HOUSING NEWS

The extension of the stamp duty holiday will provide relief for people buying and selling homes, according to property group Knight Frank. “The extension is fair because completion dates for buyers and sellers have been jeopardised through no fault of their own,” says Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank. The conveyancing […]

A new mortgage guarantee scheme to help people with small deposits get on the property ladder is set to be announced at next week’s Budget. The government will offer incentives to lenders, bringing back 95% mortgages which have “virtually disappeared” during the pandemic, the Treasury said. Chancellor Rishi Sunak says he will use the Budget […]

UK house prices climbed 8.5% in 2020, the highest annual growth rate since October 2014, according to official figures. The average UK house price reached a record high of £252,000 in December 2020, the Office for National Statistics said. The North West had the highest growth of 11.2%, while London rose just 3.5%. The stamp […]

Homebuyers racing to beat the Help to Buy equity loan deadline of 31 March now have a further two months to complete their purchase. Homes England has announced it will extend the deadline until 31 May for completion of the build and purchase to give buyers and builders more time to take advantage of the […]

The recent uplift in UK house prices “could be running out of steam”, the Halifax has said after it found that property values dropped last month. The lender’s latest survey showed prices fell 0.3% in January, the biggest monthly fall since April 2020. However, prices still climbed 5.4% over the past year, leaving the average […]

House hunters are taking advantage of lockdown rules to travel hundreds of miles to view homes, according to estate agents. Many buyers are keen to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday which is due to end on 31 March. In July, the government suspended stamp duty on the first £500,000 of all property sales […]

Low-deposit mortgages have made a return as the market emerges from a Covid-related slowdown. Mortgage products for homeowners with a deposit of 10% of their property’s value have risen more than fourfold compared with last summer’s low. The increase, based on figures from financial information service Moneyfacts, could offer some relief to first-time buyers. But […]

Rightmove said prices for flats and houses advertised between 6 December and 9 January were down 0.9% on the previous month. The property website said that dragged its measure of annual growth to 3.3%, from 6.6% a month earlier. Rightmove reported that the market was still busy, with the number of buyers contacting agents up […]

Greg and David saved throughout their 20s to afford their first home – but now their property plans have been thrown into doubt by the pandemic. The couple successfully applied to the government’s Help to Buy scheme, allowing them to afford the deposit for a new townhouse in Salford. But Covid-related delays mean the property […]

Planned reforms of the controversial leasehold system in England are set to clamp down on high costs when extending a lease. The government’s proposals should help those with shorter leases fearing bills of many thousands of pounds. Former council tenants who bought their homes in the 1980s are likely to be among those who could […]