Latest Property News | Warwick Estate Agents

Details: Published: 18 September 2024; Hits: 8634

While economic forecasters are predicting fair weather for the property sector this Autumn, there is still one big cloud on the horizon – The Budget.

What the Labour leadership has described as a ‘painful’ fiscal event is due to take place on October 30^th and it’s a constant reminder that into each life, a little rain must fall.

The August rate cut combined with hopes of another to come (probably in November) sparked a revival in both seller and buyer confidence.

And Rightmove’s latest House Price Index appeared to reflect this showing the average price of a house coming up for sale increasing by 0.8% this month – which is an annual rise of 1.2%.

The portal also says that estate agents’ stock hit a 10-year high as the ‘usually busier’ Autumn market got underway earlier than normal after the August holiday lull.

In fact, the good news has been coming thick and fast in recent weeks as wage increases have outpaced inflation and transaction numbers have started ticking over nicely.

After a long period in which the sector has had to prove its resilience against a backdrop of higher rates and a cost-of-living crisis, the latest round of stats have come as a blessed relief.

Going for growth

But then we remember the prospect of a highly-flagged gloom-laden Budget. The spectre at the feast.

It’s certainly true that fears over tax hikes could mean the champagne is kept on ice for a while.

With pledges that income tax, national insurance and corporation tax won’t be candidates for increases, commentators believe that Chancellor Rachel Reeves may have set her sights on Capital Gains Tax, Inheritance tax and even Stamp Duty.

All of these taxes could impact property sales or timing of property sales in one way or another.

And, of course, although the signs are certainly there that the market is picking up, the truth is that affordability is still very much an issue for many first-time buyers who are having to dig deeper paying higher rents while at the same time trying to save for deposits.

This government was elected on a ‘going for growth’ ticket and much of that growth is dependent on building more homes – 1.5m of them by the end of this Parliament.

There’s a long road ahead, but taking a backward step now would be disastrous. The government has said it wants more home ownership and therefore, more affordable homes.

The market is doing its thing – bouncing back after some tough times. The best thing Rachel Reeves could do now is to get out of the way and leave us to get on with it.

Details: Published: 11 September 2024; Hits: 1116

House prices increased by 0.3% in August, following a rise of 0.9% in July, with the typical property now costing £292,505.

These figures are from the Halifax.

Annual growth has risen to 4.3%, the strongest rate since November 2022, but this is due in large part to the comparison with weaker growth this time last year.

Amanda Bryden, Head of Mortgages at Halifax, says: “Recent price rises build on a largely positive summer for the UK housing market. Prospective homebuyers are feeling more confident thanks to easing interest rates.

“That optimism is reflected in the latest mortgage approval figures, now at their highest level in almost two years.

“Such has been the resilience of house prices that the average property is now just £1,000 shy of the record high set in June 2022 (£293,507). While this is welcome news for existing homeowners, affordability remains a significant challenge for many potential buyers still adjusting to higher mortgage costs.

“However with market activity picking up and the possibility of further interest rate reductions to come, we expect house prices to continue their modest growth through the remainder of this year.”

Northern Ireland continues to record the strongest property price growth of any nation or region in the UK, rising by 9.8% on an annual basis in August. The average price of a property in Northern Ireland is now £201,043.

House prices in Wales also recorded strong growth, up 5.5%, compared to the previous year, with properties now costing an average of £224,433.

Scotland saw a more modest rise in house prices, where a typical property now costs £205,144, 1.7% more than the year before.

The North West once again recorded the strongest house price growth of any region in England, up by 4.0% over the last year, to sit at £232,917.

London continues to have the most expensive property prices in the UK, now averaging £536,056, up 1.5% compared to last year.

Details: Published: 11 September 2024; Hits: 1064

The Government has confirmed plans to ban no-fault evictions and in-contract rent increases as it prepares to present the Renters’ Rights Bill to Parliament today.

The Bill will abolish Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions for new and existing tenancies and will also end blanket bans for those on benefits or with children.

An announcement this morning from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said the Bill will extend Awaab’s Law into the private rented sector, letting tenants challenge dangerous conditions and it will also apply the Decent Home Standard for rentals.

Landlords will also not be able to include mid-tenancy increases in contracts and would only be able to raise the rent once a year, and to the market rate.  

The update confirmed rumours of a ban on rental bidding wars.

Landlords and letting agents will be legally required to publish an asking rent for their property. They will also be banned from asking for, encouraging, or accepting any bids above this price

The announcement said a new Private Rented Sector Database will also be created to help landlords understand their obligations for compliance and provide tenants the information they need to make informed choices for new tenancies. It will also enable councils to focus enforcement where it is needed most.

Earlier this week, the Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook met with landlord and tenant groups and committed to engaging with them as the Bill progresses, to ensure the sector is ready for the changes.

Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said: “Renters have been let down for too long and too many are stuck in disgraceful conditions, powerless to act because of the threat of a retaliatory eviction hanging over them.

“Most landlords act in a responsible way but a small number of unscrupulous ones are tarnishing the reputation of the whole sector by making the most of the housing crisis and forcing tenants into bidding wars.

“There can be no more dither and delay. We must overhaul renting and rebalance the relationship between tenant and landlord. This Bill will do just that and tenants can be reassured this Government will protect them.”

Details: Published: 19 August 2024; Hits: 889

A prominent rental market analyst is warning that elements of the reform legislation proposed by Labour “are casting dark shadows” over the lettings sector, with few landlords likely to sleep easy at possible threats to their investments. Doug Shephard, director of the Home website - a listings platform that also conducts respected monthly market analyses for the lettings and sales sectors - says the new government’s upcoming Renters Rights Bill may prove to be final straw for many landlords.

He cites the possibility of Metro Mayors - all but one of which are Labour - acting as guinea pigs for the introduction of some forms of rent controls, as well as the provisions of the Bill itself, covering restrictions on evictions, stronger redress rights for tenants and encouraging more pets in rental properties. Shepherd writes in the latest monthly report: “Activists’ calls for rent controls and an end to contractual tenure are casting dark shadows over the future of both the sales and rental markets. Too many landlords are already selling up, fearful that either they won’t be able to set the rent required to cover their costs or they’ll be forced to join expensive licensing schemes or both.” He fears this will add to the long term crisis in the lettings sector - a continuing excess of demand over supply. He points out that across Britain in August 2019, 96,000 properties were available for rent: this month, August 2024, the figure is just 66,000, representing a drop of 31%. As a consequence, rents have risen progressively but Home believes the current rate of rental growth across the country as a whole is being dragged down by the particularly sluggish performance of London.

The website says the annualised national growth figure for asking rents is just 1.1%. While Wales continues to lead the regional growth table, followed by the South West, with rises of 14.5% and 11.7% respectively year-on-year. Yorkshire and the North East continue also show double-digit annualised growth. Meanwhile, the year-on-year decline in Greater London rents is now -1.2%. In the capital the boroughs of Bexley and Haringey indicate the worst declines in asking rents with annualised rental falls of 16.6% and 9.4% respectively.

The East and West Midlands also show falls (-2.8% and -0.8% respectively). On the sales side of the market, asking prices rose by 0.2% during the last month across England and Wales - the seventh consecutive monthly rise - and are now up 1.2% compared to August 2023. Prices increased again in Wales, Scotland and all English regions except the North West and South East where they remain unchanged. The unsold sales stock count for England and Wales rose again over the last month to reach a 10-year high for August. Nearly 6,000 properties were added to agents’ portfolios, taking the current total of unsold stock to 494,837.