Posts Tagged ‘UK housing market’
Friday, May 21st, 2010
The new coalition government of the UK have decided enough is enough and suspended use of the Home Information Packs (HIPs) by home sellers.
There was a lot of skepticism when the HIPs were made law back in 2007. It was very confusing as on the one hand you had home sellers paying upfront several hundred pounds for these Home Information Packs with no guarantee of being able to sell their home; whilst on the other hand potential property buyers ended up gathering the same information to satisfy the requirements of their mortgage lender. It appears that common sense has now prevailed.
So what next for the UK housing market? Well, it means that sellers don’t have to pay upfront for these packs and it enables them to test the market without this extra cost. The National Association of Estate Agents are happy with the decision; however the biggest beneficiaries should be the private house sale websites. It should be encouraging news not only the existing property listing websites, but also potential new entrants to the arena giving consumers a wider range of choice something that has been championed of late by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). It may also allow potential house sellers to try out an alternative approach to the traditional estate agents.
The hope is that the removal of the HIPs will not only get rid of needless red tape bureaucracy, but will now help to kick-start the housing market.
Tags: HIPs, HIPs abolished, Home Information Packs, home sellers, kickstart the housing market, mortgage lender, private house sale, private house sale websites, property buyers, property listing, property listing websites, removal of HIPs, UK housing market
Posted in UK-House-Sales | No Comments »
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
The global credit crunch affected the availability of mortgages. This has given rise to the so called ‘reluctant property landlords’ in the UK. These are the individuals who, prior to the financial downturn, were considering selling up and moving home. So instead of buying new property they decided to move into rental accommodation. The domino effect was for these people to fund their move by renting out their house or flat. This has caused a surge in demand for properties available for rent.
So why did they decide to move and not just sit it out? There could be a whole host of reasons why. It could be that they needed more space and thus bigger property, relocation due to a new job or even downsizing. Whatever the reason, it caused a surge in UK property available for rent. There is still no clear sign of any consistent movement in the UK housing market. One month there are more properties being made available to buy, this is followed up by a decline in the number of properties for sale.
With the UK General Election just round the corner it’s clear that many are sitting tight to see who gets elected and how it will effect the UK economy as a whole. Based on recent UK economic data it’s apparent that the green shoots of UK recovery are there. However, how sustainable it is remains to be seen.
Tags: availability of mortgages, bigger property, buying new property, downsizing, financial downturn, global credit crunch, green shoots, green shoots of UK recovery, moving home, properties available for rent, properties for sale, relocation, reluctant property landlords, rental accommodation, thriving UK rental market, UK economic data, UK economy, UK General Election, UK housing market, UK property available for rent
Posted in Private-Property-Landlords | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
Many people strive to live in a particular street or an area of the UK for differing reasons. From a family perspective it could be that it’s the catchment area for the best local school; for others it may have been on their list of aspirations as a token of their achievement.
With the UK recession now seemingly behind us will the UK housing market start to move more fluidly allowing people to move into these so called ’sexy addresses’? It’s an interesting question to pose. A lot depends on whether the biggest downturn since records began is really a thing of the past. Confidence is absolutely key to any revival. Not only that, but it could be a shifting mindset that may also affect the fluidity. Perhaps those who aspired to be in prestigious UK property addresses have now had second thoughts. If they were directly affected by the UK recession, perhaps even losing their job or business, then it’s likely their own ideals will have changed in the near term. Only time will tell if we see a return to the ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ mentality or if there has been a real shift in values.
Those aspiring to live at a particular sexy address should consider posting a property wanted advert. By casting the net wider UK home seekers may actually find the UK property they are looking to buy or rent. There are websites that cater for this particular free property listing service in the UK. It also gives them the ability to test the market. In many cases potential UK buyers and renters could be missing out on a huge opportunity by not considering alternative approaches to using estate agents.
By doing their research potential UK property buyers and renters could find such websites to be an invaluable source of property lead referrals. You never know it may also lead to you securing your dream property.
Tags: catchment area, free property listing, keeping up with the Joneses, prestigious UK property, property wanted, property wanted advert, Property-Lead-Referrals, sexy addresses, UK housing market, UK property, UK property buyers, UK recession
Posted in Free-Property-Listing-UK | No Comments »
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
There have been mixed results in the UK housing market for 2009. Rentals held firm in a number of the UK regions. So looking ahead to the future is UK Buy to Let still seen as a shrewd investment?
Recent surveys show that confidence amongst prospective tenants is rising. Where many potential UK tenants postponed moving out of the parental home last year because of the credit crunch and uncertainty; it appears that the mode is more positive going into 2010. More of these individuals are now considering making the leap and are keen to find property to rent in the UK. It’s not only this group of people who are looking to make the move, those who have historically chosen to house share in the UK are now considering setting up home on their own; whether this is as a first time buyer or just wanting their own UK rental pad.
So based on this data, is confidence returning to the UK Buy to Let property sector? Many commentators would suggest that investing in UK property is still seen as secure. The UK house price crash still hasn’t happened. Some analysts expected a huge drop given the economic climate in 2009. However, there has been little sign of any panic sales. So are we in for more growth? It’s incredibly hard to predict what will happen in 2010. There are many factors to take into account. So if you are considering a UK Buy to Let purchase you will need to do your research thoroughly.
Tags: economic climate, find property to rent in the UK, first time buyer, house share, parental home, Uk buy to let, UK housing market, UK property, UK rental pad, UK tenants
Posted in UK-House-Sales | No Comments »
Friday, January 15th, 2010
Commentators seem to think the UK housing market will be relatively flat in 2010; that is there will be relatively little movement in the value of property. What does this mean for UK property landlords? Well, like house prices there could be a stabilisation in the UK rental property market.
Over the last few years there has been relatively more UK property landlords due to the fact it has been a lot harder to sell residential property. However, recent figures may point to the fact that the increase in house sales over the last few months could be attributed to these reluctant UK private property landlords exiting the market. Whether this means there are more UK property investment opportunities arising in 2010 remains to be seen. Other UK property statistics point to the fact that there is now more affordable property in a number of areas.
2010 could be an interesting year for UK property landlords. The contraction of the UK residential mortgage market is showing signs of easing; however it remains to be seen if this will help UK residential property landlords to build up their property portfolios. Whatever the outcome, it’s good news for buyers that mortgage deals are making a return. However, it’s early days yet to see if these UK mortgage deals will filter down to the buy to let marketplace.
Tags: buy to let, property investment opportunities, UK housing market, UK mortgage deals, UK property landlords, UK property statistics, UK rental property market
Posted in Private-Property-Landlords | 1 Comment »
