UK House prices: News & Views

[littledavesab]

Look, I am engaged in a search for the Truth here - since the Mainstream media is so full of spin.

 

Hi yes move the thread it will be easier to find in the other section

 

 

PS is it me or is are we in the earlyish stages of another mega tech boom rally - a point which has maybe gone unnoticed during the search for Spock ?

[littledavesab]

A fascinating example of the hyphenated compound successfully deployed in rhetorical invective.

I bet you enjoyed writing that!

[John Doe]

Hi yes move the thread it will be easier to find in the other section

 

 

PS is it me or is are we in the earlyish stages of another mega tech boom rally - a point which has maybe gone unnoticed during the search for Spock ?

 

The hi-tech sector certainly seems to be grabbing all our half decent students/PhDs over the last year or two.

[Vicarious]

House builders have shot up on the back on the budget.

[John Doe]

House builders have shot up on the back on the budget.

 

Yep. Another budget to help the house builders.

[drbubb]

House builders have shot up on the back on the budget.

 

And there's More to come, I reckon

 

BDEV / Barratt Developments ... update

 

 

The weak currency is helping too: FXB-chart

[John Doe]

And there's More to come, I reckon

 

House builders love this budget. Calling it a game changer.

[BoldAsBrass]

I just had a wander over to the old HPC site. Haven't been for a few years now - wow, they are still at it. The Masked Tulip has over 30,000 posts (think it was him), loads of them have over 10,000 posts.

 

The mind boggles. They still think, TEN YEARS ON, that a house price crash is about to happen. Just a matter of waiting .... a matter of timing.

 

If they'd bought back in 2002 they'd be getting on for half way through a repayment mortgage by now.

 

It took me 7 years to admit to realise that my decision to STR in 2003, although I earnt some money as a result of renting and having money in the bank earning twice the rent, was no longer a good idea. I'm glad I bought 2 years ago. Looks like this latest nonsense is going to, at least, stabilise the market. There are almost no new builds around here.

[Jake]

The market can stay irrational for longer than you can stay solvent.

[drbubb]

London drives yearly UK house price growth of 2.2pc

Telegraph.co.uk-19 Mar 2013

Monthly movements can be volatile and the ONS said house price growth remains “relatively stable” across most of the UK. House prices are ...

 

UK property market prices rise but still cheaper to buy than rent

 

The Sun-19 Mar 2013

But along with rising house prices, rents are also on the up — meaning in most places it's still cheaper to buy a home than rent one.

. . .

 

Budget 2013: House price bubble fears as 600000 homeowners to ...

• Telegraph.co.uk-20 Mar 2013
  The new help-to-buy scheme for those struggling to find mortgage deposits will see the Government take equity stakes in new-build homes, ...
  
• 
  
  

The new help-to-buy scheme for those struggling to find mortgage deposits will see the Government take equity stakes in new-build homes, or underwrite the cost of their mortgages if they want to move house.

 

Official figures suggested that around 200,000 people a year will be benefit from the schemes, although several campaigners and lobby groups warned that they could create another unsustainable housing bubble.

 

Chancellor George Osborne told MPs he wanted to help people "who can't turn to their parents for a contribution" to buy a new home.

 

The two schemes will be available to anyone who wants to buy a home worth less than £600,000.

 

Under the equity loan scheme, which is open to people looking to buy new build properties and runs for three years from April 1, a buyer need only offer to put in a 5 per cent deposit.

 

The Government will lend up to 20 per cent of the property’s value through a loan, leaving the buyer having to find a 75 per cent mortgage to fund the purchase.

== ==

 

 

Is it stupid, or just reckless??

Why does the government want to add this extra pressure to the London bubble?

[charlie]

Well well well. In the 1980s, the Conservative wheeze was Right to Buy. In the 2010s, Obsorne can do better. Not Right to Buy. More like Right to Default. LOL.

 

I predicted this, sort of, on this board in March 2010.....

 

QUOTE

 

I expect mortgage debts in the UK to be systematically inflated away, or written down, or extended, or laws changed to make repossession much, much harder. I expect larger further transfers of wealth from savers to the over-borrowed.

 

The political calculus is that the marginal voter in the UK is over-borrowed. Any real debt distress of the marginal voter will lead to "solutions": inflation, mandatory write-downs of every mortgage, extensions, etc etc.

