What Do FTBs Need To Know About Buying A Property?
Although organising a mortgage is certainly one of the most important aspects of buying a home, there are many other elements to consider.
London ‘House’ For Sale At £185m
An enormous London mansion with stunning views of Regents Park has just gone up on the market—for a cool £185million.
A Quick Guide To Party Wall Procedures
When carrying out certain home improvement projects, it may be necessary to have to deal with party wall procedures, which can often prove to be a little confusing.
Increasing Sales Numbers Show Housing Market Recovery
The recent release of the latest Residential Transactions report from HMRC contains details of the total number of completed property sales in June, read on to find out more.
Has Your Neighbour Served You A Party Wall Notice?
If your next-door neighbour is undertaking house renovations that include a party wall, what do you need to know?
RIBA Warning Over Changes To UK Planning Laws
The Royal Institution of British Architects (RIBA) has slammed the UK government’s planned changes to permitted development rights, which are due to come into force in September.
Nationwide Offers 90 Per Cent Mortgages To First-Time Buyers
The Nationwide has announced it is to lower the minimum deposit required from first-time buyers to 10 per cent from 20 July.
What Is A Party Wall & How Are You Affected?
Party walls are those that stand on the land of two or more property owners and can either be part of the building itself or be something like a garden wall.
The Minimum Deposit Increases
Mortgage lender Nationwide has confirmed that it will be withdrawing all new loan deals for five per cent deposits for first-time buyers (FTBs) and setting a new minimum of 15 per cent.
The group said the decision had been taken in order to protect new customers from finding themselves in negative equity in the future, the Guardian reports. This can happen if a mortgage is taken out with a small deposit but, as house prices fall, the mortgage then becomes more than the value of the property.
For FTBs, this means that they will have to save a lot more in order to buy the average home. Nationwide’s own price index shows that the average house price in the UK is now £218,902, so someone would have to have a minimum deposit of at least £32,835 – compared to £10,945.
Data also shows that in the four weeks leading up to May, house prices dropped by 1.7 per cent – the biggest monthly fall seen since February 2009, which was mid-recession.
“As a responsible lender, Nationwide needs to ensure borrowers can afford mortgage payments and are, as much as possible, protected against the potential for negative equity, should house prices decrease … Our priority at this time must be to help members keep their homes,” director of mortgages Henry Jordan was quoted by the news source as saying.
The latest report from Rightmove, released today (June 18th), shows however that the release of pent-up demand when England’s housing market reopened on May 13th led to record levels of buyers enquiring about moving elsewhere.
Some of the strongest markets were found to be in the north, with people showing strong interest in Wigan, Rochdale and Bolton, although Hereford came top of the list.
Houses & Bungalows The Most Sought-After Properties, Study Reveals
It seems the pandemic has impacted the kinds of properties that house buyers want & research found that houses &bungalows are now seeing the most interest.