The Land Registry has today issued a report suggesting that UK house prices increased by 0.3% in August which was around half of the rise seen in July. According to the report the average home in England and Wales is now valued at £167,423 with annual growth falling from 6.8% in July to 6.7% in August. These figures on the surface appear to be very much at odds with recent property reports suggesting UK prices have fallen but there is a reason for this.
Paragon, one of the major buy to let mortgage providers in the UK, has confirmed the signing of a £200 million funding arrangement with Macquarie Bank which will see the company become more prominent in the buy to let mortgage market again. Despite the fact that Paragon has always had a long-term outlook on debt and mortgage funding it was forced to effectively going to "hibernation" during the UK economic downturn when the property market and in particular the buy to let market suffered from a lack of interest and a lack of funding. So what does this mean for the UK buy to let market?
A report by Hometrack has today cast a very downbeat light on the UK property sector with news that the average price of a property in the UK fell by 0.4% in September to £157,600. While this in itself is obviously a concern for investors and homeowners it is the fact that prices are falling in every area of the UK, even London, which is more concerning!
As if the UK property sector was not under enough pressure, today saw news that the number of mortgage approvals in August fell dramatically compared to the same period last year. A number of experts now believe that UK property prices could fall between 10% and 15% over the next 12 months which would be a nightmare scenario for many in the UK.
A report by the Council of Mortgage Lenders has highlighted the challenges facing younger people in the UK who want to acquire their own property. The report suggests that 88% of those surveyed aged between 18 and 24 would like to acquire their own property within next 10 years but only 42% believe that this will be possible over the next two years. This perfectly reflects what is a difficult marketplace with mortgage finance near impossible for some first-time buyers to obtain.
While on the face of it there would seem to be an increase in competition within the UK mortgage market there is also no doubt that first-time buyers are still significantly handicapped when applying for mortgage funding. Despite promises to the contrary, the amount of money required as a deposit on any property purchase is now well in excess of 20% and has increased significantly over the last few months.
In line with the rest of the UK, it is being reported by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors that estate agents in Wales have seen property prices soften. Apparently a flood of properties to the market is placing more pressure on the Welsh property market with 30% more members of the Royal Institute seeing property prices falling rather than increasing.
Estate agents in the UK have turned dramatically gloomy on the UK market with the latest survey from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors showing that a balance of 32% more estate agents saw a reduction in prices in August compared to those who saw arise. This is the highest reading from this particular survey since May 2009 and comes amid suggestions that UK property sellers may well need to reduce their prices by up to 10%.
Tenants up-and-down the UK have this week been warned of potential landlord scams by the housing charity Shelter. It seems that up to a million people in the UK could already have fallen victim to landlord scams which could see deposits retained, excessive fees for work, unlimited guarantees given instead of deposits and one of the most alarming scams which involves crooks break into empty properties and "renting them" as their own.
Despite the fact there is doom and gloom around the UK property sector the Halifax house price survey for August showed an increase of 0.2% across the UK at a time when many were expecting prices to fall. However, it has to be said that the 0.2% increase does not compare well against the 0.7% increase in July but it does show that UK house prices are "holding their own" at the moment.
