Summer House Prices
 Housing Market transaction levels hit an all time low during June, according to the latest figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
Each surveyor recorded an average of just 15.3 sales over the course of the month - the lowest figure since the survey began - down from 17.4 in May.
As a result estate agents are seeing stocks pile up, with each now holding an average of 84.1 properties in June, up 34.1 per cent on a year ago.
However, there was one chink of light amid the wider gloom, with a slight slowdown in the number of agents reporting falling prices.
While 99.2 per cent more surveyors were reporting a fall rather than a rise in prices in May, and predictions the level could fall lower still, just 88 per cent net surveyors reported a fall in June.
The net balance of surveyors reporting price declines lessened slightly in seven out of the ten regions in England and Wales, while in the south-west and the Yorkshire & Humberside, the price balance deteriorated marginally.
In the West Midlands a sharper deterioration took place, with surveyors unanimous that house prices are falling.
"With demand so low, would-be-buyers are negotiating from a position of strength," said Rics chief economist, Jeremy Leaf.
"Even in a weak market there are always opportunities for investors and buyers to profit and some are starting to circle for bargains.
"However, transaction levels remain incredibly low with many buyers cut out of the process by tight lending conditions."
Demand was also down, with new buyer enquiries continuing to fall. However, the pace of decline slowed for the second consecutive month.
New buyer enquiries fell at the fastest pace in the East Midlands, West Midlands and Yorkshire & Humberside. They fell at the slowest pace in London, the south-east and the south-west.
Finally, in terms of the outlook, the June survey builds tentatively on last month's modest improvement.
The net balance of surveyors expecting a drop in sales over the next three months was minus seven per cent compared with -15 in May.
The figures represent further bad news for the property market, argues Howard Archer, chief economist with analysts Global Insight.
"While there was a second successive limited improvement in the prices balance, other elements of the RICS survey were very weak and generally do not bode at all well for house prices over the coming months."
However, continued Mr Archer: "Rics indicated the number of houses coming on to the market fell for the sixth month running in June, indicating few people are currently having to sell for 'distressed' reasons."
This is likely to sustain prices, with sellers under no pressure to secure a speedy deal.
Unwilling Landlords British homeowners are being forced into the rental market, becoming unwilling landlords as they ride out the property slump.
However, such landlords are usually dilettantes in the field, and are consequently miss the opportunities afforded to more experienced investors.
"Many of our new landlords are not entering the lettings market by choice and they have a great deal to learn about the business," said Lynn Hilton, partner at Cluttons estate agents responsible for letting.
"A number of them are missing out on opportunities to let their property by refusing to budge at all on the asking rent."
It is feared such landlords will settle for void periods, rather than accept a lower rent; a decision which can prove extremely negative to overall yields in the long run.
Professional landlords tend to view their buy-to-let property as a long term investment, and are prepared to subsidise the mortgage if necessary in the short term.
Many reluctant landlords, however, expect their rental income to cover all their costs from day one, which is not always realistic.
The drip-feed of costs from a rental property can come as a shock to many homeowners, who are not used to being forced to upkeep their property to high standards as part of a contract.
They are also often unprepared for administrative costs arising from contracts and inventories.
Earlier this month buy-to-let mortgage specialist Paragon warned over half of landlords are unaware of their energy performance certificate requirements.
Furthermore, HM Revenue & Customs has this month launched a crackdown on landlords who fail to declare all income – placing further pressure on investors.
Home Improvement
 A recent report by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) revealed that more British homeowners are looking to make improvements to their home.
As property prices are falling, current homeowners are not moving but are upgrading their homes.
As a result of this, competition for tradesmen and construction labour is fierce. BuildStore, a specialist at the core of the self build and renovation market in the UK, has published the results of a survey of labour costs for the UK, which reveal some significant differences in costs.
The survey, conducted by BuildStore’s National Self Build & Renovation Centre reveals some disparity in the cost of tradesmen across the UK, proving that it is all about location.
500 contractors were polled in the UK to get average day rates for 8 of the most popular trades: groundworker, bricklayer, roofer, carpenter, plumber, electrician, plasterer and decorator and the results show dramatic differences across the regions.
The UK average day rate for plumbers was £227, however, across the country, it differed from £170 in the North West to £295 in London.
For bricklayers, the average UK day rate was £173, but in the North East, the average cost was £205 and £150 per day in the North West.
The housing slowdown has meant that property developers have begun to stall work on their residential developments so tradesmen are looking for extra ways of earning income.
Property developers are taking advantage of falling house prices and snapping up renovation bargains so tradesmen are spoilt for choice.
