Ants Spy on Their Neighbours to Climb the Property Ladder

This article by Hayley Dixon of The Telegraph on October 2nd, 2013 reveals the same behavior that humans and ants has when it comes to deciding whether they should upgrade their homes or not.

Ants spy on their neighbours, comparing their homes to those around them and waiting for an opportunity to climb the property ladder, a study has found.

The creatures are “nosy neighbours” and like humans must often decide whether they should upgrade or remain in their current home.

But unlike humans, who are susceptible to housing bubbles, the ants seem to invest in their property market in consistent and rational ways, scientists say.

Research by the University of Bristol found rock ants "continually monitor their neighbouring real estate" to scope out potential future homes.

Their efforts depend on the quality of nest they currently inhabit, with those in poor accommodation searching more than others in better homes.

Carolina Doran, PhD student from the University of Bristol's School of Biological Sciences, who worked on the study, said humans could learn from the ants' behaviour.

"This strategy of adjusting their information gathering according to their actual needs and the real value of higher rungs on the property ladder may help ants to evaluate their housing market in a measured and thorough way that puts many of us to shame," she said.

Ms Doran worked with Professor Nigel Franks on the papers, which is published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.

They examined 15 ant colonies from Dorset and found that their priorities were comparable to those of many people, including high ceilings and an open living space.
 

Article Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/10348820/Ants-spy-on-their-neighbours-to-climb-the-property-ladder.html

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

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

Houseboat Living in London

This very interesting video by The Independent on August 1, 2013 showing the transformation of London's waterways into Londoner's new homes.

New piers, floating homes, and hotels are all transforming London's waterways as Londoners make their homes along the Thames and the city's canals

London’s waterways are changing and Mayor Boris Johnson’s 2020 Vision aims to hugley increase use of the river. There are strategies in place for new piers, floating homes, hotels, restaurants and bars.

To watch this exclusive three minute video tour and to take a look inside houseboats on the the Thames, click here.


Video presented by Amira Hashish; filming and editing by James Boakes
 
Video Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/property/houseboat-living-in-london-8742614.html