 

 

 

Orginal post: http://www.greenener...120#entry159360

 

 

If the taxpayer wants give me an interest-free loan of 20% of the cost of a new-build, OK, I'll buy a new-build. Not intended for second homes, the Treasury says. But there's clearly going to be lots of wriggle room - see Osborne's refusal today to deny that second homes may qualify.

 

Sorry, first-time buyers. But don't blame me. I don't make the rules..

[drbubb]

Well well well. In the 1980s, the Conservative wheeze was Right to Buy. In the 2010s, Obsorne can do better. Not Right to Buy. More like Right to Default. LOL.

 

Yeah: Right to Default, or maybe Right to Speculate (using govt money)

 

This is bad policy.

It will not make property more affordable to more people, it will only make it more expensive.

[tinecu]

You know the game has turned farce when you see titles like this:

 

"Budget 2013: Gov sees housing market growth key to recovery"

 

http://www.home.co.uk/guides/news/story.htm?budget_2013_gov_sees_housing_market_growth_key_to_recovery

 

It might as well say "Gov thinks the cart will pull the horse"

[G0ldfinger]

It looks pretty darn crashy to me. In terms of confetti, of course, we can't properly assess the valuation question.

 

http://gold.approximity.com/since2006/UK_House_Prices_RPI-adj.html

[drbubb]

BUILDERS STOCKS are Running... and it looks like they have more running room

 

PSN / Persimmon ... update

 

 

BDEV / Barratt Dev'l ... update

 

 

And the brokers are celebrating a possible resurgence in UK Home prices

 

THE MARKET

Last month was all about whether or not we had witnessed the green shoots of a housing market recovery. Since then, the good news has continued to emerge.

 

When the Funding for Lending Scheme was first launched by the government to encourage banks to lend money, many commentators were unsure how successful it would be. At first, it appeared only to be helping house buyers with a decent deposit and not those at the opposite end of the spectrum who needed it most. Since the end of last year, this has begun to change. The scheme is now starting to deliver reductions in the cost of borrowing across the board. For the first time, this includes first time buyers. It will be interesting to see what effect this has on the market over the next few months. In theory, it should increase the volume of house sales and their prices. However, there will almost certainly be a time lag between better access to mortgage finance and completed sales. An early indicator of increased market activity can be seen in the latest figures from The NAEA (National Association of Estate Agents). According to them, their members are reporting the highest number of new buyer registrations since the last housing boom.

 

 

BUY-TO-LET

Statistics show us that despite recent improvements in mortgage rates for first time buyers (FTBs), home ownership is still a distant dream for many in the rental sector. Only 22% of private renters expect to take their first steps into the housing market within two years, down from 29% in 2008 (Nationwide survey). Overall home ownership has dropped from 70.9% in 2003 to 65.3% in 2012. And, in the past, FTBs typically bought their first property when they were between 25-34 years old, but in the last ten years, the number of them still in the rental sector has risen from 40% to 57%.

 

In other news, is there a tax cut on the cards for buy to let landlords? George Osborne raised Capital Gains Tax rates from 18% to 28% in 2010, but is understood to be listening to claims by the influential Adam Smith Institute that it is too high.

===

/more: http://www.property-...inkworthwestend

[drbubb]

London house prices reach record high

 

The Times (subscription) - ‎16 hours ago‎

 

House prices in London hit a record high this month, defying a more sombre mood in much of the rest of the country, according to the Nationwide building society.

[drbubb]

(see above - on Record prices) ... QUESTION: Why does this market need stimulus ??

[Jake]

Support the house prices AT ALL COSTS. When it goes down the whole UK edifice will implode.

[Jake]

Support the house prices AT ALL COSTS. When it goes down the whole UK edifice will implode.

[cranberryDog46]

does it need stimulus because it's a weak market, high prices but low volume?

[John Doe]

does it need stimulus because it's a weak market, high prices but low volume?

 

If, for example, they were about to announce a massive home building program, then they'd need to stimulate to stop the inevitable falls of existing stock.

 

The bank system can't afford a further drop of more than 5 or maybe 10% (assuming they'll have to mark to market again one day )

 

In my happy little dream, this is what they will do. More houses, more affordable, more people being able to spend their money in the real economy, instead of via interest to the banks. Ah happy thoughts

[John Doe]

Interesting read...

 

 

 

 

The biggest surprise in George Osborne’s Budget was the announcement of a huge expansion of mortgage credit. This was clearly designed to portray the Tories as continuing the work of Margaret Thatcher. It is, after all, a well-known fact that the British are peculiarly obsessed with home ownership, while everyone else rents. And it is another equally well-known fact that Mrs Thatcher, who won three elections, did so on the back of an unprecedented rise in home ownership.

