Property Market Slide 'Arrested'

In this article by Belfash Telegraph.co.uk on August 30th, 2013 said that research shows that the number of properties sold in Dublin rose at a three year high.
 

The number of properties sold in Dublin soared by 13% in the first half of the year, research showed.

A study found 3,671 homes and apartments were snapped up in the capital by the end of July, compared to 3,252 in the same period last year and 2,409 in 2011.

The value of transactions was also at a three year high with almost 1.2 billion euro raised from sales, up a quarter from 965 million a year earlier.

MyHome.ie revealed while the number of transactions rose in 18 areas across the city and county, they fell in some of the most popular places to buy because of lack of supply.
Dublin 14 - which covers from Churchtown, Rathgar and Rathfarnham - boasted the highest number of sales at 224, but was down 5% on last year.

Elsewhere 207 properties changed hands in west Dublin, a 20% drop from last year, and Dublin 16 had suffered a 2% fall despite 217 sales confirmed.

Angela Keegan, managing director, said the main reason behind the fall in certain areas was a lack of suitable stock.

"These figures reflect the shortage of family homes coming to the market," she said.
"Many people are holding onto their tracker mortgages rather than upsizing but it's clear we need to see more new developments coming on stream in the greater Dublin area."

The property website analysed official figures from the property price register, which last week revealed the cost of a home in Dublin jumped by 8% over the last year. The Central Statistics Office said the figure caused national prices to go up 2.3% despite a drop in sale prices outside the capital.

The figures showed more than two thirds of the 23 postcode areas and Dublin county had a record number of transactions for the first half the year since 2010.

However it is believed the housing market in the first few months of 2013 may have been affected by buyers availing of mortgage interest relief which ended at the end of 2012.

More recent data showed there have been 4,743 transactions in Dublin up to August, compared to a total of 8,984 for all of 2012.

Ms Keegan said the figures were encouraging after six years of falling prices.

"That trend could not continue and the fact it has been arrested in Dublin and prices are beginning to stabilise or rise in most areas is a positive development for the property market in the capital," she added.

Article Source: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/republic-of-ireland/property-market-slide-arrested-29537489.html

 

Wind Turbines Don’t Hurt Property Values

This article by John Upton of grist on August 28, 2013 declares that wind turbine won't hurt property values in contrast to the previous reports.

Some people who learn that wind turbines are going to be built in their neighborhood freak out about a couple of things, but science can help put their minds at ease.

First, they worry that their health will be harmed if they develop so-called “wind turbine syndrome.” But there is no evidence that wind turbines actually cause any of the ailments commonly blamed on them.

Next, they worry that the value of their property will fall. “Here come those eggshell-colored spinning things that produce energy but no pollution,” they might mutter to one another in hushed tones. “There goes the neighborhood.”

Fortunately, this concern is equally unwarranted, according to a comprehensive new study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researchers [PDF]. From the study:

We collected data from more than 50,000 home sales among 27 counties in nine states. These homes were within 10 miles of 67 different wind facilities, and 1,198 sales were within 1 mile of a turbine — many more than previous studies have collected. The data span the periods well before announcement of the wind facilities to well after their construction. …

Regardless of model specification, we find no statistical evidence that home values near turbines were affected in the post-construction or post-announcement/pre-construction periods. …

[T]he core results of our analysis consistently show no sizable statistically significant impact of wind turbines on nearby property values.

This was the largest study of its kind, but it was not the first. Studies published by the same laboratory in 2009 and 2011 reached the same conclusions.

“Although there have been claims of significant property value impacts near operating wind turbines that regularly surface in the press or in local communities, strong evidence to support those claims has failed to materialize in all of the major U.S. studies conducted thus far,” said lead researcher Ben Hoen.

Hoen and his colleagues dug up similar but highly localized academic studies focused on parts of Illinois, New York, Ontario, the U.K., and the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Only the latter study found any evidence of a potential effect of wind turbines on property values.