This means competitive pricing to secure contracts, while others are increasing their rates to capitalise on the growing number of home improvers and developers.
Simon Comba, of West Park Project Management, believes that costs could continue to increase, because demand is still high.
He added that there are still a lot of other commercial, industrial and social developments and a lot of work to be done. Although prices have generally been growing, they will have to remain competitive.
We have witnessed a steady growth in the cost of labour, as much as 25% in the last 12 months. However, because major developers tend to use national contractors and labourers, individuals, such as self builders, renovators and small private development firms have their pick of local labour and smaller firms, where they should find prices to be more competitive, concluded Mr Comba.
New homes in doubt As concern grows about the ability to deliver the government’s target of three million new homes by 2020, a report has called for the provision of new housing to reflect the different needs of different UK cities.
Builders have been scaling back construction projects as the shortage of mortgage funding feeds through to a fall in demand for new homes. With building rates likely to be running at low levels over the next couple of years, there are fresh doubts over the government’s ability to meet its target for new homes.
But a new report says the overall target is only part of the picture. It calls for the provision of housing to be tailored to local need.
The report from the Centre for Cities says that it is only by building from an accurate assessment of local markets that the government can deliver the homes the British economy needs.
It contrasts the needs of cities like Cambridge and Bristol, which have affordability problems associated with a general shortage of housing supply, with those like Hull, Sunderland and Bradford, where there is a need to widen the range of private housing available for local people.
In places like Cambridge, the shortage of housing means that even “affordable” homes are often beyond the reach of lower-paid professionals. Meanwhile, in Sunderland, over three-quarters of existing homes are in the two lowest council tax bands, making it difficult for the city to attract the right mix of people to sustain its economy.
The report concludes that ‘build, build, build’ is not always the answer. It calls for better understanding within both central and local government to establish exactly where in “Britain’s jigsaw of local economies” new homes should be built – and the mix of houses needed.
Flood Risk Lenders have welcomed the announcement by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the government of a package of measures that should ensure that flood insurance remains widely available. Insurance is essential for a lender to agree a mortgage, and the announcement will help underpin confidence in the housing market at a difficult time.
The agreement between the ABI and the government is based on delivering:
a long-term investment strategy from the government, setting out strategic flood prevention aims and assessing policy options and funding needs;
measures within the planning system that will prevent inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding;
measures to raise awareness in areas where flood risks are significant, encouraging property owners to take sensible precautions; and
better access to home insurance for households with low incomes.
Both insurers and the government believe that this package of measures will produce a competitive flood insurance market. From 2013, it will replace the statement of principles – an agreement between the ABI and the government on measures to ensure that flood insurance remains available. Until then, insurers will continue to:
make insurance available to homes and small businesses in areas where the annual risk of flooding is statistically no worse than once in 75 years; and
offer flood cover to existing customers at significant risk of flooding, providing there are plans to reduce this to acceptable levels within five years.
New Streetwise ProductsIn a recent review Streetwise have been found to be much cheaper than its competitors. In some cases maps from Streetwise are only half the price charged by others.
 On a different note Streetwise have continued to gather feedback from its customers to further improve the maps and online tools.
Customers can now search by streetname as well as postcode, place name and x,y coordinates. This means that if you don't know the postcode you can still easily find a location.
e.g. Just type in say Acacia Avenue and hit "go". The system displays all "Acacia Avenues" in the UK. Choose the one you need and the system then lists every address in that street so you can choose the exact property. NB users should type in the hosue number when searching as that won't work! Just the street name only.
The new 16 hectare maps introduced last month have proved very popular and so in the next few days Streetwise are looking to offer an even larger size.
To find out more about these services visit us at www.streetwise-maps.com |
| QUICK CONTENTS |
Summer House Prices Housing Market transaction levels hit an all time low during June, according to the latest figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
More |
Unwilling Landlords British homeowners are being forced into the rental market, becoming unwilling landlords as they ride out the property slump.
More |
Home Improvement A recent report by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) revealed that more British homeowners are looking to make improvements to their home.
More |
New homes in doubt As concern grows about the ability to deliver the government’s target of three million new homes by 2020, a report has called for the provision of new housing to reflect the different needs of different UK cities.
More
|
| Flood Risk Lenders have welcomed the announcement by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the government of a package of measures that should ensure that flood insurance remains widely available.More |
| New Streetwise Products In a recent review Streetwise have been found to be much cheaper than its competitors. In some cases maps from Streetwise are only half the price charged by others.More |
|
