Latest Property News
The latest property news, covering house prices, affordability, HIPs and other residential property news:
September 8, 2008
The chief executive of HBOS, which owns Halifax, the UK's largest mortgage lender, has warned that house prices are unlikely to begin a recovery before 2010.
According to Andy Hornby, confidence in Britain's housing market will not return until banks can raise significant sums on the wholesale financial markets.
In addition, house price deflation could be stronger than that seen in the early ...
Housing market recovery 18 months away
by Gill Montia
September 5, 2008
Property search engine, Globrix, has reported that the majority of homes for sale in the UK have now been on the market for over 90 days.
The company's research has revealed that the proportion of properties unsold after 90 days has risen from 25% at the beginning of the year, to 53% in August.
The trend is likely to continue as ...
For sale for three months and more
by Gill Montia
September 4, 2008
Halifax has reported that UK house prices fell by 1.8% in August, compared to July, taking the annual decline to 10.9%.
The annual figure is based on a three month average; the actual difference in prices between August 2007 and 2008 was -12.7%.
According to the lender, the average cost of a UK home is now down to £174,178 having registered ...
Halifax tracks 10.9% annual fall in house prices
by Gill Montia
September 3, 2008
Government proposals to kick-start the housing market have prompted a warning from the Law Society.
The measures announced this week include help for families who are struggling with their mortgage repayments.
Those facing repossession may be eligible for a shared equity or shared ownership scheme, which would allow people to remain in their homes by selling part of their property and ...
Law Society warns on shared equity rescue scheme
by Gill Montia
September 2, 2008
The Government has announced that stamp duty is to be suspended on homes sold for below £175,000.
The move, which raises the threshold at which 1% stamp duty is paid from £125,000, could save homebuyers up to £1,750.
The concession comes alongside measures to help first-time buyers and homeowners struggling with mortgage repayments, unveiled earlier today.
The change is effective on residential ...
Stamp Duty suspended for purchases under £175,000
by Gill Montia
Government offers “free” loans to first-time buyers
by Gill Montia
September 1, 2008
Hometrack has reported that home sellers are accepting offers almost 10% below asking prices, to secure a sale.
According to the housing intelligence firm, sellers achieved an average 90.7% of their asking prices in August, down from 90.9% in July.
The figure is at its lowest since Hometrack began recording the proportion of asking price achieved, in 2001, and the firm ...
Homes sell at 10% below asking prices
by Gill Montia
August 29, 2008
The housing market slowdown has hardly been good news for property portal, Rightmove, as its share price reflects.
However, the company has just reported a 63% rise in pre-tax profit in the six months to the end of June, to £19.8 million.
Revenues for the period increased 49%, to £37.8 million, with both sales to new members and revenue per ...
Rightmove gains as home sellers gravitate to the net
by Gill Montia
August 28, 2008
Taylor Wimpey, the UK's biggest housebuilder, has reported a catastrophic slide in sales during the first half of the year.
Sales of the group's homes fell nearly 31%, to 8,494, during the six month to the end of June.
According to a report in The Times, the level of sales equates to half-a-house per week across the developer's sites.
At the same ...
Taylor Wimpey house sales plummet by one-third
by Gill Montia
House prices down 10.5%
by Gill Montia
August 27, 2008
The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) is demanding a review of Home Information Packs (Hips) because the slowdown in the housing market means that some of the packs are out of date before a property is sold.
The packs were intended to simplify and speed up the house selling process but the majority of estate agents opposed ...
Slow house sales put Hip searches out of date
by Gill Montia
August 26, 2008
According to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller survey of US national home prices, property prices in the US were down a record 15.4% in the second quarter of 2008 compared to the same quarter in 2007.
According to the report, the decline in house prices were nationwide indicating that the housing market downturn is continuing in America.
However, even though house prices are still ...
House prices in US continue to fall
by Kay Murchie
Fraudsters infiltrate housing associations
by Gill Montia
Halifax Estate Agents to close 53 branches
by Gill Montia
August 21, 2008
Housing developer, Persimmon, has reported a 30% fall in sales of new homes in the six months to the end of June.
The company sold 5,501 new homes during the period, down from 8,002 in the first half of 2007.
Blaming the UK's shrinking mortgage market for plummeting sales, Persimmon has also revealed that the average selling price of one of its ...
Persimmon’s sales plummet amid stamp duty confusion
by Gill Montia
HMRC admits to error in UK house sales figures
by Gill Montia
August 20, 2008
The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) is launching a website that will allow its 10,000 members to advertise properties at no charge.
The site should be up and running in October and aims to bring solace to a profession that has been hard hit by the credit crisis.
It may also provide strong competition for Rightmove, which charges customers up to £495 a ...
Estate Agents launch property website
by Gill Montia
August 15, 2008
Premium online property group, Simplyzigzag.com, has announced its expansion into the US market.
Simplyzigzag, which was launched in June this year, is to expand through two local partnerships in California and Florida - areas which are traditionally investment destinations for Britons seeking property overseas.
The group has formed a partnership with a leading independent real estate company, offering coastal properties in Orange County, Los ...
Simplyzigzag.com expands into US market
by Kay Murchie
August 14, 2008
The doom and gloom continues in the housing market today as housebuilder Bellway reported a 45% fall in reservations of its homes in the second half of the financial year, compared with the same period last year.
Bellway added that completed sales had dropped by 14% compared with last year as the mortgage squeeze meant that prospective buyers were unable ...
Bellway adds more gloom to property market
by Kay Murchie
August 12, 2008
Official figures show that a decline in the prices of flats has become a major factor in the housing market slowdown.
Between May and June, a 3.6% fall in the price of flats contributed to the price of the average home falling from £216,625 to £215,029, according to the Department for Local Government and Communities (DCLG).
Despite the slowdown in the housing market, ...
Flats contribute to housing slowdown
by Kay Murchie
