Property News

Monday, May 21, 2007

London house prices still on the rise

According to the latest property figures from Knight Frank, London house prices have continued to boom.

Prices of the best properties in central London have risen by over 33% in the 12 months to the end of April 2007. This is the fastest rate of growth since mid 1979 and means that prices in central London are now rising at three times the rate seen in the wider UK market. The most expensive properties have seen the fastest rate of growth, with prices in Belgravia and Knightsbridge rising in excess of 40% over the 12 month period.

Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank pointed out that "London's traditional spring market rush starts earlier and earlier every year, for the past two years the season has opened in December rather than March, and has run on well into May. The early part of 2007 saw an incredibly active market, with price growth totalling nearly 11.9% in the first quarter."

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

RICS: housing market still strong

Today, The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has reported that house prices are still growing strong.

In its housing survey released today, it reveals that prices rose for the eighteenth consecutive month in April, with 28.9% more chartered surveyors reporting a rise than a fall in house prices, up from 26.9% in March. According to the RICS: "The pace of increase remains above the long run average of 21.6% indicating that the housing market is still in rude health."

Again, the survey showed that London and the South East had provided much of the added impetus for prices nationwide.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Six-year high for interest rates

Today, interest rates have hit a six-year high of 5.5%.

The Bank of England said that while inflation, currently at 3.1%, would probably fall back toward the 2% target this year, capacity constraints and rising pricing power of companies meant risks to the inflation forecast were skewed to the upside.

"Higher interest rates will squeeze family budgets tighter. There are no short-term prospects of costs going down and it's now the time for people to have a good hard look at their finances and draw up a proper budget for the future," said Angela Knight, chief executive of the British Bankers' Association

Some analysts are are predicting a further rise next month.

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Millions may need to remortgage

According to research by by moneysupermarket.com, another interest rate rise tomorrow could mean that up to seven million people will be forced to remortgage their homes.

Another rate rise is expected on Thursday, which will stretch already struggling homeowners. Of those surveyed by the comparison website, 27 percent said they would have to remortgage their home if a rate rise led to a payment increase of 100 pounds per month. But 2.6 million people will be forced to remortgage if their repayments went up by just 50 pounds.

Louise Cumming, head of mortgages at moneysupermarket.com, said: "The looming rate rise is of grave concern. We feel it could be even half a per cent rise which will drive an alarming number of people into financial difficulty. Anyone finding it difficult to make their mortgage repayments already or who think they might after the next rate rise should try to remortgage to a better deal before Thursday."

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Property prices still on the rise in London

The latest data from Haart estate agents reveals that the average London house price increased again in April, rising 0.6% to £264,636 up from £262,989 in March.

The rise is the ninth consecutive monthly increase. The number of properties entering the market is up 20% on last month. Paul Smith, chief executive of Haart commented: “Confidence in the market remains high despite expectations of a further interest rate rise at the beginning of May. With increasing numbers of sellers putting their property on the market to beat the introduction of Home Information Packs on 1 June, the supply and demand imbalance has been slightly addressed, giving buyers more choice."

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Mortgage lending down in March

The latest report from The Bank of England shows that new mortgage lending has fallen slightly during March. This could be an indication that the recent interest rate rises have started to take affect.

The value of new home loans totalled £9.9bn in March down on the previous month's adjusted £10bn figure. A total of 111,000 new mortgages were approved in March, the lowest level for a year, down from 117,000 in February.

Next week, the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee will meet to decide on yet another interest rate rise. It is widely predicted by analysts that they will raise the level of UK interest rates.

Recent housing market surveys have shown prices rises moderating, but not in London and Northern Ireland.