how to Avoid Property Market Dirty Tricks

This article by The Telegraph on October 3rd, 2013 reveals property expert Sarah Beeny's tips on avoiding being ripped off in a rising market.

The housing market is picking up again, which means the familiar cast of property nasties - greedy vendors, gazumping buyers and the oily agents in between - are rising like ghouls back from the dead. And they are bringing with them the old array of dirty tricks that can turn the homebuying process from being merely difficult into pure hell.

Here, Sarah Beeny gives her top tips for avoiding them.

When a property market is busy, there is a lot of pressure on the buyer to move quickly or commit more money than they initially planned.

In this situation, it is crucial for buyers to do their homework.

“I truly believe that people shouldn’t panic buy. You should buy when the time is right for you, not in reaction to what the market is doing,” said property expert Sarah Beeny. “You are buying for 25 years and in that time the market will go up and down, so don’t rush into it.
“Make a considered decision and don’t stretch beyond your budget.”

Before you start looking for a property, you should have a mortgage agreed in principle, Ms Beeny said. “Find out how much you can borrow based on your income and then look around for the best mortgage available,” she said.

Ms Beeny also recommended lining up a solicitor in advance. “You can establish a good relationship and have everything in place when you want to put in an offer – it means the process is less painful and you lessen the risk of losing the property because of delays.”

When you start looking at properties, the most important thing is to look at prices in the surrounding area. “If a new build flat is being valued at £100,000 more than the surrounding properties, for example, there is something out of place,” said Ms Beeny.

Information on sold prices nearby is available online and you can ask neighbours for further details.

Article Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/borrowing/mortgages/10352319/Sarah-Beeny-on-how-to-avoid-property-market-dirty-tricks.html

UK Property Prices Up 0.5% in September

This article by Property Wire on September 30th, 2013 reveals the latest index from Hometrack showing the increase in UK's house prices by 0.5% in the previous month.

House prices in the UK grew by 0.5% in September, the highest monthly increase since May 2007 and 41% of markets registered price rises compared to 6% a year ago.
 
Improving market sentiment, rising demand, low mortgage rates and falling supply are combining to put continued upward pressure on house prices, according to the latest index report from Hometrack.
 
The firm said that house price growth is accelerating on the back of a growing coverage of markets registering price rises. But there are regional variations. Over 70% of markets in London and the South East are registering increases while in all other regions price rises are limited to less than a third of regional markets.

However, in many markets outside London this is the first time that prices have started to register positive growth for over five years. Hometrack says that prices are rising off a low base and talk of a housing bubble is overstated.

These latest figures mean that demand has increased for the eighth month in a row growing by 1.4% in September. Also, the supply of homes for sale fell by 0.3%, the first contraction in seven months.

The data shows that there has been a steady contraction in the supply of homes for sale in London and the South East over the last three months. Across other regions improving market conditions has bought increased supply.

The strongest price rises are in regions where supply is most constrained and the report says that expanding supply is keeping price rises in check in the regions outside London and the South East.

The proportion of the asking price being achieved marginally increased to 94.7%. When this indicator plateaus and starts to decline the level of price growth will start to moderate, it explains.

‘A recovery in buyer confidence against a background of low volumes and scarcity of supply is supporting higher prices. It is important not to understate the impact of low mortgage rates and the buying power this provides to households that are looking to move,’ said Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack.

‘In the near term we expect prices to continue to rise but the market remains very sensitive to changes in demand and especially changing expectations over the outlook for mortgage rates,’ he added.

Article Source: http://www.propertywire.com/news/europe/uk-property-prices-index-201309308292.html

US Consumer Confidence Drops as House Prices Rise at the Fastest Rate in 7 Years

This article by AFP of The Telegraph on September 24th, 2013 reveals the decrease in consumer confidence as house prices rise and shortage in jobs and earnings resurfaced.

US consumer confidence fell slightly in September as Americans grew more wary about the outlook in coming months, according to a closely watched report. 

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index fell to 79.7 in September, down from a revised 81.8 in August.

Though a decline was expected for September, the figure was weaker than the 80.0 consensus estimate.

"This is in line... with buyers awaiting a battle among lawmakers over raising the Treasury debt ceiling that could threaten a government shutdown," said Nate Kelley of Moody's Analytics.

The Present Situation Index rose to 73.2 in September from 70.9 in August.

