House Prices Flying

Sibley

Express Front Page..

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/401004/Cheap-mortgages-fuel-big-rise-in-house-prices


Cheap mortgages fuel big rise in house prices

HOUSE prices have hit a record high as confidence floods back to the market.





The feelgood factor is back for today’s homebuyers after years in the doldrums
The average home now goes on sale for nearly £250,000 following a 2.1 per cent rise of around £5,000 in the last month alone.
And, in the strongest start to a year for nearly a decade, values have risen by £20,852 – equivalent to £175 a day – with homes selling quicker than 12 months ago.
The new asking price high of £249,841 has been driven by cheaper mortgages and increased customer confidence, property analysts Rightmove will say today.
The firm’s director, Miles Shipside, said: “This is an indication of recovery in the housing market and recovery in the wider economy as a whole. It’s good news from that perspective.
“It’s great if you’ve got a decent deposit. Interest rates are historically low and there’s never been a better time to buy. This is also good news for homeowners. After several years where prices have been in the doldrums it’s reassuring for a lot of people to see property prices go up again.
“It gives a feelgood factor, and people tend to spend more money on the high street furnishing their homes when prices go up.”
The surge is led by sellers in London, the South-east and East Anglia, with typical homes in the capital more than twice as expensive as the national ­average at £509,870.
Lenders are loosening their purse strings in efforts to improve the quality of their future mortgage book by ­offering some tantalisingly cheap mortgage rates to those with decent deposits, courtesy of the £80billion Funding For Lending Scheme.
There are fixed rates from 2.34 per cent with a minimum 25 per cent ­deposit, and even interest-only ­options at 2.19 per cent for those with 50 per cent deposits.
The availability of cheap money is the key to driving positive sentiment with 84 per cent of respondents to the website’s latest consumer confidence survey stating that they felt prices would be the same or higher in 12 months time.
But the pent-up demand is still being frustrated by supply.
Rightmove has recorded three per cent fewer properties coming to market compared with the first five months of 2012.
This has helped exert the upwards price pressure.
Selling prices are the closest they have been to asking prices since 2010

Despite a new national record, it’s not ‘green shoots of recovery’ across the board, especially for the deposit-strapped mass market
Rightmove's director, Miles Shipside

Mr Shipside said: “The tumbling of records is being driven by the equity-rich generation with a definite southern bias, though agents in most parts of the country are reporting strong demand for well-priced and decent-quality stock.
“Despite a new national record, it’s not ‘green shoots of recovery’ across the board, especially for the deposit-strapped mass market. They must wait patiently until January when the government’s new Help To Buy scheme extends to the re-sale market.”
The average price of property coming to market has risen by 9.1 per cent – or £20,852 so far in 2013, the strongest start to a year since the 10.5 per cent recorded in 2004.
And the typical time on the market has fallen to 102 days, eight days less than in May last year.
In May 2009, when prices were severely under pressure, the typical time to sell stood at 184 days – 80 per cent longer than in the current climate.
Separate research by property website Zoopla last week also showed that selling prices are the closest they have been to asking prices since 2010.
The study showed that on average sales are now going through some 6.1 per cent below the amount demanded by sellers.
Doug Shephard, director at Home.co.uk said: “The time taken to sell property is an important indication of the real health of the local market. This vital signal provides estate agents, buyers and vendors alike an insight into the fluidity of local markets and their ability to drive transactions.
“The dynamic markets of London and the South-east continue to enjoy the shortest selling times, but it is ­encouraging to note that other areas of the country are seeing the largest falls.
“One cannot underestimate the boost to vendor confidence that is gained by taking three or four weeks off the selling time. In turn, this puts more pressure on the seller to commit to the purchase of their next home, and creates a positive impact throughout the entire property chain.”
Outside London and some southern hotspots Rightmove reports that buyers are willing to take their time to find their ideal home.
Mr Shipside added: “The recession appears to have precipitated a change in buyer behaviour which has left them more choosy and less willing to settle for second-best

Fella

Are you intending to buy a smaller house next time? Horrible news for everyone else.

chewmylegoff

Is that a picture of Sibley's house being launched out of the neighbourhood by his neighbours who have built an enormous catapult to get rid of him? I hope it doesn't land in the dodgy sink estate up the road.

TruckerT

Sibley wrote: »

The feelgood factor is back for today’s homebuyers after years in the doldrums.

“It gives a feelgood factor, and people tend to spend more money on the high street furnishing their homes when prices go up.”

The surge is led by sellers

Lenders are loosening their purse strings

(buyers) must wait patiently until January when the government’s new Help To Buy scheme extends to the re-sale market.”

Wot a lot a rubbish

TruckerT

Sibley

TruckerT wrote: »

Wot a lot a rubbish

TruckerT

Not me.

It's not bad but I never wrote it..

chewmylegoff

You sound like Ivan Dobsky, which isn't surprising as you should probably be locked up just like him.

Matt1977

When house prices go up (and private rents for that matter), society becomes a little poorer.

cepheus

The unsustainable wealth of the £1m household

A tenth of UK households now own at least £1m in assets. But the bubble will burst – and we'll emerge a more equal society

So why are house prices so high? It is not, as often suggested, because we have too few homes. Prices are high because a few have so much more money to spend than before. They buy a big house for a small family, or more than one home, and reduce what is available for everyone else.

Rising inflation will eat away at the wealth of the rich. Housing bubbles all burst, eventually, it is just that no one knows when the London crash will begin, but one day someone will calculate the cost of a square foot of land in Kensington and work out that even if it were tiled in gold it would not be worth this much. Then they will buy some gold instead of that apartment, and theirs will be the very first decision of many that will bring us a little nearer together again.At some point the bubble in "top-talent" salaries and bonuses will burst too. It did before, in the years after the 1929 crash, but it has been so long that we have forgotten such things are possible. We have also forgotten that the gap between rich and poor fell almost every year for a further 50 years after that last crash. Income and wealth inequalities narrow as well as rise.

gazzabboi

I can safely say house prices are beyond my reach. I earn about 25k a year. But refuse to get sucked in by help to buy etc. Once the 5 years interest free runs out on the loan and mortgage rates increase (which I guess they will in 5 years time), people will be in a mess

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

gazzabboi wrote: »

I can safely say house prices are beyond my reach. I earn about 25k a year. But refuse to get sucked in by help to buy etc. Once the 5 years interest free runs out on the loan and mortgage rates increase (which I guess they will in 5 years time), people will be in a mess

You don't expect to earn more in 5 years than you do today?

I've never gone 5 years without significant pay rises.

Percy1983

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

You don't expect to earn more in 5 years than you do today?

I've never gone 5 years without significant pay rises.

My day job has gone up 1% in 4 years, I have but other things in place so my income has gone up but I can says it possible many won't be earning more in 5 years, and many more won't be earning more in real terms.