Docklands News

Figures from the Halifax show house prices rose by 1.1% last month, bringing the annual pace of growth to 10.8%. It is the tenth consecutive monthly rise - the longest run since 2016 and leaves prices nearly £28,000 higher compared to April 2021. The price of the average home is now £286,079 and the lender says that, at the current rate of growth, the price of a typical home could hit £300,000 by the end of the year. Greater London continues to show the slowest rate of growth at 6.2%. However, it also has the highest-priced houses in the UK at an average of £537,896. Halifax managing director, Russell Galley, said: “Housing transactions and mortgage approvals remain above pre-pandemic levels and the continued growth in new buyer enquiries suggests activity will remain heightened in the short-term.” 

BBC News (06/05/2022)   Daily Mail (06/05/2022)   Evening Standard (06/05/2022)   The Guardian (06/05/2022)  

House price inflation is unlikely to be quelled any time soon as prices continue to be driven by historically low stock levels. Despite warnings of a recession on the horizon, current property activity continues to be buoyant, according to the latest RICS Residential Market Survey. Its April survey found that the supply of homes on the market and new listings continues to be sparse. “There is little evidence at this stage of house price inflation losing much momentum, while expectations for the coming twelve months have only moderated slightly from recent highs,” RICS economist, Tarrant Parsons, said. 

City AM (12/-5/2022)  

Buyers will need a 37% pay rise by next year to secure lending on the average home as rising interest rates price out borrowers. Remortgaging will also become unaffordable, experts have warned, leading to forced sales and falls in house prices. Lewis Shaw of Shaw Financial Services, a mortgage broker, said: "A lot of people are going to get absolutely clattered when their fixed-rate mortgages come to an end and there is a big risk that house prices will fall. An awful lot of people will suffer from rate shock." Capital Economics forecast the Bank Rate to hit 3% by 2023. In this case, a typical buyer would need to earn £54,260 to qualify for a mortgage on the average priced £270,000 house

The Daily Telegraph (06/05/2022)  

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)