• Three Bedroomed Semi Detached House
• End Site
• West Facing Rear Garden
• Gas Central Heating/Double Glazed

Mortgage lenders are insistent that the housing market recovery is under way.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders says it “may be easy to overlook the recovery that has already quietly been under way”, with consumer sentiment having not yet caught up.

The CML gives ten reasons for its positive outlook, starting with a claim that last year there was the highest number of property transactions since the onset of the credit crunch.

Although the Land Registry data on transactions for 2012 will not be available for several weeks, the CML believes there were some 930,000 transactions. It has reached its figures using HMRC data and estimating December’s sales. However, according to the Land Registry’s most up-todate data, there were just 588,835 property sales in England and Wales up until the end of November.

The CML also believes that the number of first-time buyers is at a post-crunch high, although accepting that the current market is not easy for first-timers. However, it says that the pre-crunch market was not easy for first-time buyers either, and that the UK has a decades-long backlog of not producing enough new homes.

The eight other reasons the CML gives for believing that the housing and mortgage markets are in recovery are:

1.    The availability of 90%-plus LTV mortgages has more than doubled in the past two years
2.    There is ‘much more’ lending at higher LTV levels
3.    More first-time buyers are entering the market without assistance
4.    Lenders expect to offer more high LTV mortgages this year
5.    NewBuy – the controversial taxpayer-backed scheme whereby purchasers of new-build properties only are able to get 95% mortgages – is being extended
6.    Lenders are innovating responsibly – the CML cites Lloyds lend-a-hand mortgage, Nationwide’s save-to-buy scheme and Barclays’ new Family Springboard mortgage
7.    There is ‘constructive’ forward planning going on within the mortgage industry
8.    The outside world is beginning to notice the improvement in lending conditions. The CML says that people are beginning to notice that lenders are open for business.

One of the great things about my job is that people just ring me out of the blue when they need some advice or guidance.

I’ve been running estate agencies for over 30 years and everyone I’ve dealt with knows that they can get in touch about any property problem that is concerning them. Hardly a day goes by without a call from someone who needs help.

On the odd occasion when I’m stuck for an answer I have a ready reference group of experts I can call on.

It’s not just about selling houses!

One of the big topics that’s worrying lots of owners is the growing problem of what to do about buying their freehold or extending a lease. Many Cramlington properties are leasehold and as the leases get shorter they become more difficult to sell. In many cases the leasehold term started quite a few years before the house was constructed, so in effect what was supposed to be a ninety nine year term when the house was new, wasn’t.

In a case that came to our attention recently, there was a six year difference.

As with most difficult things in life many of us like putting off doing these sorts of decisions until we are forced into doing something about it, like deciding to move. The problem then is that it may be too late. It wouldn’t be better to consider looking t

HOUSE sales across the region look set to continue to increase as expectations for the coming three months rose significantly, according to the latest housing market survey by the Royal Institute of Chartered Accountants (RICS).

Surveyors expect house sales and prices to increase over the first quarter of 2013 amid signs of growing confidence in the sector, a report has suggested.

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said more surveyors were predicting an increase rather than a fall in the number of transactions.

More surveyors also forecast price rises over the first quarter.

Its latest survey suggested the housing market in some parts of the country may now be “over the very worst”.

Confidence among surveyors grew, despite a net balance of 19% more respondents reporting a fall in house prices in December.

Demand from would-be buyers remained positive last month, with the number of homes coming up for sale also increasing.

During December, a net balance of 37% more surveyors reported an increase in new instructions.

Across the UK, London once again bucked the overall trend and saw significant increases in prices, while the North East and Wales saw the biggest drops.

Rics Scotland director Sarah Speirs said:

“As we start the new year confidence in the housing market does appear to be improving, with Rics members predicting that transaction levels will continue to increase in many parts of Scotland.

“However, despite these tentative signs of recovery in the sales market, more still needs to be done to ensure potential buyers can access the market at every level.”

 

Source: BBC
…lets hope there’s a knock-on effect for the North-East!

It’s funny going into do a valuation of a house that hasn’t been touched for years. It brings back memories of the mad things that were ” must haves” in ages past.

What were we thinking?

Did you have any of these?

Stone or brick fireplace with a TV stand and a slot for a video.

Fibron wall covering.

Tyne plaque metallic tiles

Avocado or similar yucky coloured bathroom suite

Pine cladding

Is laminate flooring the next one to add to the list?

Any further suggestions to add?

The New Year has started very busily with lots of new houses onto our books and lots of new buyer and renter enquiries. There are very encouraging signs that this is going to  be the beginning of a better and easier time to move home.

At Renown, we feel that there has been a lot of pent up demand with many people waiting to get the Christmas holidays out of the way before deciding to get on with it.

So if you are thinking of selling and want another good reason to use our expertise to get you going here’s one for you: it’s our new 24-hour online service to keep you updated and in contact.

We’re calling it ‘Property Updates’ and it will be launching later this month.

Once registered you will be able to get immediate access to information about your sale with details of all progress to date, number of enquiries received, viewings arranged and feedback from those viewings too!

You’ll find it at renownestates.com/propertyupdates

It’s free to register and, of course, it’s password protected. Completely secure, completely quick and completely convenient.

Just another free addition to our tool bag to keep you up to date and in the loop.

So what are you waiting for?

Give me a call on 01670 730073 or email me at paul@renownestates.com (when the office is closed I’m still working at it).

We’ll also be launching a similar service for our property management clients shortly too – so landlords, stay tuned for details.