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The Rise of the Reluctant Landlord
One rather strange phenomenon of the current downturn in property prices is the rise of the reluctant landlord. These are people who have tried to sell their houses but have been so reluctant to trim the asking price with the various market falls, that they have decided to rent out the property instead. On the face of it, this seems to be perfectly reasonable behaviour – hanging on to the asset until the market picks up and therefore realizing a better price. However, a lot of these reluctant landlords have moved on to another rental property, therefore becoming tenants themselves. read more >>>
The Threat of Negative Equity
With the downward trend in UK house prices seemingly well established, the threat of negative equity looms large for many. An estimation for this figure, one year from now, has been placed at 1.7m home owners according to a predicted figure of house prices falling by a further 17% in the coming year. This figure has come from the credit ratings agency, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) who estimate that 14% of all mortgage holders will be in negative equity one year from now. S&P, who specialize in assessing the credit worthiness of organisations trying to raise money by issuing bonds, looked into a sample of 2 million outstanding mortgages and established that the average borrower has a loan worth 54% of their property’s value. Around 70,000 homeowners (0.6% of all UK borrowers) are already in negative equity. read more >>>
Repossessions on the Rise
According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) there has been a 48% rise in the number of property repossessions within the last year. The actual number was cited at 18,900 in the six months up to June this year and the comparison comes from the 12,800 in the same period of last year. The CML had previously predicted a pessimistic year total of 45,000. This news is not entirely unexpected given the recent slowdown in the economic markets but the magnitude of the rise is more distressing. read more >>>
How to Beat the Housing Slump
You may have spent every bit of spare cash on it over the years, and you’ve probably lost lots of weekends and holidays working on it, but the chances are very high that your home is now betraying you, by dropping thousands of pounds off its value. So how do you get the darn thing to repay some of that time, money and effort? read more >>>
Making the Most of the Downturn
You may be excused for feeling a bit blue at the moment, with every newspaper you pick up and every news bulletin you catch talking about the housing market downturn and all money talk seems to be about a coming recession. What you need to remember that with every slump in the market there are always winners as well as losers. Many smart purchases were made in the housing recession of the early 1990’s by people who have been reaping the rewards in the last few years. So here are some tips on making the best of the current market. read more >>> How to Remortgage in a Difficult Market
Recent figures from the Bank of England and the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reveal that the number of remortgages taken out has fallen 14% from April to May this year. Over 12 months the figure is more marked; down 23% since May 2007. Although remortgaging is the best way to save several hundred pounds per year, these figures are hardly surprising; in the current climate, so many mortgage products have been withdrawn, there is no longer much out there to tempt the homeowner into switching. Many borrowers are opting to stay with their existing lender at the end of the initial fixed period, even if this means a substantial hike in monthly payments on the lender’s standard variable rate (SVR). read more >>>
The Rise of the Eco-Town
Unless you’ve been walking around with your head up your backside recently, you’re bound to have heard of the term “eco-town” and about the growing opposition towards them. The term refers to the government’s plans to meet housing demands in an environmentally friendly way. read more >>>
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The Spanish Property Crash 
If you thought that things were bad at home, spare a thought for the Spanish property market. After a decade of boom, in which house prices doubled, the latest figures make depressing reading for the tens of thousands of Britons who have bought property there. The market shrunk by a massive 39% in March alone and sales by developers are down by 60% in comparison to last year. Combined value of sales has plummeted from £1 billion to less than £240 million.
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Selling in a Difficult Market
Selling houses in a buyers market is never going to be an easy task. Everyone knows that prices are falling at the moment, so the expectation between what the vendor wants to sell at and what the buyer wants to pay, are often poles apart. This situation is compounded by the difficulties in the mortgage market and a shortage of first time buyers. Worse still, property sales rarely happen in isolation and you can find yourself being part of the dreaded chain. Being part of a chain normally means that it only takes one link to pull out and the whole thing falls apart. However, some estate agents can be quite helpful in keeping it together by organising alternative pricing and sometimes even chipping in themselves. It may end up costing you money, but if you really want to sell it may be short term pain for long-term gain.
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