Government plans could cut a third or more off thousands of house prices

geneer

Guess what? Middle england doesn't like it.


http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ianmcowie/100012144/government-plans-could-cut-a-third-or-more-off-thousands-of-house-prices/

Thousands of house prices could fall by a third or more if Coalition Government proposals to change planning rules in favour of developers become law, knocking hundreds of thousands of pounds off some of the most desirable homes in the green belt.
Many estate agents are reluctant to discuss this potential domestic disaster because they are linked to building and development companies who stand to gain if given a free hand to brick over the fields and meadows that make England such a green and pleasant land.
But David Pardoe, a director of Chesterton Humberts’ rural division in Salisbury, was among those willing to speak out. He told me: “It is the larger and higher value country houses that will suffer the most if developers are given the go ahead to build in green belt and other protected areas, as it could jeopardize three of the factors by which a country house is valued; its privacy levels, the views it has, and its proximity to other properties.
“If a substantial country house were to lose its picturesque country views, it could be decreased in value by at least 30pc, depending on the desirability of its location. Generally, the higher value the property is, the higher the percentage decrease could be.”
Similarly, Charles Ellingworth, founder of home search agents, Property Vision, said: “If you have a good house that has its view ruined, you would be looking at a 30pc to 40pc devaluation.
“But I don’t think England is going to disappear under a sea of concrete. It will not be like Ireland, where there is a little bungalow every half a mile along the road. The Government is proposing to loosen the reins on planning consent; not remove them altogether.”
The green belt – including other areas where building is currently restricted – covers more than an eighth of England’s land mass, so hundreds of thousands of homes are potentially affected by proposals in the Draft National Planning Policy (DNPP). Even if most escape unscathed and retain delightful views, that may be small comfort to householders in areas that are built up.
David Kempster, director of property search experts SearchFlow said: “In the case of mortgage borrowers with high loans to value, it’s perfectly possible that large building schemes could land existing homeowners in negative equity.
“According to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), The three towns outside London which have seen the largest increase in new home building since 2008 are Basingstoke, Milton Keynes and Corby. In these towns, prices over the last four years have fallen by 9pc, 10pc and nearly 13pc respectively, compared to the national average price fall in that period of less than 7pc.”
Hopes that the green belt might be excluded from planning relaxation were dashed by a House of Commons Library report which notes that the section of the DNPP setting out the legal presumption in favour of development makes “no mention of the green belt”.
The DNPP tells councils to “plan positively for new development, and approve all individual proposals wherever possible”. The Government argues that more homes must be built to accommodate Britain’s rising population. But the National Trust and the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England oppose the rule change, not least because it could destroy one of the reasons so many people from all over the world want to live here.
The Daily Telegraph has launched the Hands Off Our Land campaign to urge ministers to think again. You can have your say by emailing us here or writing to DT Letters, 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W ODT.

Batchy

Oh dear... I better sell my dream house, so I can lose some money on it, and buy a cheaper dream house.

It doesnt matter does it geener, at the end of the day houses as investments are a byproduct of the fact we all need somewhere to live.

Cheaper it is to buy new house development means I can use my massive cash savings ive made buying over renting to buy up more properties going forward... super duper...

This is basically a cheaper way to develop and make your pension work for you. Since no FTBers will be buying up land and developing it, and getting planning permission only those with mega dollar behind them, and all it means is they will make a lot of money a lot faster.

Regardless of where prices are, there are winners and losers, and all you have to make sure is you are a winner, not the fact your right!! lol

wotsthat

“According to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), The three towns outside London which have seen the largest increase in new home building since 2008 are Basingstoke, Milton Keynes and Corby. In these towns, prices over the last four years have fallen by 9pc, 10pc and nearly 13pc respectively, compared to the national average price fall in that period of less than 7pc.”

That's scary. Well it is if you don't understand rudimentary maths or don't realise that Corby is quite an unpleasant place.

FTBFun

wotsthat wrote: »

That's scary. Well it is if you don't understand rudimentary maths or don't realise that Corby is quite an unpleasant place.

Basingstoke isn't much cop either. I'm from a much nicer place a little further south, oddly leafy Hampshire isn't all leafy (in Basingstoke its, er, concrety).

wotsthat

FTBFun wrote: »

Basingstoke isn't much cop either. I'm from a much nicer place a little further south, oddly leafy Hampshire isn't all leafy (in Basingstoke its, er, concrety).

So there have been bigger than average price falls in Basingstoke and Corby.

I wonder if there's a link between how horrid a place is and relative price falls? No that can't be - Milton Keynes is a delightful place.

It must as Geneer says then and something to do with these mysterious government plans.

dtsazza

FTBFun wrote: »

Basingstoke isn't much cop either.

Let's be fair - it's a whole new shopping experience! Basingstoke, it's a whole new way of li-i-iiife...

(I did grow up there, and it's very dull in a safe, middle-class, respectable-but-not-great schools sort of way.)