A report today by the Halifax claims that UK house prices increased by 0.6% in July, contradicting last month's report from the company which showed a 0.6% fall in June, which would appear to be at odds with the vast majority of reports issued over the last week. It is proving ever more difficult to forecast the short-term direction of the UK property market at a time when investors, the authorities and mortgage providers are looking for signs of hope.
As the UK property market remains volatile with various forecasts suggesting an increase over the next four years and others suggesting a potential fall of 25%, it would appear that more and more people are now looking towards the rental market. Landlords in the UK are reporting that not only is demand remaining fairly steady but in fact 35% have seen an increase in demand over the last six months. Is this a change in the fundamentals of the UK market?
Amid signs that the demand for UK property is bubbling below the surface, there is growing concern that UK banks are holding back the UK property sector. Despite the fact that there are now around 66% more mortgage arrangements available than at the start of the year, these financial arrangements are not within the grasp of many first-time buyers. So what is happening in the UK mortgage market?
Property giant Hammerson has today issued a statement in relation to the worldwide, as specifically the UK, property market with a suggestion that we are not yet "out of the woods". The company owns a raft of leading shopping malls and while the retail sector is on the whole still struggling, those companies which have come through the worst of the recession are now beginning to see the light.
The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) recently released its view on the UK property market which would appear to be in direct conflict with a number of downbeat statements issued by other economic bodies last week. The CEBR believes that UK property prices will rise by around 4% this year and continue to increase until the end of 2014 due in essence to the short supply of properties on the market.
It has today been revealed, via the Nationwide property survey, but UK house prices fell by 0.5% in July bringing the annual rate of house price inflation down from 8.7% last month to 6.6% to the year ended July. The cost of a property in the UK has now fallen to around £170,000 and there are some doomsday predictions in the marketplace regarding the UK property market in the medium term.
While the National Institute of Economic Research has today issued a report regarding the UK property sector, with a forecast that house prices will fall by 8% in real terms by 2015, this is not the worst forecast currently in the marketplace!
Despite the fact that house prices in England and Wales have increased each month for the last eight months, and are in fact 8.4% higher than a year ago, they are only now back to levels seen some four years ago in August 2006. This was 12 months before the credit crisis struck home and perfectly illustrates how the UK property market, and indeed the worldwide property market, suffered during the aftermath of the credit crunch and the worldwide recession.
The average cost of a property in England and Wales fell by 0.1% during July to £158,700 with buyers deciding to sit on the sidelines for the time being. At a when time estate agents have reported a 1.3% drop in the number of new buyers showing interest in properties there has been a 3.6% increase in the number of properties for sale. As a consequence, many experts believe that downward pressure on the UK property market will continue for some time and prices could fall further in the short to medium term.
The National Landlords Association has this week issued a statement regarding rent arrears in the UK rental market. While there is still a significant number of tenants owing rent arrears, with a figure of around 20% quoted by the association for the second quarter of 2010, this is well down on the 24.5% during the first quarter of 2010. So is this a turning point for the UK property market?
