We, like you, know that every few weeks, month or quarter there are new and conflicting house price reports out from estate agents, lenders, conveyancing solicitors and institutions. One will say prices are up, the other static and another down, leaving you to choose which way you think the market is heading. The latest report is from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyers (RICS) who say for the first time in a while, house prices are actually dropping.
This has, of course, made the news channels, press and media sit up and comment on what this means for the economy, raising the rather obvious question of the double dip recession. But not everyone in the info game thinks dropping prices are bad news, Tracy Corrigan of the Daily Telegraph has written a great article on why it could be just what the country needs, check it out here…
Speaking 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…
Financial specialists are worried about the fact that the current economic situation in the US will continue to have a big impact on the UK housing market. Due to recession in The US, first timen home buyers are not able to get mortgages due to the reduced approval rates meaning the ‘we buy any house‘ companies are stepping in to offer home-sellers a much needed sale.
One of the greatest of difficulties that first time buyers have to face is that many financial institutions and banks have cut the maximum lending amount and many of them have also increased the rates of tracker mortgages. This condition has been made horrendous for those people who are just climbing on the property ladder because the rate of interest is very high and properties displayed are very few.
The Scottish Building Federation (SBF) warned of substantial job losses if funding was cut for the building of affordable housing in the Highlands. This came after the Highland Council announced last that Scottish government support over the next 2 years is set to be cut by nearly 50% from £32m down to £17.5m.
Affordable housing is essential for those who were unable to stop repossession as well as first time buyers and retirees. The SBF said the knock-on effect would be less contracts for construction teams and as a result, firms would fail to make ends meet and face ruin. The Highland Council had planned a home-building schedule of some 350 homes throughout 2011-2012 but with this now in doubt, the SBF have painted a grim picture for the outlook of local construction firms, local jobs and local prosperity.
The Home Builders Federation (HBF) have said that there is a shortage of almost one million homes in the UK which threatens to create a housing crisis. Their research also revealed that only 124,000 homes were built last year, the last time that few homes were built in the UK was just after the Second World War.
The HBF report put the problem down to the recession and the static Construction Industry, stating that nearly five million people are on housing waiting lists and many are having to choose rented accommodation or live with parents because they can’t afford to buy a property. Of course, there hasn’t just sprung up 5 million people, the shortage is not down to a lack of properties but a lack of properties on the market and a lack of credit available for buyers. With repossession properties staying with banks and not being sold and sellers holding off till after the General Election, the market is at a very slow point.
After blogging on monday about how the General Election (GE) was influencing the housing market, there is yet more evidence that UK politics’ biggest popularity contest is affecting decisions within the property arena. This time it’s about new builds, specifically, plans to build 1,500 homes on the edge of Wantage, Oxfordshire. Local MP Ed Vaizey believes the proposals to build should be held back until after the GE.
Speaking to the press, Vaizey said: “The Liberal Democrat council have made the mistake of proposing to dump 1,500 houses on Wantage without any consideration about either the number of houses or the best place to put them.” If the proposals come to fruition, they will increase the town’s population by 35% but the MP for Wantage believes it is possible to stop some of the development and plans to request a meeting with the Secretary of State the day after the GE.
Ok, drum roll please… And now, it’s time for the biggest award ceremony of all time (maybe not all time) – The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For: Community Housing Employer
and the top 10 nominees are…
- New Charter Housing Trust
- Calico
- Plus Dane Group
- Gentoo
- Luminus
- L&Q
- Chester & District Housing Trust
- Look Ahead Housing & Care
- Weaver Vale Housing Trust
- Great Places Housing Group
This is by far the most comprehensive survey of workplace opinion in Britain and the winner of this prestigous title in the Community Housing Sector is…
Luminus
Rapturous applause.
In fact, Luminus did so well that they were only bettered by one other company in the overall UK Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For list. The assessment takes into consideration, among other things, workplace culture; personal wellbeing; career development; pay and benefits and community and environment consideration. Well done to all who featured in the Community Housing sector.
The number of people looking to sell and rent back their home may well increase if new research from FindaProperty is anything to go by. Their figures revealed that February saw the number properties available to rent fell to its lowest point since November ‘08, resulting in a 1.2% rent rise, talking the national average up to £814pcm.
Ultimately, the rising house prices and falling rental properties creates a gap that leaves the ever-increasing number of people unable to buy without a housing option. On the plus side, those already renting are more likely to stay put as there are few options available for movement, this means a longer-lasting tenant for landlords.
If you’re thinking ‘I want to sell my house fast‘, you aint even close to feeling the need for change that some Glasgow residents are experiencing.
According to housing minister, Alex Neil, “Some living conditions in Govanhill in Glasgow are totally unacceptable for the 19th, never mind the 21st Century”. The slum-like housing conditions are to be discussed at Holyrood and are attibuted to poor quality housing and rogue landlords. Govanhill has an estimated 1,200 slum flats which make up some of the worst housing conditions in the UK.
The conditions are to be tackled at the highest level with evidence being given to MSPs concerning the link between private slum landlords and organised crime.
In a continuation from Monday’s post about the Bank of England’s (BoE) lending figures for January 2010, there are some other interesting stats to be considered…
According to the BoE, UK banks wrote off a record breaking £4.12billion in bad credit card debt in 2009 and the value of mortgages written of doubled over the year from £408million to a whopping £984million as repossession orders increased. The total amount written off by banks (including cards, mortgages and other loans) rose from £6.9billion to £9.3billion while total lending dropped from £13.53 billion in December to £10.24 billion in January. Anyone looking for good news regarding the economy may well have to wait a while.
