News
27% of house purchases in 2012 over £250,000
22 March, 2013
New research out this week indicates that properties purchased which were valued at above £250,000, made up 27% of total transactions in 2012. Whilst the number of all home loans grew by 6%, mortgage applications for properties sold above £250,000 rose by 9% in 2012 compared to the previous year and up 28% since 2009… Read more »
Censeo welcomes new Help to Buy proposals outlined in today’s Budget
20 March, 2013
Censeo Financial welcomes Help to Buy as an extension of Government policy in helping purchasers to buy new homes. We understand the product is a combination of shared equity and government indemnity and look forward to reviewing the detail of the product in due course. More on the budget here – www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21851965
First time buyers paying an average of £175,000 to get on the property ladder
20 March, 2013
According to the Office for National Statistics, first time buyers are paying an average of £175,000 to get on the property ladder, an increase of 2% on the year before. Overall, house prices rose by 2.2% compared with the previous year. According to their latest report, this annual growth was driven by rises in London… Read more »
London’s largest housing associations investing £40m in London
19 March, 2013
A new report reveals that London’s largest housing associations invested £40 million directly in economic and community development programmes in 2011/12. As a result, around 87,000 people in London are now benefiting from the investment in 840 economic and community development projects. The report claimed most of this investment was focussed in economically deprived areas, helping… Read more »
Chancellor urged to boost housing in this week’s Budget
18 March, 2013
The Confederatin of British Industry (CBI) has urged the Chancellor to boost the housing market in this week’s Budget. They believe that it is critical to the economy, offering both social and economic benefit. Among the announcements they want to hear are measures to benefit first and second-time buyers, support for householders refurbishing homes and for… Read more »
Home Builders Federation – planning approvals and house sales rise
15 March, 2013
According to the Home Builders Federation, local authorities approved an increasing number of residential planning applications in the last quarter of 2012. Figures released by the HBF show that 51,000 residential units were approved across Great Britain during the fourth quarter of last year, an increase of 61% against the same period in 2011. The private… Read more »
Rightmove – Second-time buyers are now the ‘squeezed middle’ of the property market
14 March, 2013
According to Rightmove, almost half of people buying for the second time are finding it difficult to accommodate the needs of their family while they have to spend a long wait on the bottom rung of the UK housing ladder. Their latest buyers’ survey reveals that 40% of so called ‘second-steppers’ are worried that their… Read more »
Halifax partners with 50th builder on NewBuy scheme
13 March, 2013
It was announced this week that Halifax has reached a major milestone with the news that they have signed up their 50th house builder partner as part of their support for the Government’s NewBuy scheme. These 50 house builders represent a total of 69 individual builder brands. As one of the leading lenders on NewBuy,… Read more »
First time buyer activity hits four year high – Connells
12 March, 2013
First time buyer numbers have risen to their highest level for four year, according to a new report by estate agency Connells. The Housing Marketing Activity Report by Connells Survey & Valuation also revealed that valuation activity hit a twelve month peak in February. The number of residential valuations conducted by Connells in February showed… Read more »
Report highlights first major wave of council building programmes for a generation
11 March, 2013
A new report out later this week shows that English councils will build up to 25,000 new homes in the next five years. As a result of the end of the housing revenue account subsidy, which allowed local authorities in England to keep rental income rather than pay it into a centralised pot, there is… Read more »