 

 

Both facts are well-known – and both are utterly wrong. In 2000, the UK came 11th out of 20 countries in home ownership rates in an EU survey. Another study in 2004 put the UK as a mid-level country in terms of owner-occupation. Since then, home ownership in the UK has declined quite steeply, so it is likely that we are now close to the bottom of the table.

 

 

The entire British economy became built around servicing ever-rising housing costs. By early 2008, another £20 billion each month went on mortgage lending, while of the £10 billion lent for corporate “investment”, much was tied up in property speculation. At least 66 per cent of our lending was going to a large lending bubble. The real figure was probably more than 80 per cent.

 

And for years we built too few homes. In the 1960s we built 360,000 new homes a year. In the 2000s we built 160,000 a year, many of which were small flats. Last year we started construction on 100,000 new homes. So rents have continued to rise pretty consistently, even during the continuing recession.

 

 

http://www.telegraph...ing-market.html

 

Are the mainstreram press finally catching up?

[Perishabull]

My god, how I laughed when I read this - not at the misfortune of the people involved but just the sheer black comedy of the situation which has been completely missed by the Daily Mail.

 

Dailymail.com;

 

 

 

"The Alzheimer's gran 'betrayed by her bank': Widow, 80, faces losing home after being handed a £470,000 mortgage she couldn’t repay

 

Irene Rose Hearn, then 74, was granted a £470,000 interest-only mortgage

 

She was only able to afford it with the help of her son Rodger

 

Her Alzheimer's set in just three years after she got the mortgage

 

Santander has now applied to repossess the home of the widow

 

 

A bank has applied to repossess the home of an 80-year-old Alzheimer’s sufferer after giving her a mortgage she could not hope to repay.

 

Just seven months before the credit crunch struck, Irene Rose Hearn, then 74, was allowed to take out a £470,000 interest-only five-year mortgage by the Abbey National.

 

Experts say it would be ‘virtually impossible’ for Mrs Hearn to take out such a loan in today’s more prudent lending climate.

 

Mrs Hearn, a widow with 13 grandchildren, had been hoping to repay the loan by selling the house because, at the time, property prices were rising and the economy was booming.

 

But the financial crisis means she is unable to pay it back by selling up as the £675,000 house has plunged £200,000 in value. She is now facing a court battle to keep the family home.

 

In 2006, three years before her family say her Alzheimer’s set in, Mrs Hearn, a retired property developer, agreed to pay a monthly mortgage bill of £493 even though she could afford it only with help from her son Rodger, 58.

 

But when this deal ended, she was put on a new repayment loan arrangement by Santander, which took over Abbey, and was told she had to pay £4,219 a month.

 

Unable to make the repayments on her £594-a-month pension, she fell into debt and was taken to court by the bank, which won a repossession order on the house, which her son arranged to have built for her.

 

The family are challenging the court decision, but may lose the detached four-bedroom house in the exclusive area of Lilliput in Poole, Dorset, near the millionaires’ playground of Sandbanks.

 

Her son, also a property developer, said: ‘This is appalling behaviour by a bank. Santander messed up by giving her the wrong mortgage and are now saying they want their money back.

 

 

Irene was granted the mortgage by the Abbey National just three years before her Alzheimer's set in

 

‘So they forced a mortgage on her that she simply could not afford so that they could repossess the house and get some of their money back.

 

How could any bank force a ten-year repayment mortgage on an 80-year-old? It’s madness to think she could afford to pay £4,000-a-month. She’s retired.’

 

The heartbreaking case comes just before a damning investigation by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) is expected to reveal the full scale of the interest-only mortgage scandal, which some experts fear could be the next mis-selling debacle.

 

Around 40 per cent of homeowners who have a mortgage have an interest-only loan, which means they only pay the interest every month, but not a penny of the actual loan.

 

In recent months, some of Britain’s biggest mortgage lenders, such as the Nationwide, Co-Op, HSBC, RBS, have all stopped selling these controversial types of mortgage.

 

Santander now insists on a 50per cent deposit to secure an interest-only loan" etc etc

 

 

http://www.dailymail...dn-t-repay.html

 

 

 

This sounds like a flip gone wrong.

[drbubb]

 

[John Doe]

 

 

Not exactly a fair comparison. Asking prices in London, Vs approved mortgages for whole UK