22/04/2009 by bill.

Gross mortgage lending was an estimated £11.5 billion in March, a 16% rise from £9.9 billion in February but a 52% decline from £24.2 billion in March 2008, according to new data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

The CML says that, while the market is beginning to show some signs of stabilising, housing transactions and lending are set to remain low for the foreseeable future.

The data may support those commentators who are suggesting that there are some signs of the UK housing market improving.

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15/04/2009 by bill.

The latest Royal Society of Chartered Surveyors Housing Market Survey Report indicates that new buyer enquiries rise for the fifth consecutive month leading to an increase in both newly agreed sales and sales expectations.

More importantly, there is now clear evidence that the higher level of buyer interest is feeding through into actual sales. Newly agreed sales, measured on a net balance basis, rose over the month as did the average sales per surveyor series (for the first time since the tail end of 2007).

The sales to stock ratio edges upwards for the third successive month to stand at its best level since August 2008. New instructions continue to decline resulting in inventory on estate agents books dropping to the lowest level since September 2007.

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18/03/2009 by bill.

The latest UK house price index statistics produced by Communities and Local Government for Januray 2009 show that:

* UK house prices were 11.5 per cent lower than in January 2008.
* The mix-adjusted average house price in the UK stood at £195,724 in January 2009 (not seasonally adjusted).
* UK house prices fell by 3.9 per cent in the quarter ending January 2009. This compares with a fall of 5.2 per cent for the quarter ending October 2008.
* Annual average house prices fell in England (-11.8 per cent), Wales (-10.4 per cent), Scotland (-6.3 per cent) and Northern Ireland (-14.3 per cent).
* Annual average house prices paid by first time buyers in January 2009 were 15.4 per cent lower than a year ago. By comparison average house prices paid by former owner occupiers were 10.0 per cent lower.

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17/02/2009 by bill.

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors reports that the RICS ‘new buyer enquiries’ series has now posted three successive monthly increases, the first time this has happened since the back end of 2006. Given that this series historically has been a reliable lead indicator of transactions in the housing market, it is not altogether surprising that the latest mortgage approvals data (for December) actually registered a modest gain.

The RICS suggests that this improvement in activity levels is likely to be sustained over the coming months; mortgage approvals could climb above 35k on the back of the higher level of buyer interest.

However, availability of mortgage finance remains a key issue while the worsening trend in the employment picture could gradually begin to eat away at the improved sentiment amongst potential buyers.

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16/01/2009 by bill.

The mortgage rescue scheme announced by the UK Government in late last year starts across England today.

The scheme is a new £200m package of measures designed to prevent families losing their homes and experiencing repossession. This scheme is aimed at those who would be eligible for homelessness assistance and is subject to a range of eligibility criteria. The Government claims that the £200m scheme will avoid up to 6,000 repossessions across England.

This scheme will not help those who are in negative equity. It is subject to a set of eligibility tests. Depending on individual circumstances, there are two possible options for those eligible:

Shared equity
Those who have an equity share in their homes and are facing a payment shock from remortgaging and/or higher living costs but likely to retain current income.

Government Mortgage to Rent
Those who are unable to meet lenders’ requirements eg those on unstable incomes. Those who are more suited to social tenancies

For more details see DirectGov.

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