So unless you’re investing in real estate in western Germany, you can breathe easy about any nearby wind energy developments. They won’t harm your health, and they won’t diminish the value of your property portfolio.

Article Source: http://grist.org/news/wind-turbines-dont-hurt-property-values/

George Osborne's Homes Scheme Could Sideline First-Time Buyers

Help to buy homes scheme could cause property prices to new highs says lenders as shown on this article by Hilary Osborne and Phillip Inman of TheGuardian on August 28, 2013.

Help to Buy scheme may 'give with one hand and take with the other' by pushing costs up by 11% by the end of 2016.

George Osborne's policy of kickstarting the housing market with subsidised mortgages could inflate prices to pre-crash peaks and sideline the first-time buyers it is designed to help, according to a group representing some of the UK's biggest banks and building societies

In the latest warning about the impact of the Help to Buy programme, lenders said property prices could rise by 11% by the end of 2016, with artificially inflated valuations the biggest threat to its success. Without a housebuilding programme to address the extra demand, property prices could spiral to new highs, said the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association.

"If house prices continue to rise for the duration of the scheme, then in essence we will be giving with one hand and taking away with the other," said Peter Williams, executive director of the IMLA and director of the University of Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research.

House prices in London are above their 2007 peak, according to the Nationwide building society, but taken across the entire country they remain 9% lower, as IMLA warned that under the scheme the average UK home would cost £180,256 by the end of 2016. That would take average prices close to 2007 peak of £181,975.

The Help to Buy scheme, announced by the chancellor in March, aims to grant mortgages to homebuyers with a deposit of as little of 5% of a property's price.

The first part of the programme, which allows buyers to subsidise purchases of newbuild homes with an interest-free loan from the government, launched in April. It has been credited with reversing a fall in housebuilding and boosting consumer confidence. However, the second part, which will be introduced at the start of 2014 and will offer a taxpayer-backed guarantee to lenders who offer mortgages worth up to 95% of the property's value, has attracted criticism from economists, politicians and other commentators, who have warned it could fuel a house price bubble. Albert Edwards, who heads the global strategy team at Société Générale, described it as a "moronic policy".

IMLA, whose members include subsidiaries of Santander, Barclays and Nationwide that offer mortgages through brokers, said 60% of its members believed the scheme could be undermined by a house price bubble.

While all respondents agreed first-time buyers had the most to gain from the second part of the scheme, they are likely to be the hardest hit by a rise in prices to 2007 levels. This would push the cost of a 5% deposit from £8,321 at the end of this year to £9,013 by the end of 2016.

A recovery in the housing market has accompanied a turnaround in the economy since the beginning of the year. GDP has risen by 1% in the first six months, with most sectors of the economy showing they expanded compared to last year.

However, the TUC is warning that a rise in UK population, by 2.3 million to 63.7 million over the last five years, means the benefits of GDP growth have been spread over a greater number of people. According to a TUC analysis, GDP per head is still 0.7% lower than when the coalition took office and 7.5% lower than the UK's peak level in late 2007.

The TUC's general secretary, Frances O'Grady, warned that the recent burst of borrowing by consumers to fund everything from house purchases to the weekly shop was based on extra debt and not on a rise in incomes.

She said: "Too many people are having to run down their savings or turn to credit cards to spend in the shops, rather than see their incomes grow. And behind improving employment figures are millions of workers whose incomes are falling and who can't get enough hours to make ends meet.

"We all want to see the UK economy back on track but any talk of recovery is meaningless unless we get the right kind of growth."

The current level of GDP per head at £23,728, is mere 0.7% higher than at the lowest point of the recession in September 2009, the TUC said.

Article Source: http://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/aug/28/george-osborne-housing-policies-damage

Prime Property Prices in Central London Still Rising

This article of the Property Wire on August 26, 2013 shows that prime property prices in central London continued to rise in August but there are indications that buyers are becoming more resistant to continued price rises, especially at the top of the market.
 
