Number Of People Buying Homes Jumps 29%

chucky

quite an unexpected jump in the number of loans...

The number of mortgages taken out by people buying a home jumped by 29% during March, the Council of Mortgage Lenders has said.

A total of 31,000 mortgages were advanced during the month for people buying a property - up from 24,000 in February.

However the figure is still 33% lower than March last year, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said.

There was also a steep rise in the number of people buying their first home, with 12,500 first-time buyers taking out a mortgage during the month.

These account for 40% of all loans, the highest proportion since April 2005.

this is the most interesting bit - who was it that keeps on saying that First Time Buyers couldn't afford or were staying out of the market?

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/Council-of-Mortgage-Lenders-Announces-29-Rise-In-People-Buying-Homes-In-March/Article/200905215281656?lpos=Business_Carousel_Region_4&lid=ARTICLE_15281656_Council_of_Mortgage_Lenders_Announces_29%25_Rise_In_People_Buying_Homes_In_March

inspector_monkfish

i guess they have had a few extra months to save up their deposits...

mbga9pgf

Doesnt help that the FTB figures includes 20% of peeps that arent first time buyers. That was in the boom years. Whats to bet that ratio has increased since most FTBs dont have 2 shillings to rub together?

dopester

chucky wrote: »

A total of 31,000 mortgages were advanced during the month for people buying a property - up from 24,000 in February.

Halifax reported -1.9% fall in house prices for March 2009, the day after Nationwide said prices rose +0.9% for March.

Maybe Nationwide was kicking-up the extra money in mortgage lending for prices to rise. House prices can only rise when buyers pay higher prices than similar properties sold for the month previously.

Halifax didn't report any rise in values for April 2009 either (-1.7%), nor Nationwide (-0.4%)

Mini_Bear

Does this take into consideration the number selling, ie how many people are selling houses and then going in2 rented or housing assoc properties? Or selling to those hideous firms on a sale and lease back agreement. This headline really needs to be picked at.

lostinrates

chucky wrote: »

with 12,500 first-time buyers taking out a mortgage during the month.

These account for 40% of all loans, the highest proportion since April 2005.

this is the most interesting bit - who was it that keeps on saying that First Time Buyers couldn't afford or were staying out of the market?

Maybe it was the FTB who can buy now for the first time since 2005?

Lotys of us can afford to buy, some of us are still wary, some just can't find the right place, still.:o

chucky

dopester wrote: »

Halifax reported -1.9% fall in house prices for March 2009, the day after Nationwide said prices rose +0.9% for March.

Maybe Nationwide was kicking-up the extra money in mortgage lending for prices to rise. House prices can only rise when buyers pay higher prices than similar properties sold for the month previously.

Halifax didn't report any rise in values for April 2009 either (-1.7%), nor Nationwide (-0.4%)

too much focus is placed on the Halifax and Nationwide average house prices - they cover less than 30% of the mortgage market.

they're also quite regional in client base so they both may be quoting accurate figures as some areas are stabilising and increasing in price.

this is also one months mortgage approvals and doesn't tell us too much.

chucky

lostinrates wrote: »

Maybe it was the FTB who can buy now for the first time since 2005?

Lotys of us can afford to buy, some of us are still wary, some just can't find the right place, still.:o

according to the CML we have the lowest mortgage costs since 2004 so that also helps.

i'm not sure how they get to this but i would have thought that they would have to take and average from SVR, Fixed or tracker rates.

Thrugelmir

A total of 31,000 mortgages were advanced during the month for people buying a property - up from 24,000 in February .
However the figure is still 33% lower than March last year, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said.
There was also a steep rise in the number of people buying their first home, with 12,500 first-time buyers taking out a mortgage during the month.
These account for 40% of all loans, the highest proportion since April 2005.

So reading between the lines. After April 2005 FTB's were driven away as they couldn't compete with BTL investors. Illustrates the extent of the bubble that self perpetuated. As BTL investors were competing with each other to buy property.

IveSeenTheLight

dopester wrote: »

Halifax didn't report any rise in values for April 2009 either (-1.7%), nor Nationwide (-0.4%)

Your confusing yourself or trying to confuse others dopester.
The percentages you quote are seasonally adjusted indexs, nothing to do with actual values

If you look at the Nationwide reports, you'll see that prices actually rose for the last two months, just not by as much as the seasonal adjust thought it should have.

Feb 2009 = £147,746
Mar 2009 = £150,946
Apr 2009 = £151,861

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/hpi/historical/mar_2009.pdf

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/hpi/historical/apr_2009.pdf

ad9898_3

I think all these figures say is, vendors are going from the delusional stage to the realisation that there house is no longer worth anything like the value of 2007, the evidence ?, the figures are up by 29%, yet house prices are continuing to fall.

It seems like the stalemate is coming to an end. Want to buy a house now ??, look at peak prices for the area or street, knock 25% off and put your offer in, if it's refused try another house (hundreds to choose from, because guess what, there is no shortage), eventually you gauranteed to get something 25-30% off peak. There are loads in my area where the asking price is 15% down, and we all know, according to Rightmove that the average selling price is 12% less than the asking price.

Of course, for me, I'd just sooner wait for more falls.