High mortgage costs result in sixth straight month of sellers being forced to reduce prices, says Halifax
UK house prices fell at the fastest annual rate in 14 years in September, as high mortgage costs fuelled a sixth consecutive monthly drop in a “buyer’s market”, according to Halifax.
Halifax, Britain’s biggest mortgage lender, said prices fell by 4.7% in September, the biggest year-on-year decrease since 2009.
Continue reading...Average rental property receives three times more enquiries from prospective tenants than in 2019
Private home rents in Great Britain have increased to their highest point on record after shortages in supply and mortgage rate rises combined to push the cost up by 10% over the past 12 months.
The average rent for new properties being put on the market now stands at a record £1,278 per calendar month outside London in the July to September period, according to Rightmove.
Continue reading...Number of house sales also fell in August compared with a year earlier, says HMRC
UK mortgage approvals fell in August to their lowest level in six months, as high interest rates cooled the housing market.
The Bank of England said net mortgage approvals for house purchases fell from 49,500 in July to 45,400 in August and were down by a third from the same month last year.
Continue reading...Lender says homes needing renovation are most in demand as people seek cheaper properties
The number of first-time buyers in the UK has fallen by more than a fifth, while homes in need of renovation are most in demand as buyers look for cheaper properties, in the latest evidence that people are struggling with higher mortgage costs.
There were 22% fewer first-time buyers between January and August compared with the same period last year, according to the mortgage lender Halifax. They still accounted for more than half (53%) of all home loans agreed in the first eight months of this year, similar to a year earlier (52%).
Continue reading...More than 36% of properties have had asking price cut at least once — the highest figure since 2011
UK house sellers are cutting their asking prices at the fastest rate in more than a decade, after high interest rates dampened demand for property this summer.
The proportion of homes on the market which have had at least one price reduction is at its highest level since January 2011, the property website Rightmove has reported.
Continue reading...Households could save £400 a year on energy bills via means-tested insulation scheme
Households could save up to £400 a year on energy bills under a new means-tested scheme to insulate more than 300,000 of Great Britain’s draughtiest homes.
The government is spending £1bn on grants for homes that have low energy efficiency ratings and are in lower council tax bands.
Continue reading...Jump in borrowers unable to make payments with landlords particularly hit and ‘worse to come’
Mortgage arrears jumped by 13% in the second quarter of the year to the highest level since 2016, according to Bank of England figures that underscore the stress in the UK mortgage market.
Rising interest rates and unemployment over recent months have put pressure on household disposable incomes, forcing some families to cut or suspend their monthly mortgage payments.
Continue reading...August 5.3% drop comes as sales completions down by about 40% in first half of year compared with 2021
UK house prices fell 5.3% in August compared with the same month last year, the fastest annual drop in 14 years, according to Nationwide Building Society.
The lender said the fall, which was the biggest since July 2009, when the global economy was in the depths of the financial crisis, was driven by soaring mortgage costs, which are putting off potential buyers. Average house prices are more than £14,500 lower than they were a year ago and mortgage approvals have plummeted by a fifth compared with pre-pandemic levels.
Continue reading...Interest rate rises on mortgages are weakening demand, property website says
The number of UK homes sold this year is expected to fall to the lowest level in more than a decade, as the soaring cost of mortgages puts off homebuyers.
House sales reaching completion are expected to fall 21% year-on-year to about 1m in 2023, the lowest level since 2012, according to a report from the property website Zoopla.
Continue reading...Administrative hold-ups leave buyers missing best mortgage deals and some owners unable to sell
Long delays in registering properties with the Land Registry across Great Britain are causing frustration among homeowners and buyers with some being left out of pocket as a result.
Latest figures from His Majesty’s Land Registry show that it is taking almost two years for some applications to make changes to the register to be completed.
Continue reading...Half have maximum of a month’s worth of rent put by as costs rise, Shelter survey finds
A third of working tenants in England do not have enough savings to pay rent if they lose their job, putting them at risk of losing their home, according to research by the housing charity Shelter.
Record rents and the rising cost of other household bills are putting tenants’ finances under pressure and mean many are unable to set money aside for emergencies.
Continue reading...News of death of Anne and David Spencer confirmed by co-presenter of long-running Channel 4 series, Kirsty Allsopp
The parents of TV presenter Phil Spencer have been killed in a car accident near their home, his co-star, Kirstie Allsopp, has confirmed.
Location, Location, Location presenter Allsopp told fans to join her in “sending so much love” to costar Spencer, following the death of his mother, Anne, and father, David, on Friday.
Continue reading...When Britain’s wonkiest pub was destroyed in a fire and the ruins demolished, it sparked protests and made headlines around the world – but why?
Thanks to a bad case of subsidence the Crooked House in the Black Country, had become a landmark. Punters talked about how its alarming lean made you feel drunk before you got to your pint, while badly made shelves were said to be ‘as straight as the Crooked House’.