The latest central London sales index from Knight Frank shows that property prices in London’s best postcodes increased by 0.6% this month and so far this year prices have risen by 4.8%.

Marylebone and Notting Hill recorded the largest rises over the course of the month, up by 1.5% and 1% respectively. Islington, City Fringe and Hyde Park all reported price growth of 0.9% in August.

In spite of record prices, enquiry levels are still robust and interest among prospective buyers remains high across central London. The number of new applicants is up by 33.9% over the year to date compared to the same period in 2012 and the number of property viewings conducted over this period is up by 18.5%.

At the same time annual price growth for properties in Greater London is now outstripping prime central London, boosted by the city’s continued economic recovery and government policy.

Figures from the Office of National Statistics show that property prices in Greater London have risen by 8.1% over the past 12 months. In comparison the Knight Frank Prime Central London Sales Index is up by 7% on an annual basis.

Price rises in prime central London are primarily being driven by homes in the sub £1 million and £1 million to £2.5 million price bracket.

Homes in these price brackets increased by around 1% in August and are up by 8.7% and 7% respectively over the year to date. Comparatively, homes in the £5 million to £10 million and the £10 million plus price brackets increased in value by 0% and 0.2% month on month and are up by 2.6% and 1.6% respectively so far in 2013.

Knight Frank says that key factors driving price growth and interest include the city’s reputation as a safe haven for investment, and the value of the pound. However the firm’s global head of residential research Liam Bailey pointed out that performance has outperformed forecasts.

‘Last year, we forecast that prices would remain unchanged in 2013, marking an end to the strong run the market has seen since early 2009. Our rationale was that the increase in Stamp Duty would have an impact on the top end of the market and there would be resistance to price growth from domestic and international purchasers,’ he explained.

‘In the event we overstated the negative impact of the 5% to 7% Stamp Duty rise for £2 million plus properties. The further weakening in sterling in the first half of the year helped to boost overseas interest and domestic demand has been aided by London’s continued economic recovery and, arguably, from the government’s Help to Buy scheme, which was launched at the end of the first quarter this year and has boosted sentiment across the market,’ he added.

He also said that while Help to Buy, with its £600,000 valuation cap is a more significant factor in the wider mainstream market, rising housing market sentiment, as reported in the firm’s latest House Price Sentiment Index, is infectious across markets and price brackets and is likely to act as a positive influence in terms of future pricing, even in London’s prime
market segments.

‘We have therefore raised our forecast for prime central London price growth for 2013 to 6%,’ he added.

Article Source: http://www.propertywire.com/news/europe/prime-london-property-prices-201308268161.html

Mortgages Up By Third as Housing Sales Soar

Sarah O'Grady of Express discusses the banks' approved mortgages is third higher compared to last year as the housing market continues to step up according to this article on 24th August, 2013.

The number of mortgages approved by banks is a third higher than a year ago as the housing market revival continues to gather pace.

Some 37,200 approvals for house purchases worth a total of £5.7billion got the green light in July, the British Bankers’ Association reported.

This was only slightly down on a 17-month high of 37,337 the previous month.

The BBA said the “stronger pattern” seen in the mortgage market since the start of the year has continued into the summer.

Mortgage approvals to home buyers are 31 per cent higher than in the same period last year and re-mortgaging approvals are 40 per cent higher.

However, overall mortgage lending remains “subdued” because homeowners are making high repayments on their loans, the BBA said.

Various Government schemes to boost the housing market mean several mortgage lenders have been offering their lowest ever rates.

With poor returns generally on offer on savings, this has made it more attractive for people to use any spare cash to pay down their mortgage debt.

BBA statistics director David Dooks said: ­“Mortgage activity has strengthened during 2013 with the help of Government schemes. But high ­repayments and redemptions mean that we are not seeing increases in net mortgage borrowing for the high street banks.”

