x
By using this website, you agree to our use of cookies to enhance your experience.
STAY CONNECTED!
    
newsletter-button

Anxiety on lending and job cuts could threaten market

07 July 2010
Written by rosalind renshaw

Indicators are suggesting a market buzzing with activity – but while home-owners are increasingly keen to move, there is growing anxiety among the public.

Mortgage funding is as tight as three months ago or even tighter, say nearly eight in ten would-be home movers.

A survey of 5,442 home owners by Zoopla underlines other worries over job losses and interest rate hikes.

Although 78% of the sample think property prices will rise over the next six months, the proportion has fallen from 81% three months ago.

While 50% say that mortgages are as difficult to obtain as three months ago, 27% say it has actually become harder. One in three (34%) cite mortgage availability as the biggest continued threat to the housing mortgage.
 
According to new figures from Mortgage Brain, a mortgage sourcing system, there are now 6,009 mortgage products available. It is the first time since 2008 that the number of mortgages has broken the 6,000 barrier.

The figure is up 4% from 5,803 at the end of May. This time last year, there were just 2,413 mortgages. But even today's new figure remains a fraction of availability at the height of the market, in August 2007, when there were over 30,000 mortgage products available.

The Zoopla survey also shows that a potential rise in interest rates is a major worry for 25% while job losses in the public sector concern 21%.
 
Nick Leeming, commercial director of Zoopla, said: “The fear remains that the revival in the housing market will be derailed unless the banks make a concerted effort to increase lending.”

Property firm CB Richard Ellis also warned that the sales market remains constrained by the lack of mortgage finance.

Jennet Siebrits, head of residential research, said: “First-time buyers require huge deposits to get a foot on the housing ladder and there is no sign of banks relaxing lending in the near future.

“Tougher times are ahead as the various governmental financing support schemes draw to a close and there becomes a growing need for lenders to refinance assets currently protected under their umbrella.”

Yet, as more houses have piled on to the market, surveyors say they are extremely busy.

The number of residential property valuations in June was 20% higher in June than in May, according to Connells Survey and Valuation. This was an annual increase of 16%.

The strong performance of the valuations market in June was underpinned by the increasing number of home owners looking to move. 

The number of valuations for home movers (as opposed to first-time buyers and for remortgage purposes) was up 6% month-on-month, following a rise of 26% in May.
 
Ross Bowen, managing director of Connells Survey and Valuation, said: “Summer has brought a seasonal uplift in activity. But this has been exaggerated by the decision to discard HIPs.

“In June, there was a strong bounce in the number of properties hitting the market and it’s not just speculative sellers testing the waters. Thousands of home owners are no longer trapped in negative equity and are looking to move up the property ladder.” 
                  
There was also a strong annual improvement in the number of valuations for buy-to-let investors looking to add to their portfolios (plus 12%). Buy-to-let valuations also increased by 10% in June compared to May. 
 
The first-time buyer market did not show such strong progress. Although there was a seasonal increase in valuations, jumping by 36% compared to May, this was only a slight improvement on June 2009 (plus 1%).

Comments

  • icon

    To 'indy isn't very with it' - I think you will find that 'indy' was referring to the Halifax Building Society branches, not the Estate Agency...

    You are correct, however, in your summing up of the fate of HEA.

    How long, I wonder, before LSL realise as all the other corporates did, that they are creating bigger and bigger money pits, not money machines?

    • 08 July 2010 09:53 AM
  • icon

    the halifax are closing branches because they got sold to lsl over 6 months ago - some will be rebranded as rr or ym but some which are too close to exisitng branches will simply close - especially ones which are ancilliaries to the banking

    • 07 July 2010 19:13 PM
  • icon

    Guess what! (yes that's it). I have been in the business since 1973, through the 'ups' and 'downs' and have not ever seen a survey or prediction, whether from lay people or experts, to be usefully accurate. The answer is to be prepared and react very FAST as soon as your own market shows that it is changing.

    • 07 July 2010 15:57 PM
  • icon

    Well "Worried", kids are well known for their predictive powers (just like the 5.5k people Zoopla talked to, haha) so keep an eye on those skies ! ! ! Personally I think it's more likely than house prices rising in the next 6months. Did the writer not live through the late 80's, early 90's and the subsequent flat patch from 1994-2000 ? If history teaches us nothing else, it teaches us that we are incapable of being taught the lessons of history !

    • 07 July 2010 15:02 PM
  • icon

    Mark is that true about the Aliens???

    • 07 July 2010 13:56 PM
  • icon

    It could be 78% of monkeys and EAT would still serve it up as breaking news!

    • 07 July 2010 13:43 PM
  • icon

    Sorry, "78% of the sample think property prices will rise over the next six months"...what does this mean? Are any of these people qualified, or do they have adequate experience, to predict house prices rising over the next 6 months?

    Journalists are just soooo bloody lazy these days. Rather than do a bit of research and analysis, or speak to some professional who may have some true inkling of what is what, they just ask a bunch of "Joe Public" and print there opinion. If I asked my sons class at school if it were likley aliens would invade earth and eat our brains in the next 6 months, 78% of THEM may say yes! Doesn't mean I print it on my website as some kind of indicator as to what the future holds for mankind.

    Do 78% of economists, or chartered surveyors say the same? You really have no idea, do you !

    • 07 July 2010 10:44 AM
  • icon

    what really grinds my gears is when we ask a commercial director of a property portal for his uneducated opinion on what the markets doing and the current state of mortgage lending.Every day we see people that just assume they cant get finance (mainly due to media hype and articles like this one)

    Rightmove are doing their own servey just like this one as we speak. In a couple of weeks Mr Shipside himself will marking our cards for us.

    • 07 July 2010 09:33 AM
  • icon

    The Halifax are closing branches in our area and others (A sign of the times) these are branches within corporate agents, which will make them profit less i can see a few corporates closing. Good news for we independents

    • 07 July 2010 08:06 AM
Breaking News
MovePal MovePal MovePal