More gloom today about the future of Britain’s house price boom. In Birmingham, for example, prices have fallen by 1.5 per cent since July. A similar picture can be seen in other parts of the country. Buyers, sellers, analysts and estate agents are all trying to predict where the UK market is headed, as concern
Figures from Communities and Local Government show the annual rate of decline in house prices hit 12.3 per cent in the three months to February. The December to February quarter saw a fall of 4.8 per cent, compared with the previous quarter’s decline of 4.3 per cent. The drop was most pronounced in Northern Ireland
Meanwhile, London Councils have called on the government to provide £350 million to help local authorities safeguard the capital’s housing market and provide 4,000 homes for rent. London Councils propose setting up a new housing agency, Homes for London, which would operate separately to normal council housing and which would help boroughs buy existing or
The Royal Bank of Scotland has been ordered to drop repossession proceedings against a family after the Financial Ombudsman Service branded its actions unfair. The Ombudsman was not satisfied with RBS’s order to repay the entire mortgage within 30 days without giving an explanation, saying the bank had not treated the couple ‘fairly or reasonably’.
Meanwhile, local government minister John Healey has announced that councils in England will be forced to publish information on how much their chief executives earn. The minister said that the ‘spiralling’ pay of some council chiefs needed to be countered and the government has decided to legislate. Across the country, around 20 council leaders are
Yesterday data from the Land Registry showed that property prices decreased by 0.3 per cent in April, the smallest drop in price for nearly a year, bringing the annual rate down 16.2 per cent. It found that the number of properties sold between November 2008 and February 2009 was 42 per cent lower than the
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice has released its fourth quarter statistics on mortgage and landlord possession actions. It found that mortgage possession claims were 29 per cent lower year-on-year, but possession orders were 14 per cent higher than the last quarter of 2007. Landlord possession claims were 3 per cent lower year-on-year, while possession orders
Home Information Packs (Hips) become compulsory for three-bedroom homes in England and Wales from today. Generally opposed to by estate agents and surveyors, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) claims that the introduction of Hips for four-bedroom houses in August has more than halved the sales in certain areas of four-bedroom properties. The increased
Housing charities including Shelter have welcomed yesterday’s announcement that the law is to be changed to protect private tenants who suddenly face homelessness when their landlord is repossessed. The government’s announcement has come after alarm from campaigners over the growing number of tenants, who through no fault of their own and often with little warning
The Bank of England has released its credit conditions survey for the second quarter of the year and found that the availability of mortgages is likely to continue its decline during the next three months, while the number of people who default on mortgages is expected to rise. The Bank said a big factor in