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Nationwide described the August increase as “surprising” following the tapering of stamp duty reliefs at the end of June. And remember, rates could continue to fall, so if you sign up for one of the new cheap fixed-rate deals now, you won’t be able to jump ship when something cheaper potentially comes along without incurring penalty charges. Halifax has a two-year fixed rate mortgage at 0.83% with a £1,499 fee or a higher rate of 0.87% if you pay a lower fee of £999. Despite being the lowest rates Nationwide has ever offered, a spate of new sub 1% deals have recently come to the market from rival lenders – one of which is lower still.
Zoopla said first-time buyers have been increasingly active in 2021, supported by lenders that have reintroduced products accommodating higher loan-to-value mortgages. Any eligible customer who does not receive a decision within 5 days will receive £100 in compensation. HMRC said August’s figure was also 20% higher than the one recorded for the corresponding month in 2020. It estimated the provisional, non-seasonally adjusted figure for UK residential transactions in August 2021 at 106,150. Having removed a full-blown stamp duty holiday from England and Northern Ireland at the end of June, the UK government withdraws its remaining framework of tapered stamp duty reliefs at the end of this month. The ONS also said that hospitality workers were the most likely to be furloughed during the pandemic.
Price of 'Home Alone' House Drops $225K
Latest data from the property portal’s house price index showed that the average home is worth £366,999, a 7.2% rise on the year. House prices rose by 9.5% in the year to September this year, down sharply from the figure of 13.1% recorded in the 12 months to August. This represents a slight decline on the annual growth rate of 8.1% recorded the previous month.
In case if the bookings get cancelled for an increase in Covid-19 cases, Airbnb will provide a $1,000 travel credit. The house will open for the first time to franchise fans who wish to recreate the magic of the classic film. Bookings are starting from December 7 at 1 PM on airbnb.com/homealone for the stay on December 12. The popular home is being converted into an Airbnb for one night, and four people can relive the best moments from the classic movie for just $25. The place will be set up with holiday decorations like twinkling lights and a Christmas tree. For the first time in 31 years, the Home Alone house opened up to the public in 2021.
UPDATE 18 August 2021 – ONS House Price Index
The year-on-year rise is on a par with average annual UK earnings of £28,860 before tax. Rightmove says the average property price has jumped by more than £19,000 in the past three months, the largest quarterly increase it has recorded. And property values are at record levels in each of the three market sectors it covers – lower, middle and upper – only the second time since 2007 the company had reported this scenario. Its house price index shows asking prices growing 1.6% month-on-month, or £5,537, bringing the average property price to £360,101 in April. The company believes house prices are being pushed up because buyer demand remains strong in the face of constrained supply.
However, the latest rise still puts the cost of the average UK property at £278,000, which is £24,000 higher than in March 2021. However, borrowing costs were higher back then, says Mr Gardner, with Bank Rate at 4%, compared to 1% currently. Annual growth was slowest in London at 6.3%, yet the cost of a home in the capital still stands at a heady £541,942 on average. The government says this risk would be mitigated by setting a cap on the number of housing association properties that can be sold, while committing to replacing each home sold. Labour’s shadow levelling up secretary, Lisa Nandy, says the Right to Buy plans could worsen the housing crisis by removing affordable rented housing from the UK market. This will extend the scheme, under which council house tenants can buy their property, to an additional two million people.
March: Rightmove Sees Average Price Top £350,000
Halifax said that Wales, with annual house price inflation of 14.5%, was the UK’s strongest performing nation or region. Other double-digit performers included Northern Ireland (10.6%) and the North West (11.8%), making the latter England’s strongest-performing region. Wales led the way in terms of the biggest national house price increases around the UK. Average property prices in the country climbed by 12.1% to an average of £200,000 during the 12 months to November last year. In regional terms, Wales led the charge with house prices increasing by an average 13% over the year to December, a whisker under the 12.6% recorded in November.
With a figure of 14.6%, Wales recorded the highest growth in the year to August, followed by England (14.3%), Scotland (9.7%) and Northern Ireland (9.6%). In contrast to the main findings of the report, cities in the north east are seeing less price growth than their surrounding areas. Prices rose by 6.4% to £182,163 in Newcastle, and fell by 2.2% to £143,369 in Middleborough. The knock-on effect saw lenders increase mortgage rates and withdraw thousands of products, leaving many buyers and remortgaging owners in difficulty. On Thursday this week, the Bank of England will announce the latest Bank rate, which determines interest rates generally. Currently standing at 2.25%, analysts believe it might increase to 2.75% or even 3%, adding further upward pressure to mortgage rates.
November: Annual Price Inflation Tumbles As First Time Buyers Struggle – Halifax
He added that the challenges of getting onto the property ladder are likely to become even more acute in the short-term as household budgets come under mounting pressure. Average property values have risen by 16%, or £38,709, in the two years since February 2020, just before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The ONS puts the price of an average UK home at £274,000 this January, an increase of £24,000 on the same month in 2021.
“House prices have continued to rise more quickly than earnings in recent quarters, which means affordability is becoming more stretched. A 20% deposit on a typical first-time buyer home is now around 113% of gross income, a record high,” Gardner added. There has been widespread speculation that the base rate will rise sooner rather than later in a bid to keep a lid on rising prices – inflation is currently running above 3%, with the official target at 2%. But the Bank is conscious that any increase would filter through to the cost of borrowing, heaping pressure on millions of mortgage customers and potentially threatening the post-Covid economic recovery. Last month also saw a ‘full house’ for first time since March 2007, according to Rightmove’s latest house price index. This means that price records were reached across all regions of Great Britain and for all sectors of buyers – namely first-time, second-stepper and top-of-the-ladder.
A typical UK property now costs £251,550, which is just 0.1% higher than April’s average. This represents the lowest monthly growth rate recorded by the property portal since December 2019. Despite a cooling market – with buyer demand down 7% compared to June 2021 – the relentless price increases are largely being underpinned by record low volumes of homes for sale. Asking prices in June were 0.4% – or £1,354 – higher than the previous month, taking them to new record levels of £369,968, according to the property portal’s latest house price index. The figures – which, unlike other house price indices, are based on completed sales data and not mortgage approvals or asking prices – put the average cost of a UK home at £283,000 in May.
Wales led the way in terms of the largest national house price increase, with the average property climbing in value by 14.2% to £205,000 in the 12 months to February. The average house price in the UK is now £277,000 according to the latest Office for National Statistics figures, and according to Trussle most mortgage lenders require a minimum of a 10% deposit on a property. Average property prices exceeded £250,000 for the first time in April, according to the latest report from Zoopla – but the market is reaching a ‘natural ceiling’ as pandemic-fuelled rocketing house prices begin to cool. Average UK house prices grew by 0.3% in June, marking the 11th consecutive monthly increase recorded by Nationwide.
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