Quick Move Blog

House prices 'fell 0.9% in June

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:51:00 +0000

House prices 'fell 0.9% in June according to the latest report from Nationwide, one of the largest mortgage lenders in the UK.

The delcine was smaller than the 2.5% fall seen in May, but prices are now 6.3% lower that a year ago.

According to Nationwide's figures, the average is house is worth £13,629 less than last year, with the average now worth £172,415.

Nationwide said the lack of activity in the housing market was key to prices, but its analysis suggested it was movers, rather than first-time buyers who were staying put.

The low transaction levels meant the trend with prices would continue, according to Nationwide's chief economist Fionnuala Earley.

"It seems unlikely that there will be any rapid turnaround in housing market fortunes in the coming months," she said.

House Prices Still Falling

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:06:00 +0000

According to Hometrack, house prices have fallen by 3.2% compared to a year ago. This is the 9th month in a row that prices have fallen, with the average house now priced at £170,500, down from £176,100 this time last year.

At the weekend Professor Stephen Nickell, a leading housing advisor to Gordon Brown, warned that it would take until 2015 for the property market to start booming again. He also warned that the “severe rationing” of mortgages was preventing first time buyers from taking advantage of falling house prices, preventing affordability from improving.

The figures also show that sellers are taking a record length of time to sell their properties - on average it takes 10.3 weeks to receive an offer, up from 6 weeks last year.

Mortgage Approvals at New Low

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:02:00 +0000

The number of new mortgages approved for house purchase has fallen again, to a new low.

According to the Bank of England, there were 42,000 mortgages approved in May, 28% lower than April, and 64% lower than a year ago.

This is the lowest since the Bank began reporting the figures in 1993 and the number of approvals has now fallen for 13 consecutive months.

Philip Shaw, chief economist at analysts Investec, described the figures as "terrible".

The Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors have warned that property sales this year would fall by between 35% and 40%. The Land Registry revealed last week that the number of house sales slumped by 50% in March compared with the same month in 2007.

"They are clear evidence in the change in attitude among mortgage lenders and home buyers," said Ed Stansfield, of Capital Economics. "People no longer want to borrow and those that do want to borrow are not being allowed to by the lenders.

"The implications of this is that the market is going to remain pretty weak for some time with a significant downward movement in house prices. We are off the scale. We have never been anywhere near as low as this in activity levels and mortgage approvals."

House Sales Fall by 32% in 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:46:00 +0000

Latest figures from HMRC shows that house sales have fallen by 32% in 2008.

There were 504,000 sales in the first five months of 2008 compares with 743,000 (these are house sales above the notification limit for Stamp Duty).

The figures show that in May alone sales were down by 37% on last year at just 98,000.

According to the property website Rightmove, sellers now outweigh buyers by a ratio of 15 to 1.

"It's a sign that properties are taking longer to sell so there are more on the market," said Miles Shipside of Rightmove.

HBOS Predicts House Prices to Fall by 9%

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 20:54:00 +0000

HBOS, the UK's largest mortgage lender, today predicted that house prices in the UK will fall by 9% this year.

In a trading update, HBOS said the housing market remained "subdued" and the number of transactions this year would be down by 45% on 2007's level.

Today's forecast is a change to their statements earlier in the year: In February, HBOS said house prices would be "flat" in 2008. Then, in April, the Halifax house price survey predicted "a mid single digit percentage decline".

The bank is also seeing a rise in arrers: The proportion of its mortgages which are in arrears has risen from 1.3% at the end of December 2007 to 1.43% at the end of May.

House Sales Worst in 30 Years

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 09:36:00 +0000

The number of houses being sold has collapsed to its lowest level in 30 years, according to latest figures from RICS.

The average number of houses sold by estate agents in the past 3 months was 17.4% lower than a year ago - almost a third lower.

Tim Edmonds, an estate agent and RICS member, said: "Transactions have virtually halted. Where sales have been agreed, it is very difficult to get them through to exchange."

This trend is reflected in our own FTI survey, showing that a sale has a 50% chace of falling through.

The report also highlights the return of 'gazundering' - the practice of buyers dropping their offer price after thay have agreed to purchase. In many cases, buyers are refusing, or unable, to hand over any money to purchase a house.

quickmovenow.com's FTI Index is Featured in the Sunday Mirror

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:05:00 +0000

The article, which can be seen here, was part of an article about the troubled state of the housing market. The article examines some of the issues facing buyer and sellers, and suggest ways to ride out the credit crunch. The article comments: "Property chains are fragile – according to property website www.quickmovenow.com, today’s sellers face a 50 per cent chance of deals falling through, thanks to the current uncertainty in the market."

quickmovenow.com's unique FTI index, whose latest monthly report can be seen here, is in a good position to become a commonly referenced signifier of the state of the housing market. The monthly figures it produces gives a remarkable insight into the state of the housing market, unavailable almost anywhere else.

