Docklands News

House prices slipped by 0.2% last month after having risen in both January and February, according to Nationwide. The high street lender’s calculations suggest that the average price of a house in the UK is now £261,142. That is 2.2% higher than in August 2023, but is still 3.2% below the peak of a year earlier. Andrew Wishart, at Capital Economics, said Nationwide’s figures suggest the rise in mortgage rates since the turn of the year has caused house prices to stall. However, Rob Wood at Pantheon Macroeconomics said the drop was just a blip and the trend for the year was looking to be a rise of 4%. The North-South divide in the housing market is becoming more apparent, with prices rising in the North and falling in the South. Experts suggest that the market is made up of thousands of local markets, each performing differently. First-time buyers are taking advantage of the market, accounting for 33% of purchases this year. 

BBC News (02/04/2024)   City AM (02/04/2024)   The Guardian (02/04/2024)   The Times (02/04/2024)  

Thousands of homeowners struggling with the cost of living have taken advantage of new rules that can help them to reduce their monthly mortgage repayments. Lenders signed up to the government's Mortgage Charter, introduced last June, allow temporary switches to interest-only loans or extensions to terms of residential mortgages without customers having to go through affordability checks. Between July and January repayments for about 123,000 loans were reduced, according to the Financial Conduct Authority. "The rules were introduced at a time when cost of living issues were at their peak. With inflation coming down we will hopefully see fewer people switching to interest-only or lengthening their term because this can cost you more in the long run," said David Hollingworth from the mortgage broker L&C.  

The Times (30/03/2024)  

The Resolution Foundation's housing outlook report reveals that the UK's housing stock is "expensive, cramped and ageing", offering the worst value for money among advanced economies. The report compares homes in England to those in the United States, Germany and France, highlighting the UK's lower average floor space per person. Additionally, the UK has a higher percentage of older homes, which are poorly insulated and prone to higher energy bills and dampness. Adam Corlett, principal economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: "Britain's housing crisis is likely to be a big topic in the election campaign, as parties debate how to address the problems of high costs, poor quality and low security that face so many households. It is decades in the making, with successive governments failing to build enough new homes and modernise our existing stock".

Daily Mail (25/03/2024)   The Guardian (25/03/2024)   The Independent (25/03/2024)   The Times (25/03/2024)  

First-time buyers can now enter the property market with as little as a 1% deposit, thanks to a new mortgage being released by Yorkshire Building Society (YBS). The five-year fixed-rate deal, with an interest rate of 5.99%, requires only a £5,000 deposit and can be used to purchase properties worth up to £500,000. It cannot be used on newbuilds or flats, and buyers will still have to pass the usual affordability checks. YBS believes this new type of loan will help first-time buyers save years in deposit savings. Previously, banks typically required a 5% deposit to protect against negative equity if house prices fall. 

Daily Express (26/03/2024)   Evening Standard (26/03/2024)   The Independent (26/03/2024)   The Times (26/03/2024)  

Experts have predicted that fixed-rate mortgage rates could to fall below 4% within weeks, following lower-than-expected inflation figures and an upbeat outlook from the Bank of England. David Hollingworth, of brokerage London and Country Mortgages, said: "We won't see sub 4% next week, but it's a case of weeks and months, assuming no more negative data comes up. The Bank of England is more open to the prospect of the Bank Rate coming down, which is driving optimism.” He added: "A lot of the anticipated Bank Rate cuts are already priced in [to mortgage deals], so it depends if we see improvement quicker than expected. Rates won't be slashed; there might be quite a few small rate cuts. If falls in the swap rate continue, we could easily see lenders cutting back, and five-year fixed rates heading back towards 4%." Riz Malik, of mortgage brokerage R3, said: "Better-than-expected inflation suggests cuts will come earlier. This will raise hope of this mythical Bank Rate cut that we're all desperate for." 

The Sunday Telegraph (24/03/2024)  

St George, part of the Berkeley Group, has submitted an application for an extra 248 new homes on its redevelopment of the 15-acre site it owns in Wapping, which formerly hosted the UK headquarters and printworks of News International (now News UK). The company already has planning permission for 1,800 homes, a new secondary school and 20,816 sq m of commercial floorspace. Tower Hamlets Council's strategic development committee has been recommended to approve the latest plans, which will be discussed at a meeting on Wednesday, April 3rd.

My London (26/03/2024)