Jonathan Harris, director of mortgage broker Anderson Harris, said that despite the uplift in activity, house sales are still far lower than they were at the height of the boom years.

Article Source: http://www.express.co.uk/news/property/424289/Mortgages-up-by-third-as-housing-sales-soar

UK Property Prices Rise By 5.5%

This article by Natasha Al-Atassi of Select Property on August 22, 2013 reveals that properties in the UK rose in price by 5.5% between August 2012 and August 2013 according to Rightmove.

Summary:

• House prices in the UK are £249,199 on average
• This is an increase of 5.5% in August 2012
• London saw the greatest price increase, rising 10.2% in the 12 months

Property values in the UK have risen by 5.5% over the last year, according to recent figures from Rightmove.

In the property search website’s latest House Price Index, it revealed average property prices rose significantly between August 2012 and August 2013, taking the typical asking price to £249,199.

According to figures, the average cost of a detached home in the UK is £364,254, up by 4.2% year-on-year, and semi-detached properties are typically £204,392, an increase of 3.8% over the 12 months.

Rightmove also reported terraces rose in value by 4.4%, taking them to £188,445, while apartments average £209,652, an increase of 5.9% over the year.

The area of the country with the most expensive average prices is London, which saw prices grow by 10.2% over the year to £501,067.

Comparatively, costs in the north were the cheapest in the UK with values averaging £149,362 in August, a rise of 0.8% over the year, followed by Yorkshire and Humberside’s low prices at £154,237, and the north-west at £164,503.

These results come after Knight Frank and Markit’s released findings that showed 18% of British homeowners believe their property increased in value in July, which is the fifth consecutive month households have thought real estate values in the UK are on the rise.

Article Source:  http://www.selectproperty.com/2013/08/rightmove-uk-property-prices-rise-by-5-5/

Small Debts Enough for UK Lenders to Force Borrowers to Sell Property

UK lenders can now go to court and force their borrowers who has unpaid credit card bill worth 1,000 pounds to sell their property as revealed in this August 20, 2013 issue by RT.

An unpaid credit card bill worth 1,000 pounds is now enough for a UK lender to go to court, forcing debtors to sell their property. A recent regulation puts tens of thousands of British homeowners at risk of losing their houses. Frankie Waller, an owner of a modest London dwelling, might well soon lose the place holding memories of the last 20 years of his life. September court hearings will decide if he can keep his home or will have to sell it to repay 6,000 pounds of credit card debts he has run up.

“Nobody asked me or twisted my arm to take out the credit. That’s my doing entirely”, Waller confessed to RT’s Polly Boyko. “But the word ‘unsecured’ was attached to it.”

That key word – unsecured – is supposed to mean the loan is not attached to any of your assets. However, as of October 2012 the rules of the lending game have been changed by a government regulation, making it easier to turn unsecured debt into secured. That means failure to pay it off puts borrowers at risk of losing their homes.

A creditor has been given the right to apply to court for a charging order, forcing the debtor to sell his property. As of April, accumulating a debt of just 1,000 pounds is enough for the ‘un’ prefix to disappear from your unsecured loan.

Edward Ware from Step Change Debt Charity, which is trying to help those with serious debt problems, believes the regulation makes too many homeowners vulnerable.

“We wanted that threshold set at 25,000 pounds because we wanted that extra layer of consumer protection. The government have [sic] made it easier for lenders to get charging orders,” Ware told RT.

Britain’s Office for Fair Trading has already warned major banks over threatening to force debtors to sell their homes over debts of just over 1000 pounds.

However, when the threshold was introduced in April, the Justice Ministry justified it as a measure helping protect debtors.

“With a high threshold, such as 25,000 pounds, there is a risk that creditors may seek to recover their debt by initiating bankruptcy proceedings as an alternative to enforcement. This would be a more draconian outcome for debtors than an Order for Sale”, Lord McNally, Minister of State (Ministry of Justice) said.

