Nottingham Letting Agent Property Blog

The latest Halifax house price index has shown sales reached their highest level for five years in 2012, suggesting the market may be recovering. The total number of home sales last year was 932,000, but this is still substantially lower than the 1,619,000 sold in 2007 before the financial crisis took hold. Experts at Halifax think the increase in market activity is related to improved mortgage approval numbers, and that the government’s Funding for Lending scheme is having a positive impact. The scheme has helped lenders improve mortgage availability and to lower interest rates during the past few months. During the...

According to the latest figures from Rightmove, asking prices have fallen by 3.3% this month which is far greater than would normally have been expected. However asking prices for new listings are now up by 1.4% this year. A fall in asking prices is only to be expected this month, as this is being established as the time of year when the sellers get more realistic about property pricing. But this year has seen a pattern of shifting prices due to the Olympics and the Jubilee celebrations, although there was a recovery in October.On the whole prices have remained largely unchanged...

Latest figures from Rightmove have shown a yearly increase of 2% in property prices which is the highest annual increase since November 2007. However figures are being skewed by price growth in London, as if the capital city is removed from the equation prices have increased by just 0.2% year on year, but at least this growth is positive. But these figures aren't quite as straightforward as they seem, as many parts of the country haven't seen price falls. Property prices in the South East have fallen by 4.5% in November compared to October, and by 3.4% year on year. Property...

According to analysts from Savills, property prices in the UK will increase by 11.5% during the next five years, but this is nothing to get too excited about as that growth will be mitigated by inflation. It's anticipated that more people will want to rent, and that demand for rental homes will continue to rise.Property prices have fallen by an average of 2% this year, and are predicted to rise by just 0.5% next year, and by 1.5% in 2014. However growth during the next five years is expected to equate to a 3% fall in real terms due to inflation....

According to the latest data available, the average house price in England and Wales dropped by 0.3% last month compared to August. This means the average house price is now 162,561, which is an annual increase of 1.1%. Not surprisingly property in London showed the largest annual increase of 5.5%, while prices increased the most in Wales on a monthly basis, rising by 0.5%.Property prices dropped the most in the North East, with an annual decrease of 3.2%, while property prices in Yorkshire and the Humber fell the most on a monthly basis, decreasing by 2.2%. Property prices fell in most...

Recent research has shown more than half of those looking to move home within the next three years want to downsize, while just a fifth are looking for a larger house. It's not uncommon for people approaching retirement age to think of moving to somewhere that requires less maintenance, but this research from Lloyds TSB has found many are looking to move for economic reasons. They found 59% want to move to a more suitably sized property, but a third want to move to a smaller property in order to reduce bills, and 37% would like to release equity within their...

The September 2012 UK Housing Market Survey from the RICS is generally positive, expecting the housing market to improve towards the end of the year. It is predicting that transaction levels will pick up and price falls will slow down. Expectations have improved due to greater mortgage availability thanks to recent government initiatives. In fact chartered surveyors expectations for future sales are at their highest level since May 2010, as 26% more of those responding predicted transaction levels will increase during the final quarter of this year.Although 9% more of those surveyed believed prices will fall over the next quarter, this...

Property prices fell by 0.5% during the last three months to September compared to the previous quarter. Home prices in September fell by 0.4% according to data from the Halifax. These latest figures mark the third consecutive monthly fall which has more than wiped out price rises in May and June. The average property price is now £159,486. Even though prices have fallen slightly, the Halifax thinks they are generally stable, and are just 1.2% lower than a year ago. The average house price in September was just 0.3% lower than in December last year.It's thought the continuing weak economy is...

A recent survey by Rightmove has shown most buyers won't even bother looking at any property they feel is overpriced, even if they like the look of it. The survey found 62% would give such homes a miss even if the seller is prepared to negotiate on price. It's all too easy to overprice a property and to assume the price can always be negotiated downwards if necessary, but if these results are anything to go by it may not be worth the risk.The property market was relatively quiet over the summer due to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics,...

According to a report from Jones Lang Lasalle, the private rental sector within Britain has grown by an amazing 47.9% since 2007. This huge growth is attributed to high property prices, constraints on mortgage financing and the massive deposits required by lenders which have made home ownership unattainable for many people. It is expected that the private rental sector will continue to grow as rental demand is expected to increase.The report is anticipating another 1.7 million homes will be needed within the private rental sector during the next four years in order to meet growing demand, giving landlords good reason to...

