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The trade body for landlords, investors and agents yesterday launched the Planning Manifesto, with key proposals including that developers contribute resources to help local authorities deal with planning applications, and councillors receive
formal training to enable them to take more informed decisions.

At present, only councils are allowed to contribute resources because of fears over issues of probity, and councillors receive no mandatory training.

Other suggested measures include reducing the information required to support planning applications, smaller applications being dealt with by planning "technicians" – leaving qualified planners free for major schemes in communities – and councils outsourcing work to private consultants or forming partnerships.

Read more at Telegraph Construction news

Labels: planning manifesto, town planning

The number of houses sold in Britain last month fell to its lowest since 1959 as the government's delayed announcement on changes to stamp duty deterred first-time buyers. HM Revenue & Customs said 62,000 houses were sold in August, less than half the figure for a year ago.

The news came as the British Banker's Association revealed mortgage approvals dived 64% in the year to August.

David Dooks, BBA statistics director, said: "The low number of mortgage approvals in previous months predicted lower gross lending in August and, together with remortgaging, a much weaker net lending figure than of late resulted.

"Falling property prices, economic pressures on households, tighter lending criteria and anticipation of the government's announcement on stamp duty all suppressed or delayed demand in August and will continue having an impact."

Mortgage approvals for house purchases tumbled to 21,086 - the lowest since the series started in 1997 and down from 58,564 in August 2007, when mortgage lending had started to slow.

Article continues at Guardian Property

Labels: House market, property prices, uk mortgage market

The Government's dithering over its position on stamp duty prompted a drop in the number of homes sold last month, according to the National Association of Estate Agents.

Sales per estate agent fell to just five on average in August, down from six the previous month and half the number of that in August last year.

Estate agents said the slump was due to buyers stalling before clinching the deal, as they held out to see what would happen with stamp duty.

More than nine out of 10 agents polled by the NAEA said government dithering had led to greater uncertainty.

Chris Brown, NAEA president, said: "August was...a month of indecision and this evidently has had a profound effect on the market, as many consumers adopted a 'wait and see' attitude while waiting for a decision from the government on stamp duty."

Reports last month that the Government was planning a temporary suspension of stamp duty on all house purchases were neither confirmed nor denied by officials.

Read more at Telegraph property news

Labels: Housing market, National association of estate agents, Stamp duty changes

The market seizure caused by the near-collapse of Bear Stearns, America's fifth-largest investment bank, forced Bank of England governor Mervyn King to announce the special liquidity scheme on April 21.

It was intended to encourage banks and building societies to lend to each other, which they had been reluctant to do as a result of the run on Northern Rock a year ago. The problem was that big financial groups had lost their ability to raise funds by packaging up mortgages into bonds.

These became toxic in the US sub-prime mortgage crisis that started last summer and forced Northern Rock to its knees.

Through the SLS, banks and building societies were able to swap mortgage-backed bonds and other unwanted assets for attractive government paper (nine-month Treasury bills). The idea was to inject more liquidity into financial markets and encourage banks to do business with each other.

Read the full article at Guardian property news

Labels: Bank of England, bear sterns, Mervyn King, northern rock, US sub prime mortgage crisis

Banks are taking a tougher line with commercial property investors and could foreclose on underperforming loans in the sector in the next few months, according to research from Drivers Jonas, the surveying firm.

Property investors that are unable to bring new equity into their investments, to bring loan-to-value ratios back into line, may find themselves in difficulties, the research suggests.

"There seems an inevitability that situations which are deemed to be "underwater" for the long-term could end up with lenders foreclosing," Drivers Jonas says in its summer investment trends report.

"It remains the case that, if possible, banks are using LTV (loan-to-value) breaches to renegotiate loan terms but they will not hesitate to act if they feel that the loan is under threat," the report continues.

It says that banks will become more vocal in the next few months as the risk of tenants failing to pay their rents rises, along with the continuing pressure of capital write-downs across the banking sector.

Read more at Times Online

Labels: commercial mortgages, property prices, UK Interest rates

The Bank of England governor, Mervyn King, yesterday warned the government not to try to artificially support the mortgage market as that could further prolong the year-long credit crunch. He also held out little immediate prospect of interest rate cuts to boost the flagging economy.

Appearing before parliament's cross-party Treasury committee, King said the Bank did not have the resources to underpin lending across the entire financial system and thereby boost mortgage lending.

The Treasury has commissioned Sir James Crosby to report on steps that could be taken to encourage more mortgage lending which could help prevent house prices from tumbling further.

King said there were only two choices for the government - either to let the Bank's special liquidity scheme (SLS) help the financial system gradually return to health, or to fund the mortgage market through a state-run bank.

Article continues at Guardian Online.

Labels: Bank of England, Mervyn King, Mortgage rates, property prices, uk housing

Mortgage rates have fallen back to the level they were before the credit crisis sent the price of home loans soaring last year.

The average interest rate on a two-year fixed-rate mortgage - the most popular deal taken out by home owners - has dropped from a peak of 7.08 per cent at the beginning of July to 6.39 per cent, according to Moneyfacts.co.uk, the financial website.

