Housing market

Just what would finally bring the seemingly endless boom in house prices to a halt? A global banking crisis which resulted in the collapse of several large institutions plus others having to be bailed out by the government? A pandemic which cost the lives of over 100,000 people in Britain, led to the enforced closure of most shops and contracted the UK economy by nearly 20 per cent in a year? Had you raised either scenario when the market was racing ahead in the mid-2000s there would have been a general assumption that yes, either would have been fatal, leading to a house price crash. Sure enough, the first of these

Pre-pandemic, all you needed for a good London location was a roof terrace, proximity to a vibrant social scene and a tube station. Or a river view. Then everything changed. Whilst central areas have pretty much fallen into the doldrums, a combination of more room, better value and access to green spaces has become essential. If you had all the money in the world, you’d still locate around London’s greatest open green spaces. Hampstead Heath, Kenwood and Regent’s Park to the north, Hyde Park or St James’s Park in central London or Battersea, Richmond, Dulwich or Richmond to the south. For the rest of us, living in a shoe box with

Would you swap living in London for York? According to the latest survey on family-friendly city living, York tops the list. On a range of measures from childcare costs to average house prices and leisure activities, York is it. Unless your work or family ties take you there, I’m not convinced though. The three-hour train journey into London means a move there would more or less sever your links to the capital.   There’s no denying that the capital’s house hunters are being tempted increasingly further afield in their property searches. More space and lower prices makes it seem like a no brainer. But the jury is out on whether the pandemic will cause us

It began with a sourdough starter. Then we dabbled with home delivery cocktails. This time round, I watched The Dig and bought a Fair Isle tank top and a blouse with a big collar to wear for Zoom calls. Then, when my husband’s company announced they’d be hiring remotely, we embraced the biggest lockdown cliché of them all: moving to the country. Mentally, we checked out of London and started rubbing our hands in expectation of what we could get in exchange for our terraced house in Zone 2. Outdoor space, a couple more bedrooms – the trade-off many Londoners have come to expect in exchange for enduring the years

With Rishi Sunak announcing plans for a Stamp Duty holiday extension and floating the policy of 95 per cent mortgages, the boom in house sales looks set to continue apace. So, in an increasingly competitive market, what’s the secret to securing the best possible price on a house? Firstly, your relationship with the agent is key, even as the buyer. Despite the fact that most agents are paid by the seller estate agents form their primary relationships with buyers. If you want to live in a certain area find the best negotiator – the person you think can persuade a seller to accept your price. And don’t be afraid to badger them. They may

It’s hard to believe we’re heading towards the pandemic’s first anniversary. The economy has had a torrid time. But if there’s one area that has surprised us all with its buoyancy it is the property market. Ever since the first lockdown, there has been a flurry of activity at a time when a market crash was predicted. So, what is going on and should you hop on the bandwagon? The Office for National Statistics reported that UK house prices rose by 8.5 per cent over the year to December 2020. That growth wasn’t in city centres which have, at best, been largely stagnant. Instead it was driven by properties out of town and particularly in rural areas

As Mark Twain didn’t quite say, there are only three certain things in life: death, taxes and yet another government-backed bung for the housing market. The latest instalment is the 2021 to 2023 Help to Buy scheme, which carries on the theme of offering subsidised loans to first-time buyers – and only first-time buyers. Here’s what is on offer—from April. Buyers can take out a loan of between five and 20 per cent of the purchase price of a new home (or up to 40 per cent in London). There is a cap on the property price on which the loans are available varies from region to region, ranging from £186,100 in

A pattern seems to have emerged in the latter stages of the Covid crisis: Keir Starmer gets wind of discussions within government of possible new lockdown restrictions and calls for them to be implemented immediately – just to make it look as if he is ahead of the curve and the government behind it. We should take seriously, then, Sir Keir’s call for the housing market to be closed down for the duration of the lockdown. At present, in contrast to the first lockdown, it is still permissible for property viewings to take place, and thus for homes to be bought and sold. Yet as increasing numbers of buyers are

For those looking to buy or sell houses, lockdown has put many of the best laid plans on hold. Since lockdown was imposed on the 23rd March, the property market has entered into a period of suspended animation. We don’t know when lockdown will end, nor what the financial and economic collateral damage will be for the UK economy and we certainly don’t know what the ‘new normal’ will be or how long it will have to go on for. So, what do we know? Financial markets, although initially taking fright, have recovered somewhat. Falls of between 10 and 15 per cent across indexes around the world with markets seeming