Property News Round up
Signs of recovery in mortgage lending and property prices read on for more detail....
UK HOUSING MARKET STRENGTHENS
The UK housing market remained in a strong position in July compared to the previous year, despite the traditional summer dip in activity.
July and August are traditionally some of the lower points of the year for estate agents – yet the average agent sold nine properties last month, according to new figures from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA).
That is compared to six the same time last year, and ten in June 2009.
More encouraging is that 22% of last month’s sales were made to first-time buyers.
The NAEA’s July market report also revealed that the number of house hunters is increasing – with 100 more people registering to look for property with each agent than at the same time last year.
On average, an agent had 292 house hunters registered in July, compared to 192 in July 2008 and 290 in June 2009.
Supply of houses remains low this year, with 59 properties available at each branch. This means that there are five registered house hunters for every property available.
NAEA President Gary Smith, said: “Estate agents expect a drop in activity over the summer months, but there is no doubt that the market is in a considerably stronger position than a year ago.
“Agents sold more in July than in any month last year. That is concrete evidence that the housing market, while not recovered, has potentially been through the worst.”
Source: Property Talk Live
Sticking to your guns
Catherine Deshayes
More than a third of homeowners (35 per cent) are not prepared to drop their asking price in order to achieve a sale, as consumer confidence in the housing market continues to grow…
Comparatively, only one in 10 would offer full asking price on the property they are looking to buy (12 per cent), according to new figures from The Co-operative Bank Mortgages.
There are several signs, however, of a more positive outlook to the current market, with with 54 per cent of people becoming more optimistic about the housing market recently and 29 per cent stating that this optimism has started within the last month.
The Co-op found that house sellers from Scotland are most likely to hold out for the full asking price (40 per cent).
By comparison, people from the East Midlands are the most likely to accept a lower asking price, with only 30 per cent of sellers in the region not prepared to negotiate on the asking price.
John Hughes, director of retail banking for The Co-operative Bank, said: “With much speculation about green shoots of recovery in the housing market, the findings do indicate that consumer optimism is starting to return, although there clearly still remains some way to go.”
Loan approvals soaring
Catherine Deshayes
According to the Bank of England, the number of mortgages approved during July rose to its highest level since April 2008 and represented the sixth consecutive month that approvals rose…
According to the Bank, the number of mortgages approved grew to 50,123 in July compared with 47,891 the previous month.
However, while July’s figure is a 53% rise on the number of loans approved in July 2008, the figure fell short of analysts forecasts of 51,000, and is still well below levels seen at the peak of the housing boom two years ago.
In the meantime, there was a slight rise in the number of people remortgaging, with approvals increasing to 35,206 during the month, according to the Bank of England.
Last week, the British Bankers’ Association said mortgage approvals had reached a 17-month high in July.
Furthermore, the Land Registry reported a rise in house prices in England and Wales. The organisation compiles its data from completed transactions and therefore lags behind other monitors of the housing market but is seen as the most authoritative.
It said house prices rose by 1.7% in July compared with June – the largest amount in five years and takes the annual fall in prices to 11.7% in July, easing from the 13.8% in June.
Source: www.homemove.co.uk
NAEA: UK market will ‘emerge stronger’
Catherine Deshayes
The number of homes for sale went up for the first time in four months during August, raising hopes the sector can recover sooner and more strongly than expected.
The average estate agent had 64 properties on their books during the traditionally slow month, up from 59 in July and the first rise since April, said the National Association of Estate Agents.
The group said the increase was due to previously registered buyers finding properties they were interested in and putting their own homes on the market.
The NAEA had previously warned that any recovery could be held back by a shortage of homes for sale. Some economists warned that the surge of homes onto the market could counteract recent price rises in the sector.
FTB increase
Data also showed that the number of house-hunters registering with estate agents in August dropped to 238, down from 292 in July.
There was also a dip in the average number of sales made per branch – an average of 7.6 in August, down from 8.6 in July.
The number of first-time buyers who were actively looking in the market also rose during August, with this group accounting for 36% of all agreed sales, up from 22% in July.
Gary Smith, president of the NAEA, said: “August always sees a dip in activity, regardless of the wider economic picture, and we believe that indications are that the UK housing market could emerge stronger and more quickly than previously considered possible.”