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Nationwide has reported a fall in UK house prices last month, with demand declining before the end of the stamp duty holiday on 31 March. Figures from the building society show that the average price of a house was down 0.3% to £229,748 between December and January, while the annual growth rate eased to 6.4% from 7.3%. Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner commented: “To a large extent, the slowdown probably reflects a tapering of demand ahead of the end of the stamp duty holiday, which prompted many people considering a house move to bring forward their purchase. While the stamp duty holiday is not due to expire until the end of March, activity would be expected to weaken well before that, given that the purchase process typically takes several months”.
The Guardian (02/02/2021) Financial Times (02/02/2021) The Daily Telegraph (02/02/2021) City AM (02/02/2021)
While pandemic has disproportionately hit younger potential homeowners, it has also accelerated a surge in million-pound first-time buyers, with the share of such purchasers doubling in 2020. One in 50 British first-time buyers spent £1m or more on their property in 2020, according to Hamptons International– double the 2019 share. All of the 10 local authorities with the highest share of million-spending first-time buyers were in the south of England. Overall in 2020, the average first-time buyer in Britain spent £253,700, £33,410 more than in 2019, and a year-on-year jump of 15% - more than double the 7.3% annual house price growth rate recorded in December. Hamptons suggested that low mortgage rates and a new desire for space, combined with concerned parents, a temporary tax break and a trend to move less often to avoid costs, mean those who can still afford to buy are paying far more money.
The Daily Telegraph (30/01/2021)
Writing in the Times, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has revealed plans to give local communities the power to set design standards for all new housing developments. The aim is to improve the look and quality of housing, with developers obliged to adhere to the character of the areas where they are built. Any planning proposal that does not meet the new criteria will be automatically rejected by councils. The Government is publishing a draft national design code which provides a checklist of design principles that councils should consider for new developments. Local residents must be consulted, and they will be supported by a new national Office for Place.
The Times (30/01/2021) The Daily Telegraph (30/01/2021) Daily Mirror (30/01/2021) The Sun (30/01/2021)
First-time buyers require “eye-watering” deposits to get themselves on the housing ladders, according to Barclays, as there are only a handful of 95% loan-to-value mortgages currently on the market - compared with almost 400 a year ago. The bank suggests that one way around the problem is through the Help to Buy scheme. However, Help to Buy loans are available only on newbuild houses. Because of this, "the current shortage of high [loan-to-value] mortgages is likely to drive first-time buyers to the new-build market", according to Gavin Jago, a real estate analyst at Barclays.
The Times (03/02/2021)
London’s first-time buyers have brushed off soaring house prices and COVID uncertainty, according to new research from Halifax. The capital’s first-time buyer figured dipped 6% in 2020 as the housing market was closed for months during the first national lockdown. However, the slump was the lowest in the capital compared to the rest of the UK – despite London having the highest house prices in the country. In total, the number of first-time buyers across the UK slipped 13%, with Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland suffering the biggest drops of 23%, 23% and 21% respectively. Transactions bounced back strongly in the second half of the year, rising from 121,000 in the first six months of 2020 to 183,607 in the remainder of 2020. The number of first-time buyers in the second half of 2020 was down just 2% compared to the previous year's levels.
City AM (25/01/2021) The Times (25/01/2021) Daily Mail (25/01/2021)
"Second-steppers" will be hit hardest when the stamp duty holiday comes to an end, research has found, as new figures show that Treasury coffers were boosted despite the tax break. Savills data showed that homeowners in the most expensive parts of the country who are trying to move up the housing ladder will lose out most when the holiday ends on March 31st. House prices have risen faster for terraced houses than flats, which are proxies for second-steppers and first-time buyers respectively.
The Daily Telegraph (23/01/2021)