Docklands News

House prices marked their first decrease since June last year, dropping slightly last month to stand at an average price of £293,221. Prices fell by a marginal 0.1% in July, according to Friday’s Halifax House Price Index. The annual rate of growth eased to +11.8% (from +12.5%), with Wales showing the strongest annual growth in the country. In Scotland, the average house price was at a record high of £203,677, although it did see a slight slowdown in annual house price growth in July, to 9.6% from 9.9% the previous month.  “While we shouldn’t read too much into any single month, especially as the fall is only fractional, a slowdown in annual house price growth has been expected for some time,” Russell Galley, Halifax managing director, said. “Leading indicators of the housing market have recently shown a softening of activity, while rising borrowing costs are adding to the squeeze on household budgets against a backdrop of exceptionally high house price-to-income ratios.” 

City A.M. (05/08/2022)  

UK housebuilding activity has returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to an industry body. Some 40,289 new homes were completed in the second quarter, 16% higher than the same period in 2021, the National House Building Council (NHBC) said. It was the highest quarterly figure since 42,354 completions were recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019. Wales was the only part of the UK to see a decrease in new home completions in the second quarter of this year compared with the second quarter of 2021, with 1,183 completions recorded, falling slightly from 1,189. In the second quarter of 2020, when strict lockdown restrictions were in place, just 11,059 new home completions were recorded. Growth in new home completions in the second quarter was driven by the private sector, where completions were up by 23%, while completions in the affordable and build-to-rent sectors were level, the NHBC said. 

Daily Mail (09/08/2022)  

Mortgage rates are now at their highest level in eight years, as the top deals being offered disappear within days of the Bank of England’s latest rate increase. The average five-year deal is now higher than 4% for the first time since October 2014, data shows. A typical two-year fixed mortgage also rose for the tenth month in a row to 3.95%. Meanwhile, the shelf-life of home loan products fell, with offers now typically pulled from the market after just 17 days. There are also fewer deals to choose from, with 4,407 mortgage products available at the start of this month, down 149 since the beginning of July. Eleanor Williams, of data analysts Moneyfacts, warned: “Those looking for a new mortgage have the shortest length of time we have ever recorded to try to secure their deal of choice.” It comes just days after the Bank of England raised its base rate by 0.5 percentage points - the biggest increase in 27 years - in a bid to control spiralling inflation. 

Daily Mirror (08/08/2022)  

Homeowners are overpaying their mortgages to reduce what they owe before their fixed-rate deals end, the Sunday Times reports, after the Bank of England increased the base rate of interest for the sixth month in a row last week. The Bank increased the rate by 0.5 percentage points to 1.75% in an effort to curb inflation. It was at a record low of 0.1% in November last year. The successive rises have led to surging mortgage rates, which have more than tripled since September. In the first six months of this year £10.4bn was overpaid on mortgages, according to the Bank of England. Santander, Britain's third-largest mortgage lender, said 250,000 customers had overpaid a total of £1bn in 2022 so far. 

The Sunday Times (07/08/2022)  

East London councillors rejected the application to extend 225 Marsh Wall, following advice from Tower Hamlets Council's planning committee that the height of the new building would be “detrimental to the townscape and Canary Wharf skyline”. The 49-storey tower, designed by Make Architects, is already under construction, but earlier this year developer DDU, a subsidiary of Scott Brownrigg, applied to increase its height by 22m up to 56 storeys. The council’s report on the decision added that the provision of affordable housing was “not sufficient to warrant a departure” from policies for managing height within a Tall Building Zone.

Property Week (28/07/2022)  

Property prices in the UK have hit an average of £271,209, according to data from Nationwide. Prices were up 11% year-on-year in July, exceeding the 10.7% annual growth recorded in June. The increase means values have risen for 12 consecutive months. Month-on-month, prices climbed 0.1% last month, with this the smallest level of growth in a year. The level of growth has fluctuated in different areas of the UK, however, with the quarterly change in price in the South West at 14.7%, compared to 6% in London. The capital has the highest average property price at £540,399, while Scotland has the lowest, £181,422. First-timer buyer mortgage completions remain around 5% above pre-pandemic levels, according to the Nationwide. Reflecting on the figures, Nationwide’s chief economist Robert Gardner said: “While there are tentative signs of a slowdown in activity, with a dip in the number of mortgage approvals for house purchases in June, this has yet to feed through to price growth".

BBC News (02/08/2022)   Daily Mail (02/08/2022)   The Daily Telegraph (02/08/2022)   The Guardian (02/08/2022)