Archive for March, 2008
Monday, March 31st, 2008
People looking to buy a house in Scotland for investment purposes may wish to consider opting for a university town.
BuyAssociation has stated that in doing so, investors stand to benefit from the guaranteed demand generated by a student population, as well as the flexibility that comes along with it.
Paul Collins, property editor of BuyAssociation, commented: "There are certainly some really good opportunities to rent out to students.
"You have the advantage that the property is only going to be occupied for nine months of the year. You have that summer period where it is going to be empty, so you can do repairs or lease it out further to the tourist trade."
He added, however, that there may be a downside to buying houses in university towns in terms of maintenance and rent, as students do not tend to have a great deal of money.
In August last year, Halifax recorded that 20 university towns in the UK experienced house price growth. In terms of Scottish property, Aberdeen and Dundee have seen a 75 per cent and 64 per cent increase respectively in average house prices over the past three years.
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Monday, March 31st, 2008
In news that may be of importance to people hoping to sell a property in Scotland, net mortgage lending strengthened last month, according to one organisation.
The British Bankers’ Association’s (BBA) February figures for the main high street banks has revealed that an increase has been experienced in their market share as a result of "strong remortgaging".
In fact, Scottish property owners may be interested to learn that mortgage lending increased from £5 billion to £5.6 billion, reflecting an annual growth of 12.8 per cent.
Mortgage approvals also increased, as did equity withdrawal, although the value of the mortgages authorised decreased slightly.
BBA statistics director, David Dooks, commented: "In an environment of tightening lending criteria, re-mortgaging, either to fix, re-fix or reduce borrowing costs, has been a clear influence on mortgage data in the first two months of this year."
Defaqto commented on the results of the survey, stating that the composition of the mortgage market has changed dramatically over the last year, adding that the market may not change in favour of house purchasing this year.
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Friday, March 28th, 2008
Young professionals looking to buy a house in Scotland may stand to benefit from interest-only mortgage payments, it has been claimed.
Although these kinds of mortgages are not usually advised, they may help householders take control of their outgoings, Alexander Hall has claimed.
The mortgage advisory service stated that this may be of particular benefit to people in the right circumstances, such as young professionals.
Andy Pratt, chief operations manager of Alexander Hall, explained that when starting off in a career, people have options open to them, which may allow them to pay off their mortgage in lumps sums.
He said: "Instead of relying upon the lender to control the amount that they pay off on the loan, some feel quite knowledgeable and confident enough to pay the interest and control for themselves how much of the loan they pay off by doing it in lump sums every two or three years."
This may be of particular benefit for first-time buyers moving to different parts of the UK, he added, which may resonate with people who want to buy a house in Scotland.
The number of people opting for interest-only mortgages increased from six to 20 per cent between 2002 and 2007, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
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Friday, March 28th, 2008
Many under-30s, including people looking to buy a house in Scotland, see owning their own homes as a priority, it has been claimed.
A new study by Alliance & Leicester (A&L) has found that people in their 20s set this as one of their key goals, while over half of people aged between 18 and 29 claim that this could be realistically achieved by the time they reach 30.
The average age of first-time buyers is now 29, according to the study, reflecting an increase from the 1990s when it stood at 28.
Richard Taylor, head of mortgage products at A&L, explained that many people hope to acquire their own property early in life, adding that under-30s feel confident about doing so, even in the face of the global economic slowdown.
He said: "Reaching 30 years old appears to be a landmark age for many people with it being set as a deadline for some major life events, like owning a property, getting married or starting a family."
First-time buyers, including those looking for Scottish property, have been found to have dipped into savings for housing deposits in order to pay for other items such as cars and holidays, according to Abbey.
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Thursday, March 27th, 2008
Further cuts in the base interest rate by the Bank of England may serve to relieve the strain on people who want to buy a house in Scotland.
So claims John Charcol, which states that, despite the fact that the Treasury has predicted a 2.25 per cent growth in 2009, the Bank may make cuts in order to ease the pressure on mortgage lenders.
Katie Tucker, spokesperson for John Charcol, explained that homeowners and people looking to buy Scottish property, as well as houses elsewhere in the UK, should hope for another Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) cut.
She said: “Cash-strapped homeowners will be relieved to know that some relief to their purse-strings may still be due, as mortgage lenders’ own cost of borrowing is high and a further bank rate cut may be used to relieve this.”
