Property prices « Property News from Saint Property

Dispatch. News and views from Saint Property. 3 December 2009.
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

Home reports considered beneficial

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors have said The Home Report in Scotland has been beneficial to buyers and sellers a year after its introduction.
The report is in three parts providing a property questionnaire, an energy efficiency report and a single independent survey with current market valuation. It has provided more transparency, buyers have a market value before they offer with the price phrase ‘offers over’ being largely replaced with ‘offers in the region of’.
However, It is reported a third of sellers are commissioning up to 3 reports and picking the highest to market their property.
Also buyers still have to commission their own survey for mortgage purposes as banks refuse to accept 1 in 4 valuations as a basis for home loans, accepting only surveyors they have approved.

It will be properly tested next year with buyers looking for larger mortgages following a quiet year dominated by cash purchases.

Property Market - house prices and mortgages

The Nationwide Survey reports house price rises of 0.5% in November putting them at 2.7% more than a year ago.
Prices are now rising at a more moderate rate than in the summer months.
The number of mortgage deals on offer at 1,425 is the largest since December 2008.
Lenders are slowly relaxing their lending criteria and are increasing the LTV (loan to value) on some products.
A key indicator of the market is that first time buyer activity is back in the Scottish market.
The outlook for 2010 remains dependant on the labour market, particularly in the public sector.
The pre budget report on the 9th December 09 will indicate if the government plans to further support the housing market recovery through measures such as increasing competition in the mortgage market or extending the stamp duty holiday due to end on 1 Jan 2010.

Single Farm Payment

14,000 Scottish farmers will receive their Single Farm Payment this week, boosting the rural economy by £400 million.
As it is paid in Euros the exchange rate means farmers will receive around £88 million more than last year.

Daily Express. PROPERTY TAX HIKE ANGER. By Sarah O’Grady. 2 December 2009
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

PROPOSALS to control a booming property market with tax hikes were criticised by housing experts and economists last night.

A hike in property taxes such as stamp duty and capital gains tax could help stop the housing market overheating, said Adam Posen, the newest member of the Bank of England’s rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee.

Mr Posen said monetary policy tools - such as raising or lowering interest rates - should not be used to tackle asset-price booms. He suggested using property taxes as a “blunt instrument targeted to lean against the wind in real estate prices”.

In a speech at a London financial conference, Mr Posen, an American economist who joined the MPC as an external member in September, said: “It would mean having already existing title fees, capital gains taxes, stamp and transfer taxes varying over time in line with price developments in the housing market more broadly.”

But Rosemary Rogers, of removals company reallymoving.com, said: “Rather than reining back any future house price bubbles, this suggestion would stop the burgeoning recovery in its tracks.”

Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents, said: “Any suggestion that stamp duty should be increased is very concerning. Imposing further costs on house buyers, particularly at the lower end of the market, will do more damage then good.”

Matthew Sinclair, of Saint Property, admitted higher taxes would lower house prices but warned that the market would slow as people refused to sell.

Saint Property Dispatch. 11 November 2009.
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

Debt downsizing to feature in 2010?

· An emerging trend is families determined to reduce their debt and to protect themselves against tax increases and continued economic uncertainty.

· The result is owners of family city homes moving away from the city centre to achieve more space and at the same time cut their mortgages.

· The Edinburgh market is displaying signs of this with most transactions occurring in the £500k - £1million bracket with fewer in the £1 million plus

Mortgages - lenders taking steps to protect themselves

· The Woolwich has announced it is raising the interest rate it uses to assess affordability so borrowers will find it harder still to secure a new deal.

· Even if they are applying for a lower rate borrowers must show they can afford a mortgage with a rate of 5.69 per cent.

· The Woolwich defended the changes arguing they are ensuring borrowers will be able to afford repayments in the future when base rates have risen. Abbey has already made similar moves.

· The counter argument is that lenders continue to cherry pick the best customers.

Scotland’s Land Use Summit

· The first of these summits to promote Scotland’s Integrated Land Use Strategy to help meet food security, energy production and climate change challenges has been held in Inverness.

· Research for the strategy has shown responsibility for the environment is as strong a motivating factor for land managers as economic success and shows how they are successfully dealing with competing demands on them.

· Rural land makes up 97% of Scotland, accounts for one in every six jobs and generates over £17 billion for the economy each year.

· The study will inform policy developments in land use and future agricultural support.