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Em Morley

Remortgaging on the up due to rate war

Published On: May 14, 2015 at 9:23 am

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Categories: Landlord News

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As the mortgage price wars continue, a new report has indicated that one in six homeowners will consider remortgaging their property during the next six months.

Nottingham Building Society suggest that homeowners are looking for average savings of £99 per month, which adds up to around £1,200 per year.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ (CML) recent figures show that remortgaging lending was up by 15% month on month. Industry experts suggest that there will be a continued increase in remortgaging on the back of a number of five year fixed-rate deals falling below 2%

Seeking Stability

Research from the CML indicates that many homeowners considering remortgaging their homes are looking for a fixed-rate deal. The study suggests that 12% would want more than a five-year deal. Only 7% of those asked would choose to be on a tracker rates, while another 7% said they would think about a standard variable rate. [1]

Fixed term, five-year deals proved to be the most popular choice for people wanting to remortgage, with 27% of potential customers saying that this was their preferred option. 21% said they would opt for a two-year deal.[2]

Remortgaging on the up due to rate war

Remortgaging on the up due to rate war

Taking Advantage

Ian Gibbons, Senior Mortgage Broking Manager at Nottingham Mortgage Services, believes that the ongoing mortgage competition can only be a good thing for the market. Gibbons said that, ‘the mortgage price war is interesting to existing homeowners who are keen to take advantage of the record low rates.’ He continued by saying that, ‘with interest rates expected to rise in the coming years, then now could well be the right time for many to consider whether there are savings to be had.’[3]

Mr Gibbons suggests that, ‘potentially, savings are higher than the average £99 a month people are looking for. Someone with a £150,000 mortgage who moved from a deal at 4% to one at 2% could be around £3,000 better off.’ He warns however that, ‘to secure the best remortgage deal it is important to look at more than the base rate. You need to search the whole market and to be aware of the product fees that may be charged. A great rate won’t save you much if you have to pay a high fee.’[4]

[1-4] http://www.financialreporter.co.uk/mortgages/one-in-six-consider-remortgaging-as-rate-cuts-continue.html?utm_content=buffer24e9b&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

 

New Housing Minister Announced

Published On: May 13, 2015 at 4:42 pm

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Categories: Landlord News

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New Housing Minister Announced

New Housing Minister Announced

Mark Francois, MP for Rayleigh and Wickford, has been named the new housing minister, replacing Brandon Lewis.

The first week of the new Conservative Government has seen a huge rearrangement of the cabinet.

Mr. Francois, 50, was previously the Minister of State for the Armed Forces under the coalition government.

The Daily Telegraph described Francois as “a bit of an animal”1 in 2009 due to his love of Peperoni. The company used this slogan in an advertising campaign.

1 http://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/5/mark-francois-named-as-new-housing-minister

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chinese investors to target UK market

Published On: May 13, 2015 at 4:16 pm

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Categories: Landlord News

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The Conservative election victory has seemed to please most landlords, agents and potential buyers within the property market. In addition, the news has seemingly given more foreign investors the confidence to invest within the UK market.

Buying China

Experts have suggested that wealthy Chinese investors will be the next foreign nationals to spend heavily in the British market. Paul Welsh, founder of Largemortgageloans.com suggests that China’s struggling economy, combined with further initiatives from the UK government, could see increased investment from the far-east in coming years.

‘China and Chinese investors coming to the UK is the next big thing, ‘said Welsh, ‘the British Government has been wooing big business and high net worth individuals in the country in a big way.’ ‘If you also take into account China’s flagging economy and a potentially unstable political environment, London is seen as a safe haven for foreign money. It’s an escape and access to a European passport,’ he continued.[1]

Welsh added that, following the election outcome, ‘we will see a lot of action a the result of pent up demand for property in the £1m-plus bracket.’[2]

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Super prime market shift?

Previously, investors from Russia and the Middle Eastern have dominated the so-called, ‘super prime’ market, with as many as one in five high-value properties in certain parts of London and the South East sold to foreign nationals.

Welsh believes that Chinese investors worth anywhere in between £200m to £1bn could be targeting the British market. Largemortgageloans.com stated that they saw a 1, 150% increase in traffic from China to it’s website between February and March. This figure is expected to grow.

Additionally, Welsh thinks that house prices will grow overall following the Conservative’s election victory. He commented that because of the result, ‘people will be able to buy and invest with confidence. We will see another five years of house price growth, aided by the removal of the threat of a mansion tax, pension reforms and non-dom rules staying the same.’[3]

[1-3] http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/chinese-investors-set-pile-into-uk-property-following-david-cameron-election-victory-1500768

 

Demand in central London hotspots up 6%

Published On: May 13, 2015 at 2:57 pm

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Categories: Property News

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New research suggests that demand for property in hotly sought after central London locations has risen by 6% since February.

Data from the latest property hotspots index from online estate agent eMoov suggests areas such as Islington and Chiswick are experiencing the most demand. eMoov construct their index by assessing demand for property with a cost of £2m or more in 16 prime London locations. The total number of properties sold are then compared to those still on the market.