The MPC recently decided to maintain the base interest rate, keeping it at 5.25 per cent; however, Bank of England governor Mervyn King admitted this week that a further reduction is a possibility.
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Thursday, March 27th, 2008
Tips for making a house more appealing to potential buyers have been proffered by one estate agent, which may be of interest to those hoping to sell a house in Scotland.
Creating a good impression is vital to sell a home, as househunters like to think that the house they are interested in has been well looked after, according to haart.
Paul Smith, chief executive of the company, explained that the difference spending a bit of time and effort on making a house clean and tidy can be "amazing".
He advised: "De-clutter and depersonalise. Potential buyers need to be able to imagine themselves living in your house so that means ornaments, paperwork, posters, family photographs, coats, shoes and toys need to be put away.
"Making your house as inviting as possible will mean you will invite much more interest and ultimately sell your property for a good price."
Recent research from the National Association of Estate Agents has shown that the average time it takes to sell a house, including Scottish property, is just over 20 weeks.
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Thursday, March 27th, 2008
A Scottish version of home information packs (Hips) is to be introduced later this year, which could be of benefit to people looking to buy a house in Scotland, according to one website.
In December, Scottish Home Reports are to be introduced, which will act in a similar way to Hips in England and Wales, which were introduced last year for properties for sale.
The Scottish property versions may see an improvement on the English packs, however, according to Which?, as they build on the existing packs that include energy performance certificates and several sales documents.
Nick Cheek, assistant editor of the price comparison site, claimed that the English Hips could stand to benefit from introducing elements of the Scottish system into their packs.
He said: “These will include, not only what’s included in the English Hips, which is the energy performance certificate, but they’ll also include a survey which is really what we’d like to see.
“I think [this] would make Hips much more useful than they are now.”
Quotes for Hips in England and Wales vary from region to region, with price disparities ranging from £234 to £529.
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Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
People who want to buy a house in Scotland may be interested to learn that one Fife development is fast running out of available properties.
The George Wimpey Redmond Vale development in Kelty has only a few homes left before all the plots are sold.
Incentives such as a £99 reservation charge, the cover of a five per cent deposit, stamp duty and legal costs have made the development popular among people looking to buy Scottish property.
The four and five-bedroom detached homes are situated close to the M90, offering commuting options for those who travel to Edinburgh.
Karen Armstrong, sales and marketing director for George Wimpey, stated: “The development is now in its final stages with just a few homes left, so if customers are interested in this development it’s a great time to pop along and see what’s available.”
Scottish homeowners currently pay less stamp duty than most of the UK, according to SmartNewHomes.com.
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Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
In news that may be of interest to people looking to sell a house in Scotland, housing market pressures are causing buyers to be prudent, according to one organisation.
The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has reported that the number of housebuyers registered with estate agents decreased to 243 in February from 276 the previous month.
The global credit crunch and squeeze on mortgage approvals were cited by the NAEA as possible reasons for this dip.
However, figures that may be pertinent to people who own Scottish property suggest that sales in the UK remain stable, as the number of properties purchased saw only a marginal decrease.
Stewart Lilly, NAEA president, commented: "The figures reported in February echo the current climate of confusion that is clouding the property market at present.
"Invariably, the global credit crunch, especially the US situation, has had a knock-on effect, which coupled with consumer inflation, is placing continuing pressure onto the property market."
This contrasts with the consumer optimism reported by the association earlier this year, when the number of first-time buyers increased to 14.5 per cent.
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Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
The government should cut the amount of red tape surrounding the building of new houses, it has been claimed.
The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has asserted that the government’s plans to build three million new homes can only be successfully executed through a reduction in regulations.
An announcement, which may be of interest to people looking to buy a house in Scotland, was made today (March 26th) by secretary of state for communities Hazel Blears, stating that a review of the planning consent process was to be undertaken.
Brian Berry, director of external affairs at the FMB, welcomed the statement.
He commented: “If Britain is to have any hope of sustaining its economic growth, the planning system needs to stop looking for reasons to block and delay development.
“If the government doesn’t get to grips with planning reform, it has no chance at all of meeting the housing targets it announced only last summer.”
Scottish property owners may also be interested to learn that the FMB recently called for a VAT cut for home improvements.
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