Archive for the ‘UK-House-Sales’ Category
Friday, May 21st, 2010
The new coalition government of the UK have decided enough is enough and suspended use of the Home Information Packs (HIPs) by home sellers.
There was a lot of skepticism when the HIPs were made law back in 2007. It was very confusing as on the one hand you had home sellers paying upfront several hundred pounds for these Home Information Packs with no guarantee of being able to sell their home; whilst on the other hand potential property buyers ended up gathering the same information to satisfy the requirements of their mortgage lender. It appears that common sense has now prevailed.
So what next for the UK housing market? Well, it means that sellers don’t have to pay upfront for these packs and it enables them to test the market without this extra cost. The National Association of Estate Agents are happy with the decision; however the biggest beneficiaries should be the private house sale websites. It should be encouraging news not only the existing property listing websites, but also potential new entrants to the arena giving consumers a wider range of choice something that has been championed of late by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). It may also allow potential house sellers to try out an alternative approach to the traditional estate agents.
The hope is that the removal of the HIPs will not only get rid of needless red tape bureaucracy, but will now help to kick-start the housing market.
Tags: HIPs, HIPs abolished, Home Information Packs, home sellers, kickstart the housing market, mortgage lender, private house sale, private house sale websites, property buyers, property listing, property listing websites, removal of HIPs, UK housing market
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Wednesday, April 14th, 2010
There have been a few UK property surveys out of late which have either shown the most exclusive and expensive property addresses or the cheapest streets to live in Britain.
Does the fact a property can be purchased in a cheap street mean it is a real bargain or does it mean you get what you pay for? It really depends on what you are looking for when buying a house or flat. There are many factors to consider when you are purchase UK residential property. Your own scoring measures will influence whether purchasing a property in one of the cheapest streets in the United Kingdom is a shrewd move. The criteria will be different whatever your situation with many factors to consider when purchasing UK property. Looking at the other extreme do the most expensive street addresses in the UK offer real value for money? Again it comes back to what the decisive factors are for assessing potential property purchases.
The surveys that show the cheapest and expensive addresses do provide a useful insight into the disparities in UK property prices. In terms of criteria when searching for houses or flats to buy in the UK your list could include employment levels and opportunities, the standard of educational facilities, transport links and other public services such as hospitals. However, this is by no means an exhaustive list to take into account when considering the purchase of property. Everyone will have a differing view on what is more important when considering the purchase or rental of UK property.
Tags: assessing potential property purchase, buying a flat, buying a house, cheap street, cheapest streets, employment levels and opportunities, expensive addresses, expensive property addresses, expensive street addresses, public services, purchasing a property, rental of UK property, scoring measures, standard of educational facilities, transport links, UK property prices, UK property surveys, UK Residential Property, United Kingdom
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Thursday, February 4th, 2010
There have been mixed results in the UK housing market for 2009. Rentals held firm in a number of the UK regions. So looking ahead to the future is UK Buy to Let still seen as a shrewd investment?
Recent surveys show that confidence amongst prospective tenants is rising. Where many potential UK tenants postponed moving out of the parental home last year because of the credit crunch and uncertainty; it appears that the mode is more positive going into 2010. More of these individuals are now considering making the leap and are keen to find property to rent in the UK. It’s not only this group of people who are looking to make the move, those who have historically chosen to house share in the UK are now considering setting up home on their own; whether this is as a first time buyer or just wanting their own UK rental pad.
So based on this data, is confidence returning to the UK Buy to Let property sector? Many commentators would suggest that investing in UK property is still seen as secure. The UK house price crash still hasn’t happened. Some analysts expected a huge drop given the economic climate in 2009. However, there has been little sign of any panic sales. So are we in for more growth? It’s incredibly hard to predict what will happen in 2010. There are many factors to take into account. So if you are considering a UK Buy to Let purchase you will need to do your research thoroughly.
Tags: economic climate, find property to rent in the UK, first time buyer, house share, parental home, Uk buy to let, UK housing market, UK property, UK rental pad, UK tenants
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Thursday, January 21st, 2010
Do the recent upbeat figures reported by Persimmon and more recently Bovis mean that the UK housing market sector is starting to turn the corner?
Bovis believe that their pretax profit will meet their expectations. Persimmon has also managed to reduce its debt during 2009 and also saw more completions on property during the latter half of the year. The Property Analysts are finding it hard to predict what 2010 will bring for UK house prices, some predicting a modest increase whilst others think it will dip slightly. It’s a hard one to call. There are a lot of dependencies. To get the market going again there needs to be more flexibility in the mortgage market to allow access to more deals. Most people wanting to buy UK property now understand they require a larger deposit, however it is still not putting them off buying. Not only this, but there are other factors namely unemployment. If it rises too much then it could force prices downwards.
However, probably the biggest unknown will be the winner of the 2010 UK General Election. Each party have their own ideas to keep the momentum not only in the overall UK economy, but also specific housing market policies. It will be interesting to see whether Home Information Packs (HIPs), seen by some commentators as one of the causes of a stagnant market, remain in place by the end of 2010.
Tags: buy UK property, HIPs, Home Information Packs, property analysts, UK house prices, UK housebuilders, UK housing market sector
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