The new high speed rail link between London and Birmingham recently approved by the UK government means that property owners along the route should seek advice.
Justine Greening, the Secretary of State for Transport, has revealed the exact route showing that Phase One will pass through open countryside in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire including the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
‘Since the initial announcement in March 2010, HS2 has had a marked effect on the local property market, creating a significant amount of uncertainty and anxiety leading to many properties being blighted by the proposals. We hope the Government’s announcement of the exact route to be taken will bring confidence back into the market,’ said Nicholas Rudge, head of Savills Residential in Banbury.
While efforts continue to stimulate the domestic economy, events unfolding outside the UK are still calling the shots on UK property, it says in its commercial property market outlook report for the third quarter.
But in the face of global uncertainty, and with senior debt having dried up, the London property market is benefitting from cash injections, particularly from foreign investors.
England will have a 750,000 shortfall of homes by 2025, with London, the South East, the East of England and Yorkshire and Humberside the worst affected.
“We are facing a housing crisis, with a huge gap between the supply of new houses and our demand for more homes,” IPPR senior research fellow Andy Hull said. “The forthcoming housing strategy will be a serious test of whether the government appreciates the depth of our housing crisis and is smart enough to unlock the funding to build new homes. We also need Government action to get developers developing.”
In August, the number of loans agreed for UK house purchases rose to 52,410. That was up from 49,644 in July. If more mortgages are being approved, that normally means greater demand for property.
Meanwhile, the average UK house price nudged higher by 0.1% in September following a 0.6% drop last month. Prices are still down year-on-year, but the fall has been cut to just 0.3%.
So are things looking up? As you might have guessed, we don’t think so. And it’s not just us.
Now the ‘insiders’ want out of the property market.
The U.K.-based property fund manager has issued a memorandum of green lease principles – including clauses relating to the use of environmental contractors and upholding energy performance certificates – that will now be considered whenever it drafts a standard lease.
It’s being hosted by PlumLife, the government-appointed HomeBuy agency for Greater Manchester and supported by Manchester City Council.
“The average age of first time buyers here in the north west has risen to 37 years old. People trying to get on the property ladder face a really tough challenge.”
Some of the UK’s top developers will also be there with information about private new-build homes available to buy across the region with the help of the government’s latest scheme, FirstBuy.
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1 Look further afield
It may be that you can find more affordable houses, or keener demand for rented property, in a different part of the country from where you live.
2 Do your sums
Work out the monthly rent you can expect against the cost of your monthly mortgage repayments. Factor in the size of the deposit required (some mortgage firms now want 25 per cent), plus what happens if the property sits empty for a month or two.
3 Research the market as a whole
Consider the effects of the Government’s decision to cap the amount of rent it allows housing-benefit recipients. The same applies to the Article Four restrictions (on the type of tenants you can take) that some councils are planning to impose on landlords.
4 Students may no longer = money
Traditionally, they turn up …
Selling a home when buyers are on the beach is hard at any time, but 2011 is extra tough. Some 70 per cent of homes on the market since January remain unsold and each estate agent is handling an average 78 homes for sale. This is far higher than usual in summer, says Rightmove.
So sellers have to go to extreme lengths to make their home stand out. You would think, for example, that a rare eight-bedroom penthouse with two terraces overlooking Lord’s cricket ground would sell in a strong central London market. But even here, sellers go the extra mile.
Maps have been used in a variety of imaginative ways to help those looking to sell or buy property but this latest one from Zoopla offers an easy, at-a-glance overview. It shows the average current value of homes – colour coded by area from High to Low. And while it may not come as a surprise to many to see London and the south-east in the red-coloured high zone, there are some interesting revelations as you zoom in.
The loan was underwritten by Irish Nationwide, a bank that collapsed during the global financial crisis, and extended to the property’s developer, Leslie Allen-Vercoe of Rhymer Investments. When the bank went belly up many of its loans were assumed by the Irish government, which created NAMA in 2009, in response to the financial crisis. Now NAMA wants its mortgage money.