like Perth, Stirling and Aberdeen will see more first time buyers than previously.
The Bank Of England has maintained the rate of interest for mortgages at 5.5% for January 2008. The ruling was made on the 10th and follows a reduction in inflation to 2.1% with a target of 2%.
This will be good news for borrowers following a busy Christmas period and 5 consecutive increases in 2007!
Property prices are falling in some parts of the country and another raise in the the lending rate could have seen more pressure on sellers in terms of borrowers being put of by prohibitive rates of interest.
See all the trends and get details of the next change direct from The Bank Of England
Happy New Year to all readers of the House Price Spy Blog and members of the main site!!! It’s back to the real world and paying the mortgage after enjoying some well deserved(ish) time of from your work worries! The Bank of England will announce the new rate of interest on the 10th, more on that it comes (could we be in for another drop? or was the drop before Christmas just a ploy by the Government to get us to spend spend spend at Christmas?)
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The Nationwide Building Society claim that property Prices to level off in 2008. The slow down will be due to stricter lending conditions and less first time buyers being able to get on the property ladder.
Overall figures for the UK as a whole will see property prices fall by 5%, however if you live in Scotland they will rise by 4% and Northern Ireland’s increase will buck the trend of slowdown and rise by up to a third.
The mortgage rate was reduced this month to 5.5% down by 0.25%.
Get a full rundown on The Bank Of England Site.
More and more people are considering an Equity Release programme to release money locked up in the positive capital invested in their property. Living in a giant house can be less fun when you don’t have a comfortable cashflow situation. There are two basic plans you can get with pros and cons for each:
Lifetime Mortgages - A secured loan of not usually more than a third of the value of the property, interest adds up and is deducted from the value of the property when it is sold on death or when the owners move to a nursing home.
Home Reversion - A less popular option that allows the owners to get a large lump sum and the legal right to occupy a home untill death, at which time the property reverts to the lender.
Recent legislation changed the status of Home Reversion from property sale to lending and as such are now fall under more stringent regulation after claims of mis selling these plans.
Lifetime Mortgages are affected by interets rates and the rise in house prices, with a slow in the rise in house prices and lenders experiencing problems ( and subsequently passing high rates onto borrowers) these may be chosed with care. Home Reversion can result in the lender only paying 30% of the value of the property, so these need to be considered with care.
The offical regulatory and information body is Safe Home Income Plans (SHIP).
Further to my other blogs about the Northern Rock:
1. Gordon Brown rules out offering any assitance to The Northern Rock.
2. The media cause panic with investors who proceed to get up early to withdraw funds.
3. Gordon Brown pledges to back The Northern Rock to the tune of several billion pounds.
4. Fickle savers rush to put their money back in.
5. Shares slump in price and the government are again forced to back up the Rock.
6. Sir Richard Branson tables a takeover bid for the ailing financial giant.
So let me get this straight if Alistair Darling says The Northern Rock would have gone failed if were not for his intervention then does that mean any financial institution that invest badly will be bailed out by the UK taxpayer? Or will we get a share of the profits when Sir Richard Branson takes over and turns it’s fortunes around?
Whats the point of making sound investments (on a personal level) if you have to subsidise others poor choices (on a national level)?
During the next year there are going to be new sister sites from House Price Spy that will be related to insurance, finance, DIY or anything else to do with the property in general.
Hopefully these will turn out to be as popular as the main House Price Spy site. They will have the same quality and functionality with quality free services and links to property related sites.
As usual I have been sworn to secrecy….however I can let you know that the first site will be an insurance related service that will be quite appealing to property owners and eveyone else!
2007 has seen House Price Spy change the way it looks and add a few new functions and bits and bobs to what we offer, hopefully 2008 will see the main site go from strength to strength. If you like House Price Spy then you are sure to love our new sites from House Price Spy!
The BBC - Property has released sales figures for property in the UK have been released (up to mid November). Property figures for 2007 are as follows:
The fastest rising areas are Northern Ireland, East Anglia and the South West of England.
The average price for a property in the UK is just over £230,000.
There have been over 300,000 property sales.
Properties have gone up by 9% in the last year.
Properties have gone up by 6.5% in the last quarter.
The cheapest places to buy are still Scotland and the North West Of England, with an average of under £141,000 per sale.
The winter slowdown in property sales will of course cause a drop in property prices over the festive months to come as usual.