Category: News Section

House Prices Rise Again

Yet again the Land Registry has reported that during November the prices of Houses in England and Wales have increased.

This was the sixth month in a row that has seen an increase.  It reports that the increase was a month on month rise of 0.9%.  This has to be factored into the annual position where house prices have fallen over the whole year to the end of November but now have fallen by only -0.3%.  It may be very soon that we will be able to report an average increase.

The rate of change throughout the country is vastly different from location to location.  To discuss how matters have changed in any individual location contact your local independent chartered surveyor here.

Housing Feds. hope more Glebe lands sold

Housing Federations hope a greater amount Glebe lands will be released.

The National Housing Federation hopes that their research into the rural housing shortage will inspire the release of Glebe Lands by the Church of England. 

The Church of England owns in the region of 129,000 acres and if just a small portion of the land held in rural villages up and down the country was released for development to housing associations, as much as 10% of the housing shortage could be alleviated according to the NHF’s research.

If the land was sold on the open market with a prospect of normal development, these lands would, however, be that much more valuable to the church and provide a greater level of funds to maintain and improve the historic buildings in their control.  This land is often situated close to the centre of villages and these could often be considered to be prime locations for developers.  Much of this land also comprises graveyards or land earmarked for graveyard expansion.

Every village and location has different considerations and the Local Church Diocese has individual requirements and land resources to manage.  Should individual development locations need consideration, such as development proposals or valuations, we recomend consulting your local independent Chartered Surveyor with www.propertysurveying.co.uk

Increase in volume of New Mortgages in November 2009

We understand from reports from the British Bankers Association Data that the number of new home loans are substantially up in November 2009.  They have reached the levels of Autumn 2007, just after the peak of the housing market in terms of prices. 

These figures are double those of the similar month in 2008 when the housing market was at a very low ebb.

Loans for equity withdrawal were notably lower as were remortgaging loans issued.  The BBA said that “Household priorities were showing up in the November figures”, suggesting that households were paying off debt and saving more. 

The way that this affects Individual locations within the wider market is varied and independent advice should be obtained with the housing market as with any market.  Consult a local Independent Chartered Surveyor by sourcing a contact through the propertysurveying network.

Plymouth Property Lift

Plymouth is one of the successful bidders and has made it onto the 2018 World Cup list of host football stadiums.  Home Park, the home of Plymouth Argyle will be further modernised and upgraded and improve the immediate area.  For property appraisals near the Home Park area contact the local Independent Chartered Surveyor, Graham Cocking at http://www.plymouthbuildingsurveyors.co.uk/ .

To discuss how this may affect the market in the wider Devon and Cornwall area, contact your local Independent Property Expert by calling your local propertysurveying.co.uk Independent Chartered Surveyor or go to the Devon or Cornwall Network pages.

Market Comment December 2009

The latest press announcements by the Bank of England and the RICS suggest that House prices in England and Wales are generally continuing to rise in certain areas often fuelled by a lack of supply.  The local Independent Chartered Surveyors with www.propertysurveying.co.uk report a varied market with London bolstored by both big bonuses from the city as well as foreign net investment.  Our surveyors indicate a difference in demand in locations around the provinces whereas in London , the network surveyors demand is still strong with some agents very busy.  A consistent demand has been reported by the westcountry contingent, and along the south coast.  Enquiries are coming in for along the south coast in Hampshire and in Sussex . 

In the deep west, Cornwall and Devon are benefitting from consistent demand with Dorset and Somerset also reporting a healthy number of transactions taking place helped by the net migration to the area. 

In the Gloucestershire and Welsh Border Country, enquiries are in less depth but a number of transactions are taking place with demand good in places like Ross on Wye, Stratford upon Avon, and parts of the Birmingham and West Midlands connurbation such as Wolverhampton and Telford . 

Soundings from other surveyors of our network of Independent Chartered Surveyors will be placed here over the next few days.

August sees average house prices fall again

The average price of homes for sale in England and Wales fell to £222,762 during the four weeks to August 8, about 2.2 % less than in the previous 4 weeks. The property website Rightmove says this drop in asking prices was in line with a similar fall seen in August 2008, although it was still the biggest drop recorded so far this year. Price rises had been experienced in five of the previous seven months.

It added that the market was continuing to be held back by a lack of mortgage finance. Traffic wise, Rightmove has seen its busiest month ever, despite the fact that there is usually less activity during the summer, due to potential buyers going on holiday.

However, there continues to be a shortage of available properties, with 82,700 homes put up for sale during the month, 23 % fewer than in August last year. It is also around half the level of new properties that were put on the market in August 2006 and 2007.

Source: www.rightmove.co.uk

Residential property builders lash out at banks

Leading homebuilders Barratt and Redrow have complained that restrictions on mortgage financing is preventing a recovery in the country’s property market.

Bovis Homes have reported that potential buyers are still unable to get a mortgage, although there is continued interest in their developments. Persimmon have seen an increase in reservations but also hit out at the lack of lending. ‘We are encouraged by the improvement in sales rates when compared to last year but will remain cautious until mortgage availability improves further and employment prospects stabilise,’ they said.

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