However, house prices in the UK are on the rise, and debt charities are predicting a surge in charging orders. Because if a debtors’ house gains value, its sale is guaranteed to return their debts to their creditors.

Besides, a recent survey, issued on Monday, suggests the Britons have become less cautious with unsecured loans, finding them increasingly easy to obtain. Households' perceptions of credit availability rose to 48.4 in August from 47.7 in July, survey compiler Markit says, adding that it’s the biggest rise since the survey began in February 2009.

"A brightening economic and financial outlook, alongside some signs of improved access to household credit, looks to have spurred consumer spending again in August," senior Markit economist Tim Moore, as cited by Reuters.

Frankie Waller, however, has been sobered out of his own bright vision of lending and spending.

“How’d you think it makes me feel?” he asks. “I mean I feel thoroughly sick, and my wife feels thoroughly sick over it. It’s something in the good times we took pride in paying and throughout the bad times we’ve struggled for very hard. This extra pressure, financial pressure is causing a rift between my wife and I. Our relationship is very strained… life’s not good.”

And Waller’s not alone in his grief. Eighty-one thousand and fifty-nine Britons faced charging orders in 2011, according to the most recent statistics by the Ministry of Justice. The post-regulation statistics is yet to come.

Article Source: http://rt.com/news/uk-regulation-charging-order-718/

Warning of London Housing Bubble as Mortages Soar by 29%

This article was published on London Evening Standard on August 20, 2013, written by Jonathan Prynn stating the increased in mortgage may result in dangerous housing price bubble in London.

A dramatic surge in mortgage lending today sparked fresh fears about a dangerous house price bubble in London.

Banks and building societies advanced home loans worth £16.6 billion last month, up 29 per cent on last year and the biggest rise for seven years.

Property experts said low mortgage rates, the Government’s Help to Buy scheme and growing confidence about the economy contributed to the increase in lending.

But MPs warned that the lending boom could simply “pour petrol” on a market already showing signs of overheating and price more Londoners out of home ownership.

Mark Field, Conservative MP for the Cities of London and Westminster, said: “The London market has never really been in the doldrums. The danger here is that affordability of property prices becomes ever more a fantasy for more and more people.”

Government figures last week showed prices rising at eight per cent to a record average £425,000 in June compared with one per cent outside London and the South-East.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders figures today reveal lending is bouncing rapidly from the depressed levels of around £10 billion to £13 billion a month seen since the  banking crisis five years ago, Last month’s total was the highest since October 2008.

The Treasury’s Funding for Lending scheme, aimed at encouraging bank funding for home buyers and small businesses, and the Help to Buy programme, which has already been taken up by 10,000 new home owners, have contributed to the return of confidence.

Borrowers were further encouraged by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney suggesting that its 0.5 per cent lending rate is unlikely to be increased before 2016.

Fixed-rate mortgage deals are at historic lows, with some lenders offering fixed-rate deals below two per cent, levels described as “quite staggering” by Ed Mead of London estate agents Douglas & Gordon.

There have even been the first signs of the return of interest-only mortgages with lenders such as Clydesdale and Yorskshire offering nought per cent for the first three years on some deals.

But leading property experts called on George Osborne to scrap the second phase of its Help to Buy mortgage scheme in London, due to come into force in January.

Doug Shephard, director at property search website Home.co.uk, warned: “The London property market clearly needs no further stimulus; it’s running too hot already.” Stuart Law of buy-to-let investment firm Assetz said lending conditions are so favourable that he expected “double digit” rises in property prices next year.

Shadow housing minister Jack Dromey warned: “Unless the Government invests in building the homes our capital city badly needs, rapidly rising property prices will put the dream of home ownership beyond the grasp of millions of Londoners.”

