Docklands News

Only one in five people in Britain believe that there are enough affordable homes after the steep rise in house prices during the pandemic. Two thirds of Britons surveyed by Lloyds Banking Group said that the housing market was not providing quality accommodation at a low enough price. Almost two thirds expect prices to rise in the next three years. Fifty-seven per cent of young people are optimistic about getting on the property ladder, yet 64% cited affordability as a top concern, with lack of social housing a worry for 47% of respondents. A dearth of rental properties was a factor for 39% of young people. 

The Times (10/12/2021)  

Some home buyers and sellers are still facing conveyancing problems more than a month after an IT systems failure paralysed some of the UK’s biggest conveyancing practices, it has been reported. Premier Property Lawyers, JS Law, DC Law and Advantage Property Lawyers, which are part of the Simplify group, were hit by a “security incident” in early November. The incident is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation. The latest update on Simplify’s website states that “an ever-growing proportion of our conveyancing colleagues are back up and running on core systems and progressing transactions”. However, the Law Gazette has heard from individuals in transactions allegedly involving Premier Property Lawyers. 

The Law Society Gazette (16/12/2021)  

The Bank of England has announced plans to ease mortgage lending rules in a move that could help first-time buyers get on to the property ladder. The Bank's financial policy committee (FPC) said that it was "minded" to withdraw the rule that forces banks to check that potential borrowers could afford a 3 percentage-point rise in their mortgage interest rate above the lender's standard variable rate. Scrapping the requirement could help 1% of renters in Britain currently not able to meet the affordability test. A further 6% of mortgage borrowers would also have been able to secure a bigger loan if the rule had not been in place. The Bank said a rule limiting some new mortgages to 4.5 times a borrowers' income, as well as separate affordability criteria set by the Financial Conduct Authority, were sufficient to guard against excessive risks in the mortgage market. It will consult on the change in the first half of next year. 

Daily Mail (13/12/2022)   Financial Times (13/12/2022)   The Daily Telegraph (13/12/2022)   The Guardian (13/12/2022)  

Lenders are incentivising borrowers to make eco improvements to their homes with lower rates and cashback deals, while others offer an advance to fund works. But this approach could mean homeowners who cannot afford such changes instead pay higher mortgage costs. Not all borrowers will be able to take on more debt to increase their home's energy efficiency. Habito, a mortgage broker, has warned this reward system could lead to "eco privilege". Sarah Coles, of Hargreaves Lansdown, warned the policy favoured more affluent owners. She said: "This approach was always going to open up a gulf between those who can afford to make changes to improve energy efficiency and those who can't." 

The Daily Telegraph (11/12/2022)  

First-time buyers now pay an average price of £449,000 for a home in London, new statistics have revealed. Average prices in Q3 were down from £478,000 in the second quarter as the market cooled off from pandemic highs, according to the Office for National Statistics. The average advance in the last quarter was £309,339 while the average recorded income of borrowers was £84,646. Ten years ago, in the third quarter of 2011, first-time buyers paid an average of £318,000. Richard Dana, CEO and founder of Tembo Money, said the data “further reiterates that first-time buyers are still getting a raw deal." 

City AM (03/12/2021)  

House prices have recorded their biggest three-monthly growth since the property boom before the financial crisis, according to the Halifax, with the typical UK home now worth almost £273,000. The cost of a home increased by 3.4% on a rolling quarterly basis in November, according to the building society’s house price index, which was the strongest quarterly growth figure since late 2006. Between October and November alone, the cost of a home increased by 1% or around £2,700. Since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, and the UK first entering lockdown, house prices have risen by £33,816, which equates to £1,691 per month, Halifax said. House prices have increased by 8.2% or more than £20,000 since this time last year, as the hot housing market that started in summer 2020 refuses to cool. Halifax said the continued rise in house prices had been underpinned by a shortage of available properties on the market, which had increased demand for those that were available. 

Daily Mail (07/12/2021)