Two-year rates have not been this low since July 2007, before Northern Rock was forced to borrow £26 billion from the Bank of England and the phrase "credit crunch" entered everyday use.

The figures confirm that while the economy and the housing market continue to slide downwards, the worst seems to be over in the mortgage market.

It follows two months of steady rate-cutting from the UK's leading banks.

Read more at Telegraph Online

Labels: Bank of England, credit crunch, Mortgage lending, Mortgage rates, property prices, uk housing, uk mortgage market

A UK recession could leave up to 1.3 million households in negative equity, analysts predicted yesterday. House prices will fall by 25-35 per cent from peak to trough, compared with just 12 per cent from 1990 to 1995, the Bernstein analysts said. In the "recession case" of a 35 per cent drop, 1.3 million households, or nearly 20 per cent of mortgages, would be in negative equity and banks would lose £38bn over several years, they added.

A slowdown that sees growth of 0.5 per cent next year would result in 400,000 households suffering negative equity. The effect of the far bigger than expected fall in house prices would be offset by lower loan-to-value ratios, less activity near the peak of the market, and higher repayment rates than in the last crash.

On Thursday, Halifax's parent HBOS reported property prices down 12.7 per cent in August from a year earlier. Bernstein said the UK housing market now had strong downward momentum, with mortgage approvals collapsing, estate agents unable to shift stock and industry sentiment gloomy. "With house prices down 12 per cent so far this year on the HBOS index, and significant further falls expected, the fear of negative equity is again stalking the land," the analysts wrote.

Read the full article at The Independent Online

Labels: global recession, Halifax, Housing market, HSBOS, property analysis, property prices, uk housing

Shares in housebuilders rose this morning ahead of the launch of a £1bn government plan to help homeowners. Gordon Brown is expected to unveil a package of measures today to revive the ailing housing market targeted at first-time buyers and vulnerable families.

Shares in Taylor Wimpey jumped 7.6%, up 4.25p at 60.25p in early trading. Barratt was up 5.5%, or 8.5p, at 164.5p while Persimmon climbed 3.9%, or 15p to 400.25p. Bovis Homes advanced 3.4%, or 15.5p, to 466.25p and Wolseley rose 7.5p to 468p, an increase of 1.6%, making it the second-biggest riser on the FTSE 100.

However, the FTSE 100 index was down 20.2 points at 5582.7 points, a fall of 0.36%. Energy groups and miners were among the big fallers. Shares in Tullow Oil fell 3.7%, or 29.5p, to 761.5p, the biggest faller on the FTSE 100, while Cairn Energy dropped 3.5%, or 97p, to £27.13.

Energy shares fell amid talk of profit-taking and as US crude dropped to $108.55 a barrel, its lowest level since mid-April, as worries receded over the impact of hurricane Gustav. "There's been a run up in the shares of late with strong earnings and now people are just cashing in," one trader told Reuters.

For more information visit Guardian Online

Labels: Barratt Developments, Bovis Homes, Gordon Brown, House market, Housebuilders, Persimmon, property development, property prices, property trends, Taylor Wimpey, uk housing, Wolseley

A leading group of property workers has called on the Government to kick start the housing market, as new figures showed that people selling their houses are being forced to cut almost 10 per cent off the asking price to secure a sale.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), said that the Government’s attempts to drag the housing market out of the doldrums have been “limited”, and has made a number of suggestions to kick start activity.

The Government is tomorrow expected to announce a series of new measures to help struggling homeowners and first-time buyers.

Proposals are forecast to include improved support for people facing repossession and shared equity schemes for those trying to get on the property ladder.

Read more at Times Construction news

Labels: falling house prices, House market, House prices survey, Housing Minister, property prices, property trends, RCIS, uk housing

Crest Nicholson, the house-builder taken private last year by HBOS and Scottish tycoon Sir Tom Hunter, has conceded that it could breach its banking covenants if the housing market continues to deteriorate.

In Crest's first set of accounts since de-listing from the stock exchange, which it filed last week, the company warned that its financial structure was highly leveraged.

'Financial forecasts, which take account of current market conditions, do not show any breaches of financial covenants,' Crest said.

'However, if the 2008 housing market proves to be significantly weaker than we expect, there is a risk that financial covenants will be breached. Contingency plans are in place to mitigate this risk.'

Although there has been speculation about the group's financial health, it is the first time it has formally stated there is a chance this could happen. The accounts also show the house-builder made a pre-tax loss of £10.1m in the 12 months to 31 October 2007. 'Finance expenses', including interest on loans, totalled £72.5m over the period.

But trading had remained strong last year, the company stated. Underlying pre-tax profits were £102.8m, up from £100m in 2006, and total housing completions rose by 11 per cent to 2,225. The average sale price was just under £198,000, down fractionally from the average of £199,000 recorded in 2006.

Article continues at Guardian Property

Labels: Crest Nicholson, Housebuilders, Housing market, HSBOS, property development, Sir Tom Hunter, Taylor Wimpey, uk housing