Docklands News

Homeowners who rushed to buy properties before the COVID stamp duty holiday expired are facing moving on to sharply higher mortgage rates. Data from UK Finance show that 6,220 fixed-rate deals of up to two years were taken out in September 2021, just before the tax break introduced to bolster the property market during the coronavirus pandemic was fully withdrawn. Yet mortgage rates have soared in the past two years, meaning these borrowers face a steep jump in repayments. UK Finance says a total of about 800,000 fixed-rate deals are due to expire in the second half of this year. Martin Stewart, the founder of London Money, the mortgage broker, said there would be a “wave of wake-up calls regarding the new mortgage pricing landscape”. 

Daily Mail (15/04/2023)   The Times (15/04/2023)  

According to new data, the number of available homes for sale has reached a 27-month high. Many individuals postponed their relocation plans due to a surge in mortgage rates, which reached levels not seen in 14 years, and a decline in house prices towards the end of the previous year. However, the latest figures from Propertymark, which represents over 18,000 estate agents, suggest that the housing market is rebounding. Estate agents had an average of 35 homes for sale per branch in March, the highest since January 2021. In contrast, a year ago, they had only 20 properties available for purchase per branch. Estate agents report that the number of sales being agreed is now in line with the average number agreed before the pandemic in 2019. Propertymark also notes a 21% increase in house viewings in March compared to February and a one-third increase in the average number of new buyers registering per branch since the start of the year. 

Daily Mail (18/04/2023)  

Tower Hamlets Council has given permission for Criterion Capital's 30-storey residential tower in east London, after architect Carey Jones Chapman Tolcher (CJCT) added a second staircase. Just east of Canary Wharf and north of Poplar dock basin, the development will contain 169 one, two and three-bed homes, of which 52 will be affordable, across a three-part building bordered by Aspen Way and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) tracks. The original single-staircase design raised concern from the Health & Safety Executive. The addition of a second set of stairs within the central core came after the start of a government consultation on compulsory second staircases for tall buildings last December. Planning officers said they were impressed by the 'biodiversity-led' landscaping plans for the space underneath the DLR line, which include 'native woodland-style planting, wildflower meadows and species-rich lawns'.

Architects' Journal (11/04/2023)  

Halifax has revealed that the average UK house price increased by 0.8% month on month in March to £287,880, which followed rises of 0.2% and 1.2% in January and February. The increase defied economists’ expectations of a 0.3% fall. However, the annual rate of house price growth eased to 1.6% in March, its weakest level in more than three years. Kim Kinnaird, director of Halifax Mortgages, said the market had been helped by the easing in borrowing costs since the “sudden spike” in November and December which was caused by the chaos following the disastrous mini-budget of Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng. Kinnaird said that “overall these latest figures continue to suggest relative stability in the housing market at the start of 2023”. She added there had been a “partial recovery in activity and transactions, especially when compared to the significant drops seen at the end of last year, with latest Bank of England data showing mortgage approvals rising for the first time in six months”. 

Financial Times (07/04/2023)   The Guardian (07/04/2023)   The Independent (07/04/2023)   The Times (07/04/2023)  

Data from analyst TwentyCi shows that sales of new-build properties fell by 24% year-on-year in February, while sales for second hand homes were down 18%. Experts noted that many new-builds are geared toward first-time buyers, who are heavily reliant on mortgages as they have smaller deposits. Moneyfacts data shows that the average two-year fixed mortgage rate has nearly doubled from 2.85% to 5.35% in the past year. The Help to Buy scheme has also ended, making it harder for first-time buyers with small deposits to buy.

The Daily Telegraph (12/04/2023)  

Mortgage holders who have come to the end of their deal recently have faced a tough choice: lock in to a more expensive fix or wait it out on a variable rate in the hope that the Bank of England's base rate will fall. A growing number of borrowers are choosing to gamble, and some are now paying variable interest rates of up to 8.85%. “The rationale seems to be that borrowers will move to a fixed rate in a few months because they hope that fixed rates will start to reduce,” said Charles Roe from UK Finance. “Taking a punt on Bank rate falling later this year is not for the faint-hearted if you are paying the lender's standard variable rate,” said Graham Cox from the Bristol-based broker Self Employed Mortgage Hub.“Inflation could fall sharply, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the Bank rate will.” 

The Times (11/04/2023)