Fluctuating Demand

The findings indicate that Chiswick has seen a remarkable 54% increase in property demand in the last two months, with Islington also recording a sizeable rise of 30%. Other notable increases occurred in Belgravia (22%), Knightsbridge (21%) and Mayfair (8%).[1]

However, it was not such an encouraging period for Primrose Hill, St John’s Wood or Fitzrovia, with demand down 71%, 36% and 30% respectively. Demand was also down by 24% in Holland Park and 16% in Kensington.[2]

Additionally, despite demand rising by 6% overall, demand in almost half of the central London areas assessed fell by 44%.[3]

Demand in central London hotspots up 6%

Demand in central London hotspots up 6%

Encouragement

Included within the report is a notion that now that the threat of a mansion tax has been dispelled with a Tory election victory, wealthy buyers will be tempted back into the market. Since the publication of the latest index, high-value properties within central London listed with either Zoopla or Right Move have already risen by 5%, driven by continued trade in Chiswick, amongst other areas.

Russell Quirk, chief executive of eMoov, believes that election uncertainty caused a temporary freeze within the top-value market in the capital. However, Quirk stated that eMoov are, ‘already aware of a significant increase in buyer activity since the election,’ and it is, ‘most likely this is going to translate into a more buoyant picture in the months to come.’[4]

[1-4] http://www.propertywire.com/news/europe/london-property-hot-spots-2015051310501.html

 

 

London Home Earns Owners £130 an Hour

Published On: May 13, 2015 at 1:21 pm

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Categories: Finance News

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A terraced home in London earns its owners £130 an hour due to spiralling property prices in the last decade.

The house was bought for £3.32m in 2006 and is now on the market for £13m, making a profit of almost £10m.

The property is situated near Holland Park, Kensington, which is one of the most expensive places to buy a home in the UK. It is not far from the shops and museums in the surrounding area.

The government of the Canadian state of Quebec currently owns the home in Ilchester Place and use it for diplomats living in London. It was purchased in October 2006 and is now marketed by estate agent John D Wood & Co.

If it sold for the asking price of £13m, it will have made the state £9.68m, which works out at around £130 for every hour they have owned the house.

This property has seen the impact of the price boom in central London over the last few years. In 2014, the average home in London increased in value by 17.4%.

The prime central London housing market has also been boosted in the past week after the Conservatives’ victory in the general election. Buyers have streamed into the market with the knowledge that they will not be hit by a mansion tax.

The location of the property is also home to celebrities such as the Beckhams, Robbie Williams and Jimmy Page.

The house has eight bedrooms, four bathrooms, two cloakrooms and three storage rooms. Buyers will also enjoy the drawing room, dining room, study, breakfast room and pantry.

However, although the property has a huge price tag, new residents will need to conduct updating work, says the estate agent. Apparently the home has planning permission to increase its floor space by 30%.

The house has a garden at the front and back and boasts two patio areas.

 

 

Asking prices for UK property rise again

Published On: May 13, 2015 at 12:42 pm

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Categories: Property News

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Despite perceived market uncertainty due to the general election, a latest index report has indicated that asking prices for property in the UK actually rose during the last month.

According to data from Home.co.uk, average property prices across England, Scotland and Wales increased over the previous month, suggesting continuing confidence in the housing market.

Growth

Information from the report shows that there was even a small growth in lacklustre regions such as the North West and the North East, both up by 0.6%. On average, the asking price of houses in England and Wales rose by 0.8% during the last month.[1]

A Tory victory brought more encouragement to the housing market, particularly for first-time buyers, who will be buoyed by the continued Help to Buy scheme and the promised Help to Buy ISA, scheduled for the Autumn. In addition, the extension of the Right to Buy scheme to housing association members, alongside increased home building, has also raised confidence.

Encouragingly, the data showed that supply of property for sale is up by 8% across the UK, in comparison to one year ago. The East of England was found to be the fastest moving market over the last year, with the average time a house spent on the market down by 15%.[2]

Asking prices for UK property rise again

Asking prices for UK property rise again

Improved year

Doug Shephard, Director of Home.co.uk believes that this year has started extremely positively, commenting, ‘2015 is already looking like a more sensible and sustainable year for the UK property market.’ He continued by suggesting that,’ confidence is growing in the northern regions and the London market has managed to exit a period of frenzied growth without a major catastrophe.’[3]

Shephard believes that, ‘now we have the election out of the way, much uncertainty in the market has evaporated. Moreover, property prices are rising at a far more sustainable rate than we witnessed last year.’[4]

He also indicated that he feels that the buy-to-let market in particular was grow at a substantial rate, with no threat of Labour induced rent caps. Additionally, Shephard feels that 2015 and 2016 will be steadier for the property market, with steady price increases, more mortgages available and quicker sales.

[1-4] http://www.propertywire.com/news/europe/uk-property-asking-prices-2015051310499.html