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’s market and data analyst Caroline Purdey said: “An improvement in sentiment and activity continues to show in the UK housing and mortgage markets, with a more positive picture also starting to emerge in the economy.

“Our forward estimate of gross mortgage lending in July reinforces a growing evidence base of a strengthening in the housing and mortgage markets.” The CML’s members account for 95 per cent of residential home loans in the UK. There are 11.3 million mortgages in the UK, with loans outstanding worth more than £1.2 trillion. However, with many borrowers still effectively locked out of the market — such as those with impaired credit ratings or negative equity — there is still a long was to go until  lending recovers to the peaks of £30 billion in 2006 and 2007.

Nevertheless leading property figures welcomed the return to more “normal” conditions after so many barren years. Richard Sexton, director of chartered surveyors e.surv, said: “The mortgage market has been the pillar of the economic recovery. The freeze on high loan to value mortgages has thawed, and first-time buyer lending is at its highest since the banking crisis.”

Housing minister Mark Prisk said: “Today’s figures show our Funding for Lending Scheme, and record low interest rates, have led to the highest level of mortgage lending since 2008. But alongside this, we’re also pulling out all the stops to get Britain building, and the increased availability of mortgage finance is boosting confidence in the housing market, and encouraging house builders.

“We’ve also been working with the Mayor to invest billions of pounds to deliver the fastest rate of affordable housebuilding for two decades.”

‘High prices have forced us to look outside capital’

MEG Jorsh and boyfriend Jason Rowbottom have become so demoralised by London prices they have taken their property search away from the capital.

The couple bring home a combined income of about £65,000 and are saving £500 each a month for a deposit — despite the £900 monthly rent for their two-bed flat in Beckenham.
They would like to stay in London but have decided to buy in Manchester.

Journalist Ms Jorsh, 29, whose 30-year-old boyfriend is a manager at the Health and Care Professions Council, said London’s property prices were so high that the help-to-buy schemes would have no impact. “We would love to get on the ladder for the security that it gives you, but we know we are in for a long slog,” said Ms Jorsh.

“We are planning to move to the North so what we can buy will actually be decent.
“Even with a £25,000 deposit here, which seems like so much money, we’d probably only end up with a one-bed flat. It would be wonderful to be able to stay in London, but we just can’t have the kind of lifestyle that we would like.

“The whole thing is really depressing and deeply demoralising.”
The couple expect it will take two to three years to raise a deposit.

Article Source: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/warning-of-london-housing-bubble-as-mortages-soar-by-29-8776256.html

UK Property Firm Reports Surge in Interest from Australian Investors

PRWeb on August 20, 2013 reveals Knight Know international's interest has extended it's reach into the outback after seeing the high demands in the UK property market from Australian investors.

After selling properties in Asia, the Far East and The Middle East, Knight Knox International has now extended its reach into the outback, after seeing an upsurge in the amount of interest in the UK property market from Australian investors. 

Following the Knight Knox International’s exhibition team’s first ever attendance at an Australian property exhibition, the North West investment firm can report that interest from Australia is indeed high, after taking over 89 enquiries in the three-day show.

Two main factors are being identified as the reason for this upsurge. The first of which is the costly nature of the Australian property market which freezes out many of its own home-grown investors.

Identified in the 2013 Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey as the third most unaffordable major market, properties across Australia continue to experience rises in price.

So much in fact, that the house price index for 8 major cities in Australia rose by 2.6% during Q1 2013, with a surge of 8% in properties in Darwin, an upscale of 6.1% in Perth and a rise of 3.6% in Sydney, according to the Australian bureau of statistics.

The second reason behind this rise in Australian investment is the continuing depreciation of the Australian dollar causing many to put their money in UK Stirling and property, allowing them to both secure their funds and gain financial rewards.

The value of the Australian dollar has been dipping dramatically since April, with the IMF reporting that the dollar has depreciated by around 10% since; this is just one of a series of major drops the dollar has experienced, it also fell by about 7 per cent between May and mid-June and falls such as this, are another reason behind the upsurge in interest in the UK property market.

