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UK house prices will not match low inflation until 2021, according to new research by Reuters. The continuing Brexit malaise will cause prices to fall 1.5% in London this year, Reuters said. Elsewhere in the UK, house prices are predicted to rise 1% this year, 1.5 % next year and 2.3% in 2021, according to the poll of 27 property market analysts. Meanwhile, inflation is forecast to be 1.9%, 1.9% and 2% respectively. “Even if a Brexit deal is implemented soon, we expect to see only a small improvement in housing market transactions and house price growth over the next two years,” said Hansen Lu at Capital Economics.
City AM (20/11/2019) Daily Mail (20/11/2019)
Figures from UK Finance show there were 29,100 new first-time buyer mortgages completed in September, a 1.6% increase on September 2018. The number of home movers was also up year-on-year, climbing 1.8%, but these were outnumbered by those taking their first step onto the property ladder, with 50 more first-timers than movers. The data also shows that 5,500 new buy-to-let home purchase mortgages were completed in September, a dip of 3.5% on the same month a year ago. September saw 17,740 new remortgages with additional borrowing, a 5.9% rise, while re-mortgages with no additional borrowing were up 8% on September 2018, with 19,140 completed. Former Rics chairman Jeremy Leaf said: “It is good to see more first-time buyer mortgages completed, showing how this group are continuing to take the place of buy-to-let landlords”. A separate report found that almost half of adults in the UK are unaware that there are schemes to help first-time buyers get onto the housing ladder – and only one in five people can name any of the three main schemes. Research from Trussle also found that fewer than one in 10 of us find the Help to Buy Equity Loan, Shared Ownership and the Lifetime ISA easy to understand. And it warns that thousands eligible are set to miss out on the benefits of the Help to Buy ISA, which closes for applications at the end of the month, simply because they didn't know it existed.
The Times (19/11/2019) Daily Mail (19/11/2019) The Independent (15/11/2019)
Vertus has unveiled the first of three apartment buildings being developed by the build-to-rent operator for Canary Wharf Group. The apartments will be available to rent early next year, and will start from £1,950 per month. Alastair Mullens, head of Vertus, comments: “As a new residential landlord for Canary Wharf, Vertus will provide a fantastic experience for those who rent with Vertus, with varied facilities, an exciting events programme and 24/7 concierge, all this without the commitment of buying.”
Property Wire (12/11/2019)
Galliard Homes is set to develop a £140m luxury residential and retail development above Tottenham Court Road’s Crossrail station. Tottenham Court Road West (TCRW) will include 92 flats – with prices for a studio apartment starting at £899,000 – and 9,939 sq ft of ground-floor retail space. The scheme is expected to take 30 months to build and to open in summer 2022. Galliard Homes chief executive Don O’Sullivan said: “TCRW will provide world-class apartments in an unrivalled location off Oxford Street in the heart of London’s West End. Galliard’s new apartment buildings are integrated with the Crossrail interchange offering residents easy access to London Heathrow, Canary Wharf and locations such as Bond Street and Liverpool Street.”
Evening Standard (12/11/2019) City AM (12/11/2019
UK house prices will go up by an average of £35,000 in the next five years, according to Savills. However, data from the estate agent suggested there will be large fluctuations across the country. The average value of a home in Britain is expected to rise 15.3%, but in some areas the increase will be as high as 24%, which is the case for the North West whilst in other parts of the country, such as in Greater London, they will rise by just 4%. The rises are forecast as concerns over the current political and economic uncertainty begin to subside. Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, commented: “We anticipate a continuation of trends seen historically, where London and the South East underperform markets in the Midlands and North. This appears to have begun in 2016, coinciding with the referendum, when London hit up against the limits of affordability.”
The Daily Telegraph (14/11/2019) The Times (14/11/2019)
Mortgage rates have hit record lows as the prospect of a Bank of England rate cut reared its head this week. With the election and Brexit uncertainty giving buyers cold feet, banks have entered into a “cut-throat” price war to lure customers. Three lenders – Halifax, Santander and Virgin Money – are offering five-year fixed mortgage rates at below 1.5%, according to Moneyfacts. However, Rachel Springall, a finance expert at Moneyfacts, warned: “The lowest rate mortgage may not always offer the best overall value though because it will depend on how much someone is looking to borrow.”
The Mail on Sunday (10/11/2019)