The Expectations Index, indicating consumers' views on the outlook six months into the future, dived to 84.1 from 89.0 last month.

"Consumer confidence decreased in September as concerns about the short-term outlook for both jobs and earnings resurfaced, while expectations for future business conditions were little changed," said Lynn Franco, the Conference Board's director of economic indicators.

"While overall economic conditions appear to have moderately improved, consumers are uncertain that the momentum can be sustained in the months ahead."

Consumers' outlook on jobs and incomes in the coming months darkened.

The number of consumers expecting more jobs fell to 16.9pc from 17.5pc in August, while those anticipating fewer jobs rose to 19.7pc from 17.2pc.

Income expectations were sharply lower. Those expecting their incomes to increase tumbled to 15.4pc from 17.5pc.

The concerns about lower incomes could crimp consumer spending, the engine of US economic growth.

The decline in expectations "also gibes with our call for a relatively weak holiday shopping season this year," said Moody's Kelley.

But while consumer confidence declined, a closely-watched survey of house prices across 20 major US cities showed that property values increased 12.4pc in the year to July. The rise, the highest in seven years, was widely expected by economists, but some foresee a cooling over the rest of the year as mortgage rates climb.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the Realtors group, said the surge in sales in August was probably the “last hurrah” for the next year to 18 months as higher prices and the jump in mortgage rates hurts affordability for some buyers.

Article Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/10331727/US-consumer-confidence-slips-as-house-prices-rise-at-the-fastest-rate-in-seven-years.html

Prices on Climb Amid Strongest Market Conditions for Six Years in UK

The market is in its best shape since the financial crisis as demand continues to outpace the number of homes for sale, adding to values, according to this recent article by South China Morning Post on September 4th, 2013.

British house price growth accelerated last month amid the strongest market conditions for six years as demand continued to outpace the number of homes for sale, Hometrack said.

Average values in England and Wales rose 0.4 per cent after a 0.3 per cent gain in July, the London-based property researcher said. Prices were up 1.8 per cent from a year earlier, the most since July 2010.

In a separate report, the Engineering Employers' Federation raised its forecasts for UK economic growth and manufacturing output.

Hometrack's survey adds to evidence of a mini-boom in the housing market, with reports last week showing values rising and mortgage approvals at their highest since 2008.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said he was alert to risks from the property market and policymakers would act if signs of a bubble emerged.

Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack, said: "A lack of housing for sale is set to remain a feature of the market and this will keep an upward pressure on prices in the near term.

"We expect demand to continue to expand over the remainder of the year so long as the outlook for the economy and mortgage rates remains unchanged."

Underlying market conditions are at levels not seen since the financial crisis, with the average time taken to sell a property falling to 8.1 weeks and sellers achieving 94.6 per cent of the price sought last month, Hometrack reported.

New buyers registering with real estate agents to browse property rose 1.1 per cent, the same as in July. Demand fell in August in each of the last three years. Growth in new property listings slowed to 0.8 per cent from 2.4 per cent.

Seven of the 10 regions tracked by Hometrack showed price gains, led by a 0.9 per cent increase in London. Two regions showed no change while values dropped 0.1 per cent in the northeast.

Signs of economic growth have lifted consumer confidence. The economy expanded 0.7 per cent in the second quarter, and recent data suggests the recovery is gaining traction.

A survey by the manufacturers' organisation EEF and the accounting firm BDO showed manufacturing output rose to a three-year high in the third quarter, with a gauge of production rising to 32 from 12.

A measure of investment intentions rose to 24, the highest in six years.

The group raised its forecast for manufacturing growth next year to 2.1 per cent from 1.9 per cent, following a 0.5 per cent contraction this year.

It also raised its forecast for UK gross domestic product growth to 1.2 per cent this year and 2 per cent next year, versus earlier projections of 1.1 per cent and 1.8 per cent.

"Industry's prospects have brightened considerably," said Lee Hopley, chief economist at the EEF. "There is growing confidence that improving trading conditions will continue into the final months of this year and then accelerate through the gears in 2014."

Nationwide Building Society said last week that home prices rose 0.6 per cent last month and the Bank of England's commitment to maintain record-low interest rates until at least the end of 2016 may be helping to support demand.

Article Source: http://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/1302634/prices-climb-amid-strongest-market-conditions-six-years-uk