Marlborough News October 2014 London Prices Dip A major house price survey done for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) shows that London house prices fell last month for the first time in more than three years and prices nationwide showed their smallest increase in 15 months. The RICS reported that prices in London fell for the first time since January 2011, ending the longest unbroken run of increases in more than 20 years. “Fading price momentum is more than just a London story,” RICS said. RICS data is based on its members’ views on whether house prices in particular regions have risen or fallen in the past three months. In their benchmarking survey for September, members did not expect recent levels of activity to continue. Over the next 12 months, they predict prices will rise 1% in London and 2% in Britain as a whole. Over the next five years, it expects average
annual price growth of just under 5%. RICS Chief Economist Simon Rubinsohn said that the slowdown in the housing market was “a healthy development”. “Part of this is down to the Bank of England becoming more vocal about the risks, part of this is down to affordability, part of this is down to the new mortgage rules and part of this is down to expectations of higher interest rates,” he said.
Annual change in house prices: England
First-time buyers can save £1,300 per year buying a house r ather than renting The Halifax has produced figures showing that the average monthly mortgage costs associated with owning a three bedroom house for a typical first-time buyer in the UK stood at £677 in June 2014; £110 lower than the average monthly rent paid on the same property type at £787.
to 3.09% in 2014) and rising private rents,” says Craig McKinlay, Mortgage Director at Halifax. But is this trend universal? The Halifax study shows buying is cheaper than renting in all regions, except the East Midlands and East Anglia.
“There has been a significant decline in the cost of buying a home since 2009 and this improvement is due to a combination of lower mortgage rates (typically down from 4.92% in 2009 smithsgore.co.uk
Editorial: On Marlborough High Street, we have seen the level of interest from London buyers lessen over the last few months. The momentum from the spring frenzy of sales slowed and almost stopped as the UK held its collective breath over the Scottish vote. Like a sea going liner, the engine of the property market takes some time to get up to full speed again and the autumn response to new properties has been a bit slow. 2014 has been a strong selling year, but 2015 is not likely to replicate this market.
Scottish Tax Change Homebuyers in Scotland will pay no tax on properties less than £135,000 following a recent announcement by Finance Secretary John Swinney. The Scottish Parliament’s new Land and Building Transactions Tax will see a 12% marginal rate for houses costing more than £1m introduced from April next year. A marginal tax of 2% will also apply to the proportion of a transaction between £135,000 and £250,000. A 10% rate will apply to that proportion of the purchase price above £250,000 up to £1m. John Coleman, Head of Estate Agency in Scotland comments: “Although this new tax assessment will benefit those transacting at levels up to £325,000 it will make it even harder for people to prosper and progress up the property ladder as their family grows. The prime market in Scotland above £1million will soon only be affordable to the very rich, most of whom are likely to come from other countries. Lenders will likely be reluctant to fund the extra tax, so the burden will fall on the buyers.”