But then it was bought by developers, caught fire and was immediately demolished. For many people it seemed like a symptom of how loved, local pubs were disappearing, while the nature of the pub’s destruction also raised interest across the country – and beyond.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: No-fault evictions are rocketing, bills are ballooning and social housing lists are overloaded – what the statistics reveal about renting today and why urgent reform is needed
• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First Edition
Good morning. On average there are 20 people requesting to view each rental property that comes on the market in Britain, more than triple what it was in 2019. In some parts of the north-west, that number inches closer to 30 per property. Moving house has always been stressful, but it has become an all-consuming battle for many people as rents rise and demand outstrips supply.
A chronic housing shortage is the primary reason, however campaigners and tenants have said they cannot wait for the government to build more homes. Rough sleeping increased by 34% in London between 2021 and 2022, while the number of people consistently struggling to pay their rent has increased by 45% since last April to more than 2.5 million, according to the housing charity Shelter.
Global health | Air pollution is helping to drive a rise in antibiotic resistance that poses a significant threat to human health worldwide, a study published in the Lancet Planetary Health journal suggests. Antibiotic resistance is one of the fastest-growing threats to global health, killing an estimated 1.3 million people a year.
Asylum | People seeking refuge who were ordered to live on a giant barge have been reprieved after legal challenges claimed the vessel was unsafe and unsuitable for traumatised people. As the first tranche of 15 people were moved on to the Bibby Stockholm in Portland, Dorset, lawyers said they were intervening to halt the transfer of dozens more on to the 220-bedroom vessel.
Retail | Britain’s stores are being forced to slash their prices to drum up business after dismal summer weather and ever-higher interest rates combined to depress consumer spending in July.
South Korea | The £1m cost of relocating the 4,500-strong UK contingent at the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea will affect the work of the Scout Association for as much as five years, the organisation’s boss has said. Meanwhile South Korea is having to move the thousands remaining out of the way of a typhoon.
Lobbying | The tech firm Palantir, which grew out of a US spy organisation, lobbied the UK disabilities minister to adopt new technology to crack down on benefits fraud, emails released to the Guardian have revealed. The correspondence provides the latest insight into how the firm – co-founded by Peter Thiel, the Donald Trump-supporting libertarian billionaire – is seeking to expand its influence and role within British government.
Continue reading...Simon Squibb plans to provide small businesses with rent-free space after bidding £25,000 for disused stairs
An entrepreneur who woke up homeless in a stairwell at the age of 15 with his first business idea has spent £25,000 on a disused stairwell to provide a rent-free space in London for small businesses to fulfil their dreams.
Simon Squibb, who retired at 40 after selling Fluid, his marketing agency, to PricewaterhouseCoopers, hopes the stairwell in Twickenham, south-west London, will provide a showcase for owners of small businesses.
Continue reading...Estate agents selling Twickenham ‘property’ believe it could have development potential
If climbing the property ladder seems stressful to you, why not consider taking the stairs?
A disused four-storey stairwell at the back of a branch of Starbucks in south-west London has become the latest peculiar piece of property to go on sale in London’s feverish housing market.
Continue reading...Government survey finds that fewer than 30% of holiday homes are on continent – compared with 40% a decade ago
They used to go wild for villas by the Med and ski chalets in the Alps; now they are forking out for views of the Channel and hilly walks in Shropshire.
According to figures released this week by the English Housing Survey, the proportion of English owners of second homes who have properties in Europe has fallen again, with 60% of holiday homes located in the UK rather than outside it.
Continue reading...Rightmove says average advertised rent in Great Britain is at all-time high of £1,231 a month outside the capital
Private rents in Great Britain have soared to fresh all-time highs and the average amount being asked for outside London is now a third higher than four years ago, figures from Rightmove show.
Despite rental growth running well ahead of inflation, the property website said homes were continuing to be let quickly, with many landlords “still being met with long queues of prospective tenants wanting to view and rent their property”.
Continue reading...UK capital as ‘huge generator of wealth’ under threat as a third of visual artists struggle to pay for studios
What makes Britain’s capital city so magnetic? Familiar landmarks? The nightlife? Or its financial, fashion and art trades? Maybe. But behind the glamour and money a network of artists is giving London the crucial appeal of a place where new things happen, while working on the edge of poverty.
A survey released on 13 July is to reveal just how close many of London’s visual artists are to giving up on a career that has pushed them to the bottom of the pile. Close to a third of those asked said lack of funds might force them out within five years. And just under half said they cannot afford to build savings or pay into a pension plan.
Continue reading...Average price of property drops by 2.6% year on year in June as mortgage rates climb
UK house prices experienced their biggest annual fall in 12 years, according to Halifax, the latest sign that soaring interest rates on mortgages is bringing a halt to the housing boom.
The average price of a UK home tumbled 2.6% year on year last month, the largest annual decrease the lender has reported since June 2011, a significant acceleration from the 1.1% decline record in May.
Continue reading...