The latest analysis of sales of residential homes in England and Wales shows house prices increased by 2.5% last month, and are by 2.6% compared to August 2011. However there are huge regional variations and the North-South divide is getting larger. The residential market is largely been driven by buyers in the South East, South West and London, but there are even differences in the cities, as for example the more affluent London boroughs are seeing much larger price growth than less desirable areas.Experts think this latest data demonstrates how resilient the housing market is proving to be, although they have...

According to figures from the Land Registry the average price of a property in the UK increased by 0.8% in July, rising to £162,900 compared to £161,777 in June. This means prices have increased by 0.3% so far this year. However the picture is quite different across the country as prices rose by 6.5% annually in London, while the only other regions in the country to see growth were the South-East and East Midlands where prices rose by less than 1%.Although London has seen something of a housing boom, in contrast property prices in the rest of the country are stagnating...

According to recent research by the Halifax, mortgage repayments for a new borrower now account for the lowest proportion of disposable earnings for 15 years. Mortgage repayments for both home movers and first-time buyers stood at just 26% of disposable earnings during the second quarter of this year compared to 29% during the same period last year. The long-term average is 36%. In the third quarter of 2007 mortgage repayments accounted for 48% of disposable income.Lower interest rates combined with lower house prices has led to housing becoming much more affordable for those who are able to raise the necessary deposit....

According to a recent survey by LSL Property Services, nearly half of landlords think now would be a good time to invest in more property even though access to finance remains a problem. The survey found 64% expect increased demand from tenants during the next 12 months, and 48% think it would be a good time to invest in property. Just 1% thinks it would be prudent to reduce their portfolios. Out of those landlords who think now is a good time to buy, four fifths were keen take advantage of attractive property prices, while 53% wanted to increase their portfolios...

The latest survey by the Nationwide has shown that property prices fell by 0.7% last month, and have declined by 2.6% compared to a year ago. This marks the sharpest annual fall since August 2009 even though property prices have risen slightly since the beginning of the year. The average property is currently worth £164,389, slightly more than in December 2011 when it was worth £163,822. Property prices have now fallen to May 2006 levels, and are an average of 13% below their peak in 2007, according to the Nationwide index.The Bank of England's new funding for lending scheme began last...

The latest figures from the Land Registry House Index show the price of residential property increased by 0.1% in England and Wales in June compared to May. The average house price is now £161,777. This takes the average annual increase up to 0.9%, although the average price increase in London over the last 12 months is 6.3%. The picture isn't quite so rosy in other parts of the country, as properties in the East Midlands saw prices decline by 0.1% in June compared to May, while prices in the South West fell by an average of 0.2%. Prices in Yorkshire and...

The average asking price for property in the UK declined in July, and this is being attributed to the lousy weather and impending Olympic games. Rightmove found average prices had been cut by 1.7%, and this is the largest July fall since 2008. This meant asking prices dropped by an average of £4,138. Although January saw prices decline slightly, and prices remained unchanged in May, overall asking prices have risen for much of the year, and are still 2.3% higher than July last year. Asking prices in London declined the most by an average of 3.6%, but London prices are still...

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, it could take another 12 years before property prices reach peak values seen in 2007. Although the average house price is predicted to return to these values by 2017 the prices are not adjusted for inflation and when this is taken into account PricewaterhouseCoopers thinks it will be 2024 before property prices reach these levels. The prediction is that by 2015 property prices will be around 8% lower than in 2007, and 24% lower when these figures are adjusted for inflation. Although by the time we reach 2020 prices could be around 30% more than 2007 levels, when...

A recent report found around 40,000 first-time buyers are falling into negative equity every year, and some may be unable to move house for a decade. The report found that 20% of first-time buyers are putting down a deposit of 10% or less, and many are choosing to buy newly built properties. As a result some are even seeing their deposits being swallowed up before they have a chance to move in. There are a number of current schemes, including the governments NewBuy scheme which encourage first-time buyers to purchase homes with little equity, and experts are warning this could lead...

According to experts house prices may fall further during the coming months, and will only begin to recover next year. This gloomy news comes as the latest Bank of England figures show a drop in the number of mortgage loans receiving approval. Their data shows 51,098 mortgages were approved for house purchases in May which were worth a total of £7.6 billion. This is the lowest figure since March, and is significantly less than the 25 month high achieved in January.The start of 2012 saw a rush of first-time buyers trying to beat the March deadline for the end of stamp...