Weekly Property Newsletter March 29

Our weekly newsletter on the property market will keep you up to date with all the latest news and legislations!

Our newsletter is published every week reporting on the most important news over the past week.

Average house prices spike at record high in England

Wednesday 23rd March

Average house prices stood at £192,000 in January, the ONS has reported. The figure brings annual house price inflation to 7.9%, while average house prices moved up 0.9% on a monthly basis.

The annual rise was driven by increases in the south-east of 11.7%, in London of 10.8% and in the east by 9.8%.

Excluding London and the south-east, the average UK house price was £218,000 and average UK house prices increased on an annual basis by 5.1%.

Average house prices in January stood at a record high of £306,000 in England, £174,000 in Wales, £195,000 in Scotland and £153,000 in Northern Ireland.

David Gascoyne, Sales and Lettings Manger of Residential Estates said ‘over the past few months we have seen house prices rising continually so it is no surprise that they have finally reached a record high.”

Sales go up as landlords scrabble ahead of Stamp Duty surcharge

Wednesday 23rd March

HMRC has reported that there were 94,590 residential property transactions in the UK in February. This was up from 85,300 in January, and from the 78,540 reported in February last year.

The figures quoted are ‘actuals’, although HMRC prefers ‘seasonally adjusted’ data, showing upwards massaging to 114,560 transactions in February.

Mike Holliday, Investments Manager at Residential Estates said “the rise in February was mainly due to buy-to-let deals ahead of the 3% Stamp Duty surcharge which kicks in on the 1st of April”.

Local authorities under fire as they sit on £1bn of money for affordable homes

Tuesday 22nd March

Estates Gazette has found through Freedom of Information requests that £1.2bn in affordable housing payments has been committed by developers since 2010 – but only 20% has been spent.

The revelations are set to cause anger as the housing crisis deepens.

Some of the councils say they have large-scale regeneration programmes in hand, and that while the money has not yet been spent, it has been allocated.

Steve Povall, Managing Director of Residential Estates said “Councils are struggling with how to spend the money as they lack the skill of property development.”

Land Registry set to be sold into private hands

Tuesday 22nd March

Private firms are considering whether to bid for the Land Registry and contenders for the organisation, previously valued at £1.2bn, include buy-out firm Advent International.

Advent’s portfolio includes a stake in furniture company DFS while it previously backed Poundland.

The Chancellor’s Budget statement last week said that the Government “will shortly consult on options to move operations of the Land Registry to the private sector”.

The move to sell off the Land Registry, which holds titles for most of the land in England and Wales, are likely to be fiercely resisted by both the unions and Law Society, which have warned previously that a sale could undermine public confidence in the data.

For sale – the property going down by £1,000 each week until sold

Friday 18th March

In an unusual attempt to sell a one bedroomed retirement property, a vendor has decided to reduce the price by £1000 each week until it is sold.

The property, in Holt, is currently on the market at £140,000 and the first reduction took place on the 21st of March.

Owner John Parker says that it really suits his situation to sell the property as quickly as possible. He said: “It’s a very well presented one-bedroom ground floor apartment facing south.

“It comprises an entrance hall, living room with direct access to a small patio, kitchen with window and bathroom, and priced at £140,000. There isn’t another residential property of this type in Holt for less.

“But if it means I have to sell the property at well below market value, then I am willing to accept that.

“We have had a number of interested viewers but haven’t yet found that one buyer.”

Asked how long he would be prepared to go on reducing the property by £1,000 per week, Parker replied that it would be until it was sold.

All the sales of one-bedroom apartments at Ainsworth Court over the past two years have been in the range of £143,000 to £160,000.