Docklands News

Property prices have risen by 12.1% in the past year but the rate of increase is set to slow, according to the Nationwide. The mortgage lender said that the increase in April was lower than in March, and the trend was likely to continue as budgets were squeezed. The likelihood of further interest rate rises could also affect the market. First-time buyers will still be concerned that annual price rises have been in double digits for months. In all but one month in the past year, annual house price rises have been higher than 10%, the Nationwide said. Across the UK, it said the average house price in April was £267,620. 

BBC News (29/04/2022)  

A survey has revealed that 70% of potential first-time buyers have decided to delay their purchases as rising living costs have hindered them from getting a deposit together. Nearly nine in 10 said their ability to save for a deposit has been affected by the rising cost of living, Nationwide Building Society found. People were most likely to say this in Wales and Northern Ireland (98% in both parts of the UK) and in Scotland (93%). The area where people were least likely to say this was London, but the figure there was still 82%. Of the main problems noted by people about buying a home in the area where they live, nearly three in five (57%) said it was high house prices, while 43% said rents were too high to be able to save. 

City AM (04/05/2022)  

A record number of homeowners are unlocking cash from their properties to support their children and grandchildren. Some 23,395 people borrowed a total of £1.53bn against their home in the first quarter of 2022, with a record average loans size of £131,781, according to the Equity Release Council, a trade body. In the same period in 2016, the average loan was £89,189. In March 2016, the average house price in Britain was £209,946. It was £280,229 in February this year - a rise of 33.5%. "The popularity of equity release is the natural result of an ageing population and a property market where growth has outstripped inflation," said David Burrowes of the ERC. 

The Sunday Times (01/05/2022)  

Analysis by data firm Twenty7Tec shows that thousands of people looked to lock into a long-term mortgage deal last month, with homeowners hoping to get in ahead of further interest rate rises. Almost 7,000 people searched for a mortgage with a fixed rate of more than 10 years in April, a 72% increase on the same month last year. There was a 26% increase in the number of borrowers searching for a 10-year fixed mortgage and a 25% spike in those seeking a five-year fix. The respective number of borrowers searching for two and three-year fixed-rate mortgages fell by 35% and 57% year-on-year in April. On average, people are fixing mortgages for a year longer than they were a year ago. 

The Daily Telegraph (04/05/2022)  

While prime London property prices have remained largely flat on a year on year basis, some postcodes are seeing average sale prices climb by as much as 114%. Research shows that London's high-end homes commanded an average selling price of £3,229,509 in 2021, down when compared to 2020 albeit by just -0.8%. According to the research by debt advisory firm Henry Dannell, Camden's WC1A postcode saw the average sold price for £2m+ properties increase by 114%. A total of 30 prime London postcodes have seen positive movement where the average sold price for homes at £2m or above is concerned. However Westminster's WC2E postcode has endured the largest market decline, with sold prices down by -71% on an annual basis.

City AM (27/04/2022)  

The mounting cost of doing business in London is deterring developers from building new tower blocks in the capital, with applications for buildings of 20 storeys or more down 13% on 2020 figures. 

Financial Times (25/04/2022)