Alasdair Mcdonald, a member of the Knight Knox International exhibitions team spoke of the rising interest from Australian investors, which he saw direct evidence of at the Sydney Homebuyer and International Property Investor Show.

Alasdair commented: “When discussing potential investment options with Australian investors their true feelings come to the fore, they expressed that there is no country that they would prefer to invest in more than the UK because of the security and also because they are investing in pounds sterling, as well as generating a steadily increasing income on the net rental side. Also as an overseas investor they will be paying zero capital gains tax and be taxed considerably less on their rental.”

The Knight Knox International Exhibitions Team will continue exhibiting on the team's first visit to Australia on August 23rd at the Homebuyer & Property Investor Show, Melbourne.
Investors are urged to come along to the three day event which comes to a close on the 25th of August, to take advantage of exclusive offers the team will be offering in the UK buy-to-let and student accommodation market at the event.

 Article Source: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/8/prweb11027188.htm

House Price Rise Doesn't Have Any Bearing on Real Life

In this article on August 17, 2013 by Kate Hughes of The Independent discussing the value of house price rise means nothing because a house only worth what someone will pay for it and besides it's a home and you can't sell what you still need. 

Your home might be worth more on the market, but you still need somewhere to live.

Feeling better about cash, the economy and everything yet? The latest rounds of financial and economic survey data suggest we should be.

Just by way of a quick recap, unemployment is down by 4,000 to 2.51 million in the quarter to June this year, and the number of "economically inactive" people aged 16-64 in the UK was down 10,000 from the first quarter of 2013, according to the Office for National Statistics. Total pay also rose in the last year by 2.1 per cent.

Inflation is also down, very slightly, across the board, with the Consumer Prices Index down just a touch from 2.9 per cent to 2.8 per cent in July, thanks in part to the drop in leisure, cultural and clothing costs, and the Retail Prices Index, which includes housing costs, was down from 3.3 per cent to 3.1 per cent.

Meanwhile, Gross Domestic Product – the broad measure of the state of the economy – is up 0.7 per cent in the last quarter to July according to this month's estimate, following 0.6 per cent growth the quarter before.

And unless you've been in a coma this week, you'll already know that house prices are up by 3.1 per cent in the year, compared with 2.9 per cent in May. The term "escape velocity" is being used with reckless abandon. Happy days.

Except that last piece of good news in particular has no bearing on real life. First, a house is only worth what someone will pay for it, and until the money is in your account, a valuation means nothing. Some unscrupulous agents are already overegging valuations in a bid to max out their commission if it does come off, safely hidden from view by this rising tide.

Second, the British obsession with owning property means we often forget that our house may be our greatest asset, but it's a home first and foremost. And you can't sell what you still need. So unless you're not too worried about having a roof over your head, when exactly are you going to crystallise that "gain"?

Third, if you do sell to move on what difference does it make anyway as your next step on the ladder is likely to have headed the same way, unless you're moving far, which is statistically unlikely, or you are downsizing significantly.

Of course, there's the much-repeated argument about house prices, consumer confidence and economic wellbeing. But consumer confidence based on thin air puts us right back where we were a few years ago, or have we all forgotten?

Unless you have some truly altruistic wish to support the wider economy rather than yourself, go out and spend your cash when you (eventually) get a pay rise, when there is real money in your pocket, not when someone with a sharp but cheap suit tells you your house is worth 5 per cent more than it was the last time you blinked.

Finally, and most importantly, as those outside the South-east of England have learned, house prices can fall as well as rise. But historically low interest rates and pressure on banks not to repossess mean the rest of us have forgotten what that really looks like.

The average house price is now £169,624. (And here I acknowledge that "average" covers a multitude of north-south divide sins.) Meanwhile, the average UK salary before tax is £23,244. Even if there are two or more adults working full time in your household, with one far outstripping the other, this isn't rocket science. And the problem is far, far more extreme in the South-east.