House Prices Suffer Steepest Fall in 15 Years

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:30:00 +0000

House prices has suffered their sharpest fall in 15 years, accordng to latest figures released from Halifax.

According to the Halifax's figures, prices fell 2.4% in May, with prices down 3.8% on this time last year.

Howard Archer, chief economist at Global Insight, said: "The latest data on the housing market are undeniably alarming. Clearly, the downward pressure on house prices coming from stretched buyer affordability and tight lending conditions is now biting hard."

Despite this fall and the pressures on the house market, the Bank of England has left interest rates unchanged tod ay, due to increasing inflationary pressures.

Land Registry Data Confirms House Price Falls

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 08:39:00 +0000

The latest data from the Land Registry confirms recent reports of house prices falling.

Their most recent data shows prices falling by 0.2% in April, reducing annual house price inflation to 2.7% from 3.6%.

April was the 8th month in a row in which annual house price inflation has fallen.

There are big variations between regions.

Property prices have fallen during the last year in the East Midlands, Wales and the West Midlands. In London, they are still nearly 7% higher than a year ago.

The mortgage drought, which has been brought on by the credit crunch, has led to a 30% slump in the number of sales going through.

The Land Registry's figures show that in the three months to February, there were, on average, 72,479 sales per month.

That was down from the monthly average of 103,141 seen in the previous three months.

quickmovenow.com is the Solution to Relocation Issues

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Fri, 30 May 2008 14:23:00 +0000

There are many reasons for people to relocate – for a new job, because their current employer is relocating, for a better quality of life, to be nearer better schools – whatever your situation, if you need to move quickly, Quick Move Now can help.

There are many things to consider when relocating, and finding a place to live is of prime importance, whether you are looking to buy or rent.

When relocating, you have several options with your existing home – move before it is sold, rent it out, sell through an estate agent, or sell quickly through a professional house buying company such as quickmovenow.com.

Moving before your existing house is sold could be costly – you’ll be paying a mortgage and rent, or you’ll need an expensive bridging loan. What happens if your house doesn’t sell?

Renting your house has its own costs and risks – if you’re looking to buy a new house, you’ll need an additional mortgage, you’ll need to find tenants and manage them, and you’ll have more exposure to the housing market and interest rates.

Selling through an estate agent can take months – we’re often approached by people who have been trying to sell their properties for over 12 months, not ideal when you need to relocate in a specific timeframe.

By selling your home quickly to a professional house buying company, you remove one of the biggest potential obstacles to your relocation, helping to guarantee your relocation timescale and putting you in a strong position to buy your new house

House Prices Record Largest Monthly Fall since 1991

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Thu, 29 May 2008 10:02:00 +0000

Nationwide reports today that house prices have suffered their largest monthly fall since 1991.

Prices fell by 2.5% in May, with prices now 4.4% lower than one year ago, a drop of £8,000 on the average house. The average UK house price is now £173,583.

The Nationwide's report said that house price falls are now accelerating and had fallen for 7 months in a row, with this being the longest period of house price falls since 1992.

Howard Archer at Global Insight is now forecasting that house prices will experience a double-digit fall in 2008 and 2009.

Mortgage Market Remains Subdued

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Tue, 27 May 2008 09:51:00 +0000

38,704 new mortgages were approved in April, a slight rise on March but 39.4% down on last April's figures.

Approvals for new house purchases was well down on 2007, but approvals for remortgages was up.

A BBA spokesman commented that pressure on household finances, falling house prices, and tighter lending criteria were all cutting the demand for people wanting to move home.

Lenders are now expecting that fresh mortgage lending will shrink by about 40% this year, despite the efforts of the Bank of England to inject more money into the banking system.

Standard & Poor's figures show that 20% of 'sub-prime' borrowers in the UK have fallen behind with mortgage repayments. 10.6% of sub-prime borrowers were 90 days of more behind on repayments.

quickmovenow.com Held in High Regard by its Customers and by Google

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Thu, 22 May 2008 12:35:00 +0000

quickmovenow.com has gone from strength to strength over the past few years; we have seen the number of home purchases we have made grow steadily, as has the number of satisfied customers (our testimonials page can be seen here). As the respect we have from our customer base has grown, our respect from the search engines, especially Google, has risen too. This can be seen in the fact that for many of the most popular and competitive phrases in the house buying sector, quickmovenow.com is ranked at or near the top of Google.

For example, if you type in "house buying company" into Google, you will see quickmovenow.com as the number one listing in the main ("organic", or non-paid) search results. If you look at the number of pages that contain that phrase, you will see that Google considers our site to be the most popular and most relevant out of 8.4 million web pages, which is, I think you'll agree, some achievement.

