| Stamp Duty Holiday Extended |
23-Apr 09 @ 09.12 AM |
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The holiday, announced eight months ago, was due to end in September.
As part of his Budget Report, announced today, Chancellor Alistair Darling (pictured) says: "The recession and the credit crunch have made it much harder for people to take their first step up the housing ladder. So, to help, I have decided to extend the Stamp Duty holiday on properties sold for less than £175,000 until the end of the year.
He adds. "Sixty per cent of residential properties will continue to be exempt, encouraging modest and middle income homebuyers."
But agents have dismissed the move as inadequate.
Doug Sleaper, group regional director for Badger Holdings, parent company to Townends and Regents estate agents, says:
"We would have liked to have seen the minimum Stamp Duty threshold increased to £250,000, especially in the South East where an average property price is considerably higher than £175,000. This has been a missed opportunity - it has simply not been bold enough."
Darling also announced that UK banks will increase mortgage availability by around £20bn this year.
"To build on this, today I can announce the introduction, following state aid approval, of the scheme to guarantee securities backed by mortgages, which will help to ease the flow of mortgage finance."
Although the Government originally earmarked £50bn of funding for this scheme at its original announcement in January, a spokesperson for HM Treasury says that it expects the take-up of the scheme by lenders to be "very low", and that it will be reviewed after a trial run through to October.
Peter Rollings, managing director of Marsh & Parsons, welcomed the scheme: "Crucially, demand for mortgages is there - it's full to bursting. The banks just haven't been able to lend. The Government guarantees for new mortgage-backed securities should offer lenders new finance to fund new lending, to take the cap off pent up demand."
An £80m extension to the HomeBuy Direct shared equity mortgage scheme has also been announced, with the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme, which covers mortgage interest payments for people who have lost their jobs, set to continue for a further six months.
The Budget also outlined support for house builders, with Darling announcing £600m of extra financial support to kick-start stalled housing projects, which includes £100m for local authorities to build new energy-efficient housing.
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| Completions Up |
16-Apr 09 @ 04.22 PM |
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Completed sales per UK surveyor increased to 9.7 last month, reveals the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Though volumes increased only slightly, from 9.6 in February, it is the first increase since the end of 2007, according to RICS' housing market survey for March, published today.
The survey also reveals that surveyors' sales to stock ratio of 14.6% is at its best level since August 2008..
But surveyors had an average 66.7 properties in their portfolio last month, the lowest level since September 2007, with stock having fallen from an average 69.6 in February - nearly 25% down on March 2008.
Some 61% of the 246 surveyors polled reported a fall in house prices over the last three months, down from 69% in February, while 36% reported house prices staying the same and just 2% reported a rise.
Regionally, 61% of surveyors in Scotland reported no price changes, the highest percentage in the UK. In contrast, 79% of surveyors in the East Midlands reported price falls, closely followed by the North West (75%) and the West Midlands (71%).
Only surveyors in East Anglia (3%), the South East (5%), the South West (4%) and London (6%) reported price increases.
John King, founder of Quniton Scott in London, says: "Applicant registrations have improved while the number of viewings has also increased. This has led to an increase in the number of offers received.
Nevertheless, he adds: "The fact is that our results to convert offers to sales have not improved. It is a combination of lower offers, vendors finding it difficult to acquire a suitable new home and valuations for mortgages coming in lower than expected, which is not helping.
Dean Lomas, a surveyor at Warwickshire-based John Earle & Son, says: "Activity has shown signs of increasing. We are booking more viewings and are receiving more offers. The offers, however, are not being accepted as they are very low, but I think more sales will materialize as a result of spring and the increase in activity."
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