On wednesday we spoke about the impact of the PM’s Social Housing reform plans and how they have been criticised by some as a move that could leave many vulnerable citizens worse off. Now, we’re no experts on this but we reckon it’s worth finding out more about the scheme if it’s going to effect the lives of people trying to live in or sell a house – if you fancy it, you can read a great article about it in the Independent, check it out…
Archive for the ‘quick house sale’ Category
If You’re Selling A House Then You Might Want To Read This…
Friday, July 30th, 2010Sell Your Own Home On The Open Market – If You’re Lucky
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010Following on from last weeks post about the fall in house prices being good news for the economy, more industry analysts are in agreement that the drop will do us all some good. Although there are some commentators who believe that David Cameron’s social housing proposals could increase insecurity felt by the most vulnerable people and destabilise communities.
The truth of the situation will vary depending on income brackets and geographical position with those comfortable and wealthy individuals not feeling the impct as much as those on low to medium incomes. Trying to sell your own home right now is tough and lower prices may help but as long as borrowing requirements are so strict and deposit-dependant, the open market will be a hostile place to do business.
A Fast House Sale May Have To Wait, But If You’re Buying…
Friday, July 23rd, 2010If you’re fretting about the state of the housing market, don’t, because Britain’s largest residential landlord Grainger said on Wednesday it remained bullish about opportunities to buy real estate at great prices. OK, so if you’re selling this aint great news and the open market may not be the best place to get a fast house sale but if you’re buying.
Grainger has around £2.8 billion of property on it’s books and is trading well despite the gloomy market with almost £70 million of purchases planned and £154.8 million of sales in process. Despite the knock in confidence for the market place as a result of the RICS survey, the volume of property coming to market increased at its fastest pace since May 2007.
A Quick House Sale Is Still A Way Off But New Builds Could Be Just Around The Corner
Monday, July 19th, 2010A new Government plan has been launched that will give councils extra cash for each new property built in their area as an incentive to encourage the construction of more homes. It’s being called the New Homes Bonus scheme and will mean that local authorities will receive a lump sum per property equivalent to the council tax raised on each new house for six years.
The scheme has been introduced because of the lack of quick house sale opportunities and due to the low new-build numbers currently being seen. Even at this early stage it does have critics, one such being John Healey, shadow housing minister, who said: “This policy could mean cuts in services in other areas of the country, we could quite literally see government robbing Peterborough to pay Poole.”
In reply the Housig Minister, Grant Shapps said: “Communities that go for growth would reap financial rewards” and the rewards are likely to be substantial, possibly several hundred million pounds.
Trying To Sell Property In This Market? Check Out This Retro Pad
Friday, July 16th, 2010If you’re trying to sell property without much luck, image how the owners of the oldest house in Britain feel when the the best you can say about it is that ‘it’s a fixer upper’. Of course, we’re talking about the remains of the oldest house ever found in Britain which was discovered by archeological experts this week.
Evidence of the 10,500 year old, 12ft wide dwelling was unearthed at Star Carr, North Yorks and is thought to have been lived in by huntergatherers, for more on the fascinating find, check out the full story…
Council Tenants To Be Encouraged To Buy From Those Trying To Sell A House
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010After the PM’s controversial suggestions on council house reform at his Q&A session in Brighton and Hove, Lincoln City Council has come out and warned it could have an impact on local council services. Under the possible reform, new council tenants would sign 5 to 10 year contracts instead of having the property for life, after the contract period they would be forced to move from their homes.
John Bibby, director of housing at the City of Lincoln Council, said:”We understand this suggestion was put forward by the Prime Minister in response to a question from a member of the public, with the intention of opening up a debate on the priorities for affordable housing.”
“At this stage, it’s just a debate. Until we get a detailed consultation paper, it’s difficult to assess the implications.”
The reasoning behind the idea is that over 5 to 10 years a tenant’s situation can change and they may want to look for someone who’s trying to sell a house on the open market and move into their own property. Plus, by putting contracts in place more needy people can get a roof over their head while those that have settled in a council property are more able to but/rent in the private sector.
If You Want To Sell Property Then It’s A Good Time To Do So
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010Have a guess what the total value of privately owned homes in the UK is, go on have a think and pick a figure. Got it? OK, research conducted by Halifax (you’ve skipped this and looked at the number haven’t you), were you close? £3.755 Trillion, which is, a lot and more than double what the housing stock was worth just ten years ago.
Sitting at £1.719trn in 1999, the increase of more than £2trn in property value is equivalent to £33,000 per person in the UK, but as would be expected the value of the nation’s housing stock has fallen by 8% in the last 3 years, reflecting the reduction in those able to sell property and the drop in house prices. The research also revealed that the north-south gap is narrowing with the value of housing in the north increasing by 132% compared to 109% in the south over the decade.
Is Cameron Going To Do A Maggie On Council Houses?
Friday, July 2nd, 2010Speaking at a community question and answer session yesterday in Brighton & Hove, the PM suggested council house reform by discussing the possibility of removing the ‘council house for life’ policy currently in existence. Instead he put forward the idea of a contract term of 5 or 10 years based on the fact that tenants circumstances may change and they may want to move into the private sector.
Any reform of this kind would echo that of Maggie Thatchers revolutionary decision to allow tenants to buy their council houses. If you missed the PM Direct session, you can catch the bit on housing here…
Want To Sell Your House Fast? There May Be A Chance
Wednesday, June 30th, 2010Great news, those thinking “I’d like to sell my house fast” will be pleased to know house prices rose again in June according to Nationwide building society figures, the rise comes after a 0.5% increase in May and puts the average UK property at just over £170,000. These figures contradict the Government research which puts the average house price at £207,000 but as we know, these surveys always offer different results.
The Government figures put inflation at 10.1% however Nationwide’s findings suggest a percentile closer to 8.3%, the building society also shows prices have risen by 3% since the start of the year. As for reasons behind the findings, Nationwide say the increase in prices is down to the rise in the number of properties on the market after the suspension of Home Information Packs (HIPs).
How To Buy A House (In These 20% Times)
Friday, June 25th, 2010At a time when houses are very affordable and mortgage deposits are so high, first time buyers (FTBs) are facing a veritable lock-out unless they can find 15% – 30% of the property value. So, how do you buy a house at a time like this? Well, maybe this can help…