Other popular house buying-related searches that quickmovenow.com comes on the first page for (often beating millions of other pages) include: "buy my house", "sell my house quickly" and "home part exchange".

Google has developed very sophisticated algorithms over the years in order to decide which website is the most popular, respected, and relevant for a given search term. We are pleased to report that, as we have shown above, quickmovenow.com is regarded very highly by the most popular search engine; this reaffirms the confidence held in us by our customers.

House Sales to Fall 40% This Year?

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:23:00 +0000

RICS has forecast that the number of house sales could fall by 40% this year. This would amount to the largest fall in the housing market since records began and could cut consumer spending by 8%. The previous largest fall was in 1989, when they fell 26%. Sales to date in 2008 are already down by 32%.

The slowdown has already affected removals firms who have seen a slump in business, with the number of moves down by 55% in the first three months of this year, and down by 68% in the past six weeks. If sales do fall 40% this year, that represents 700,000 fewer residential and commercial property sales than in 2007.

RICS also predicted that house prices would fall by 5%.

Bank of England Governor Warns of Recession

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Thu, 15 May 2008 11:46:00 +0000

As many people are already experiencing, household bills are rising sharply. This was confirmed yesterday, by Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England who warned families to brace themselves for a further squeeze on their household finances, as energy bills and food prices continue to rise.

With inflation set to increase to 3.7% - almost double the official target - the likelihood of further interest rates cuts in theshort to medium term look unlikely. Indeed, we could see the return of stagflation - rising interest rates to counter inflationary pressures, while experiencing falling economic growth.

Mervin King warned home owners to expect further price falls adding that is was impossible to predict the size of these falls. He warned that a sharp downturn in the economy could not be ruled out.

House Price Falls 'Worst since 1978'

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Tue, 13 May 2008 12:10:00 +0000

According to the latest RICS survey published today, a record number of surveyors are reprting house price falls. 82% of estate agents/surveyors have seen a fall in house prices since the start of 2008, the worst rating since records began in 1978.

The figures show that the housing slump is even more widespread than during the last house price crash in the early 90's with house prices falling across the whole country. According to Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at RICs, "even during the house price crash of the early 90's, some parts of the country didn't take as much o a beating."

On a brighter note, the house price falls that are reported are relatively modest, with ost surveyors reporting a fall of less than 2%.

The 82% of surveyors reporting a fall is up on the April figure of 66%. It was the 9th month in a row that the number of surveyors reporting price falls has risen.

The worst hit areas of the country are East Anglis, the North and North-West where all surveyors reported falls.

House Sales Collapse

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Tue, 13 May 2008 12:01:00 +0000

In the latest RICS survey, the number of completed house sale has been described as 'falling off a cliff', with vendors reluctant to reduce prices and potential purchasers finding it hard to secure mortgages and too afraid to commit.

According to Brian Jackson of Ellis and Sons, an estate agent in Southport, the number of completed house sales is at its lowest since their records began before the 1990's house price crash.

According to another agent in Kent, the housing market is the worst in 35 years.

The average number of completed house sales per estate agent was just 18 in April, compared with 24 in March - a 25 per cent drop in just one month.

Repossessions up by 17%

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Fri, 09 May 2008 10:39:00 +0000

The number of repossession orders issued in England and Wales is up by 17% in the first quarter of this year (2008).

There were 27,530 orders made, against 23,438 for the same period of 2007.

The number of mortgage possession claims - the first stage of the repossession process - was also up, with 36,688 claims in the first quarter, up 16% on the previous year.

The greatest increase in repossession orders was in Wales, where the numbers were up 26%.

A number of factors are being blamed for this increase, including the credit crunch and subsequent increase in some mortgage payments, and rising household bills.

Home Information Packs - Yet Another Delay

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Fri, 09 May 2008 08:29:00 +0000

The government has announced that the final stage of the full implementation of Home Information Packs (HIPS), will be delayed.

The requirement that a HIP is produced prior to a property being marketed will now be delayed until the end of 2008. Homes can therefore continue to be sold, so long as a HIP has been ordered and paid for.

The government has also delayed until the end of the year the requirement that leases should be included in a Hip if the property is leasehold.

These latest developments and delays are the last in a long list of delays and amendments to the original plans for Home Information Packs.

We should again emphasis that, as a private buyer, you do not need to purchase a Home Information Pack to sell your house to Quickmovenow.com. This will save you both time and money. For further information, call us now on 0800 068 3366.

Nationwide Confirms First House Price Falls Since 1996

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:54:00 +0000

According to new figures from Nationwide, house price year on year in April by 1%, the first fall since 1996.

Prices were down 1.1% on March prices.