I feel for first-time buyers watching property prices sprint off into the distance. But for them there should be some comfort drawn from the fact that this too is temporary.

Article Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/money/spend-save/kate-hughes-house-price-rise-doesnt-have-any-bearing-on-real-life-8772589.html

Would You Live in a House of Horrors?

Notorious serial killing necrophiliac Dennis Nilsen's muswell hill flat is up for sale. Would you consider buying this property where the serial killer butchered his victims? This horrifying article by John Hall of The Independent on 15th of August, 2013 reveals the terrifying history of the house.

It’s a fairly innocuous note at the end of a property listing that quietly alludes to the shocking history of the bargain price flat up for sale.

And the history of Flat 23D in leafy Cranley Gardens, Muswell Hill is nothing if not shocking.

For this is not just the attic apartment where notorious serial killing necrophile Dennis Nilsen butchered his victims, it is also the property where the stench of drains clogged with rotting body parts eventually led to his capture.

It would appear a number of prospective buyers may already have “researched the history of the property” however, as over the last fortnight the already bargain asking price of £265,000 has been slashed by a further £25,000 to £240,000.

Similar properties in the area are listed for sale at over £385,000.

Described as a “charming” property that is “centrally located and within walking distance to Muswell Hill Broadway and its bars and cafes”, the flat is a top floor, one bedroom property with a private balcony, living room, kitchen, shower room and separate toilet.

It also comes with some pretty gruesome historical baggage.

In October 1981, Dennis Nilsen moved to the Cranley Gardens property having already murdered at least 12 young men – many of them homeless homosexuals he met in bars or on the streets and lured to his home with the promise of food, alcohol and shelter.

In previous properties Nilsen had had access to outside space, so after killing his victims and often engaging in sexual acts with their corpses, he would dismember them and either burn the remains on a bonfire, or leave entrails in the garden for foxes to eat.

Upon moving into the Cranley Gardens property, Nilsen showed no sign of bringing a halt to his killing. It is believed he murdered at least four more men in the attic flat that is now up for sale.

As the current property listing states, the flat has no access to a garden - unlike Nielsen’s previous homes – which led to him storing his victims’ mutilated remains in bin bags stuffed into wardrobes and cupboards around the flat.

Once the stench of the rotting corpses began to attract the attention of neighbours, Nilsen attempted to dispose of them by flushing the body parts down the toilet.

The remains eventually led to a blocked sewage system and when drain clearage company Dyno-Rod visited the property, they discovered a flesh-like substance being eaten by rats. Although they reported the blockage as suspicious, the drain inspectors removed the substance, assuming it to be a odd but not necessarily sinister build-up of chicken flesh and bones.

The drain inspector’s supervisor thought it best to report the substance to police, however, and on closer inspection pathologist Professor David Bowen, found it be a build-up of human remains.

Nilsen was arrested as he returned home from work, after officers entered the property and smelt rotting flesh coming from his flat. He calmly told police where in the property they would find remains, adding that he had killed “15 or 16 since 1978”.

On a search of the apartment, the remains of three men were found in a wardrobe, tea chest and bathroom drawer. His previous address was subsequently searched, and more body parts were found there too.

Nilsen pleaded guilty by way of diminished responsibility in order to be convicted of manslaughter, but on November 4 1983 he was convicted of six counts of murder and two attempted murders.

He was initially given a minimum 25-year prison sentence, but this was later changed to a whole-life sentence. Last month the European Court of Human Rights ruled the whole-life tariff illegal, however, meaning the 67-year-old must now be given a minimum term by the High Court.

Article Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/would-you-live-in-a-house-of-horrors-muswell-hill-flat-where-serial-killing-necrophiliac-dennis-nilsen-butchered-victims-goes-up-for-sale-8763510.html

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