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Banks are turning away some mortgage applicants who took repayment holidays amid the coronavirus crisis, despite ministers and credit agencies saying pausing repayments would not impact their ability to borrow, reports the Mail on Sunday. Sources said borrowers who made use of payment holidays have since received initial confirmation of their credit worthiness when applying for new mortgages, only to be denied a loan after a more detailed analysis. One mortgage source said it was “reasonable” for banks to take a dispassionate view rather than lend to someone whose financial position was now uncertain. MP Siobhain McDonagh said she intends to write to Chancellor over the matter.
Mail on Sunday (19/07/2020)
London house prices stayed flat in the second quarter of 2020 as coronavirus took an uneven toll on the UK’s property market. The Halifax house price index on Tuesday showed that UK house prices fell for the fourth month in a row in June, dropping by 0.9% in the second quarter of the year. However, the average fall masked sharp differences across the country, according to IHS Markit’s new breakdown of Halifax’s figures. It found that in London, house prices stayed the same in the second quarter, with the average home costing £500,632. Yet in Scotland, prices plunged by 4.2% quarter on quarter. Wales saw the biggest rise in house prices, which were up 1.8%. In the south-east, prices dropped by 0.8% quarter on quarter to an average of £331,547.
City AM
High-end country property prices have bounced back from the COVID-19 outbreak stronger than any type of housing in the UK, property firms have reported. Sales of £1m-plus homes rose by 66% from March 8 to June 21, according to Zoopla, while sales of homes priced between £500,000 and £1m only saw an increase of 17%. For £5m to £10m country houses, Knight Frank's figures show that, between May 13 and June 24, the number of offers accepted was 182% higher than the five-year average, compared to 64% for all the other price brackets. Reigate, Midhurst and Exeter are a hive of high-end activity, according to agents at Jackson-Stops. A £2.15m, seven-bedroom Victorian house sold by the agency in Redhill went under offer in two weeks after nine viewings, and a £1.5m five-bedroom home in Dunchideock, Exeter, had 13 interested buyers and sold in one week.
The Sunday Times
Buy-to-let landlords have swooped into the property market to take advantage of the stamp duty tax giveaway, as the tax break means that their bills could fall by as much as half. Rentround, a letting agent comparison website, said the number of landlords contacting its agents across the country had risen by 22%. In north and east London, inquiries have risen by 31%, higher than anywhere else in the country. Meanwhile, in the cheaper parts of the country, such as the North East, the holiday has a minimal impact. Here, it will save investors £280 on the average purchase, compared to £7,240 in London, Hamptons International found. Kay & Co said: “We have seen buy-to-let investors return to the market but only on properties valued sub £1m and in most cases £500,000.”
A record number of offers were accepted on the housing market in June, according to research. After months of slow activity during the coronavirus lockdown, Knight Frank said it had recorded the best month for successful offers. The figure for last month was 46% higher than the previous record, in March this year before the lockdown. Knight Frank said this underscored “how the property market has picked up where it left off before the pandemic struck”. Meanwhile, a study of 2,000 adults by online estate agent Purplebricks has found that one in six house-hunters would make an offer after just a virtual property viewing – and one third are happy to make a judgement about a property after only a single digital tour.
Daily Mail Daily Star
Northern & Shell (N&S), the lottery and property company owned by former tabloid publisher Richard Desmond, has asked architect PLP to draw up detailed designs for the 1,500-home Westferry Printworks development, despite planning consent being quashed after housing secretary Robert Jenrick admitted his decision could have appeared biased. The 30-storey development on the Isle of Dogs was approved by Mr Jenrick in January against the advice of a planning inspector, and just a day before a new planning charge would have cost the developer as much as £50m. Nevertheless, N&S has emphasised its commitment to the project, and expressed its confidence that what it called a “vibrant new waterfront neighbourhood” would be approved by the end of 2020.
Building (06/07/2020) Building Design (06/07/2020)