To add to the housing woes, David Blanchflower, a member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, forecast in a speech last night that house prices could drop by up to 30% over the next 2 to 3 years. He also said that without a sharp reduction in interest rates, the UK risked falling into recession.

HBOS, the UK's leading mortgage provider, also forecast yesterday that house prices will fall steadily over the next 2 years.

The Bank of England released figures yesterday showing that the number of mortgage approvals had dropped to the lowest since the Bank's records began in 1993.

House Prices Falling Year on Year

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:44:00 +0000

The latest Hometrack survey confirms that house prices are now falling year on year. The average house is now worth £173,100 - £1,500 less that a year ago.

Industry analysts say that this 0.9% fall is 'symbolic' as this is the firsthouse survey to show an annual house price fall since the start of the credit crisis.

Homes are now also tking a record length of time to sell, with the average property stayinh on the market for 9.1 weeks before selling.

Houses are selling for 7% less that their asking prices.

This latest survey increases the likelihood of the recurrence of negative equity. Analysis of Bank of England and mortgage lenders' data suggests that 350,000 homeowners will face negative equity if prices fall by 10% this year - which is being widely forecast by property experts.

This would equate to 3 in every 100 mortgage holders being hit by negative equity.
Kelvin Davidson, the property economist at Capital Economics, said: "This data all adds to the growing gloom.

New Mortgages Falls by 50% in One Year

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:39:00 +0000

The number of mortgages granted int hepast year has fallen by 50%. Economists at Citigroup have called this fall 'stunning' and said it is evidence that the credit crunch and falling houing market has made it all but impossible for many people to borrow to buy a property.

The British Bankers' Assoc (BBA) reported mortgage approvals of hyst 35,417 in March, the lowest figure since collecting recors in 1997 and a fall of 46% since March 2007.

The amount advanced totalled £5.6bn in March, down by 43.7% in March 07.

Nationwide Offers New Mortgage Deals for First Time Buyers

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:25:00 +0000

Nationwide is planning to launch a range of new mortgages to help first itme buyers, the group most affected by the recent credit crunch.

Nationwide has said it plans to cut arrangement fees for first time buyers. For instance, for those with just a 5% deposit, the arrangement fee on a 3 year fixed rate of 6.45% will be £299. Most lenders are currently charging closer to £1,000 for new mortgages, while others are charging up to £1,500.

It should also be noted that many lenders are no longer offering 95% mortgages. The Woolwihc, C&G and Northern Rock all require a deposit of at least 10%. Other banks chanrge a higher arrangement fee for those with a low deposit.

Bank of England Unveils £50bn Mortgage Bailout

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:37:00 +0000

The Bank of England (BoE) launched an unprecedented £50 billion scheme this week to bail out Britain’s ailing banking system and help to ease the tightening mortgage market.

The BoE confirmed that it would allow lenders to swap assets for government-backed bonds in an attempt to restore confidence and ease the effects of the credit crunch.

The BoE will allow banks principally to swap UK and European mortgage-backed assets for "safer" government bonds, which banks can then use to raise money.

Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank, said on monday: “The Bank of England’s special liquidity scheme is designed to improve the liquidity position of the banking system and raise confidence in financial markets while ensuring that the risk of losses on the loans they have made remains with the banks.”

Not everyone has confidence in the new plan; Liberal Democrat deputy leader Vince Cable said:
"I am very concerned that in addition to all the costs associated with Northern Rock, the government is going down the disastrous road of bailing out the banks and leaving the taxpayer with the liabilities,"

The government's decision to go down the route of support for the banks confirms the uncertain state of the housing market, which is having an effect on people's house sale decisions. Many more people are now thinking, "shall I get a house buying company to buy my house?", and are choosing to avoid the long waits, uncertainty and stress of selling their home on the open market by selling their home to quickmovenow.com. Call us for more details.

Houses Auctions Sales Fall

noreply@blogger.com (Quick Move) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:23:00 +0000

Confidence in the housing market is falling nationally as several recent surveys have shown. Another stark illustraiton are the results from a recent house auction in Leeds.

Out of 93 lots on offer, only 48% were sold. In an auction in Bradford, just 4 lots of out 11 were sold.

This gives a graphic illustration of the freeze in lending and overall current caution in the housing market.

For those people looking to sell their house quickly, an auction has often been seen as a worthwhile option. However, you must now bear in mind that even if your house is one of the lucky ones to be sold, what price will it actaully achieve?

This is where quickmovenow.com can help. Not only will you achieve certainty in the sale of your house - we will guarantee to buy your house, but you are also like to receive more moeny for your house than at an auction.

Also bear in mind that auctions are the traditional route for the disposal of repossessed properties. With a lack of buyers, prices again will be hugely depressed. If you find yourself on the route to repossession, call quickmovenow.com now - we can help you achieve a better price for your home.