Ashington Page Blog

Property Market Update

18
Apr

Beaconsfield housing overview:

The strong positive trend has continued this month. In March we saw the highest number of instructions we’ve ever had in a single month since the business began.

Buyer interest continues at almost the same level as last month, with 170 registering with us in March. That’s 15% higher than this time last year.

If we compare this last quarter to the same one in 2012 we’ve seen a 19% increase in valuation requests, a 31% increase in houses going onto the market and a 20% increase in sales.

Between Easter and the summer holidays is one of the busiest periods in the property market, and all the signs indicate this is going to be the case this year.

If you’re thinking about selling or letting then now is a great time to get your property on the market. Our marketing appraisal will give you a personalised report on what your property could achieve.

Call us on 01494 680018 to book your free, confidential appraisal or to find out more.

National housing overview:
According to official statistics, after a small 0.7% drop in January, prices have continued their general upward trend. Averaged across the UK they have remained steady compared to last month, but figures for just England show a 2.1% increase year on year to £242,000.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors have voiced the opinion that the Bank of England’s funding for lending scheme is definitely having an impact. Estate agents are reporting the highest sales since the pre-recession boom and that the trend has been growing since the beginning of the year.
Peter Bolton King, a RICS director, said: “A buoyant, healthy property market is central to economic recovery and, while these are still very much early signs, it is encouraging that sales are beginning to pick up. The increase in potential buyers getting out there and viewing property is particularly encouraging. Thanks to initiatives such as funding for lending, mortgages are becoming more accessible to buyers, which is gently easing the pressure on the market and freeing up stagnant chains.”

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Mortgage Outlook from James Walton

17
Apr

There is a distinctive spring bounce in the mortgage market as optimism and activity by way of enquiries leading to mortgage applications are at their highest level for some time.

New initiatives designed to boost the market have helped to drive down rates and enabled lenders to increase accessibility.

However it is important to remember the mortgage market does not operate in isolation. Consumer confidence remains fragile as external economic factors continue to influence activity in the housing market. Latest reports indicate that the economic situation is set to remain challenging for the foreseeable future. And yet the positive bounce in activity indicates that more people are now prepared to consider moving having perhaps put this off for the past 2-3 years particularly as house prices are now starting to edge upwards in the area.

Leading the way are first time buyers where transaction levels are at a five year high. It is right that so many initiatives are focused on this group as without them entering onto the first rung of the ladder the market will find it difficult to grow.

Data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders shows that first time buyer numbers increased in February by 3% continuing January’s increase marking the best start to a year since 2008. Paul Smee director general of the CML went on to say that he hoped the new initiatives announced by the government in this year’s budget will further stimulate first time buyer activity but also help the “second steppers” to move up the ladder.

First time buyers accounted for 43% of all house purchase loans in February. This was the sixth consecutive time that this indicator has been at or above 40% suggesting that market conditions continue to improve for first time buyers. This is positive news for the market which has certainly been in short supply for long enough!

As always it pays to take independent advice when looking for a mortgage.

James Walton works for Independent Financial Advisors Park Grove Mortgages Ltd – 0208 845 0875.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

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Ashington Page makes most of London connections

08
Feb
Gareth at the Mayfair Office reception

Gareth at the Mayfair Office reception

Last Saturday we held our first London Property Exhibition. Through our membership of the Guild of Professional Estate Agents we have a 2,000 sq ft showroom on Park Lane in Mayfair, which was used to full effect as it showcased property from in and around Beaconsfield.

“For a local estate agency such as ourselves it’s a great resource to be able to have a physical presence in London”, Director, Gareth Ashington, told us, “While many of our buyers will initially discover a property online there is a group of investors and developers for whom the London location is very useful. Also for those wanting to move out of London it allows us to pitch all the advantages that the Beaconsfield area has to offer as a wonderful place to live and commute from.”

The Park Lane Property Centre was given over to featuring Ashington Page’s properties, with the electronic touchscreens promoting Beaconsfield homes. Its location right on Park Lane, opposite Hyde Park captures a lot of passing interest as well as the specific invitees Ashington Page had written out to beforehand.

“Of the buyers who attended, the most interest this time was in the higher value properties. Clarendon House, the extraordinary newly built six bedroom home on the Penn Road that we have on sale for £3.4 million, was particularly well received”, said Gareth Ashington.

“While our properties are regularly featured here throughout the year it was really good to have this opportunity to showcase the breadth of what Beaconsfield has to offer the London buyer. It was our first London event, but it definitely won’t be our last.”

 

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Large deposits make inventories even more important for lettings

01
Feb

With the growth of deposits the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) has been highlighting the value of getting a professional, comprehensive inventory carried out at the start of any let.

Ian Potter, Operations Manager of ARLA, said, “Deposit disputes can be one of the biggest problems for both parties involved in any rental property, and many potential issues can be avoided if a professional inventory is prepared.

“A licensed letting agent will offer you the best advice on checking to see if an existing inventory is available or whether any extra charges are invoked in drawing up a new document. A true inventory is not simply a list of items in a property – it also includes a description of the condition and cleanliness at the start and finish of the tenancy, enabling one to be compared against the other with clarity and accuracy.

“Photographs are a good support for comments made in a written inventory but should not be considered a replacement for the written word. Photographs which are unsigned and undated generally are not worth the effort, so make sure they are accepted at the outset and again at the check-out stage.”

Ian Potter said, “A well put-together inventory can give both landlords and tenants peace of mind throughout the occupation period. The inventory is not designed to catch tenants out, but rather to ensure both parties are in agreement over the quality of the property being rented.

“If conducted correctly, and agreed by both tenant and landlord, an inventory should form a key point of reference for any deposit-return queries or issues over reported damage.”

Ashington Page are members of ARLA and our inventories are carried out by an inventory specialist who has many years experience in providing this valuable service. If you have any questions about inventories then call our dedicated lettings team on 01494 685518 or drop into the office.

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Property Market Update

22
Jan

Beaconsfield housing overview:

Locally the picture continues to be encouraging. After what is always a quiet month in December we’ve seen demand in January take a little while to pick up, but from the second week the number of viewings has kicked off spectacularly. At weekends the demand for viewings has been almost non-stop.

However overpriced stock in the local market as a whole is still encouraging slow take up and low offers. As has been the case throughout 2012, if a property is priced competitively the demand is there, and it will usually be sold in a few weeks. If however it’s priced too high to attract that initial demand it faces a much longer wait.

If you’re thinking about selling or letting, or just want to find out what your property could go on the market at, give us a call on 01494 680018 for advice.

National housing overview:

2013 has begun with several positive reports about the UK housing market. Zoopla have just published a survey that found that two-thirds of home owners expect property prices to rise in their area over the next six months, up 10% on last year.

The official figures from the Office for National Statistics report a year-on-year price increase of 2.1% across the UK, with the South East seeing an average increase of 3% (and London peaking with 5%). Interestingly if London and the South East were taken out of the national figures the overall growth would have been just 0.8%, lower, but still positive.

Zoopla spokesman Lawrence Hall said: “Homeowner confidence has re-bounded strongly from one year ago, with a significant majority now expecting to see house price increases over the first half of the year.

“While we are not yet back to the levels of post credit-crunch optimism seen in late 2009, the increased confidence bodes well for both market activity and pricing in 2013.”

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Park Lane Property Exhibition

21
Jan
This February you are invited to our next London Property Exhibition, featuring the best of properties available in and around South Buckinghamshire, along with expert advice from both our Sales and Lettings team.
Held at our London Property Centre, 121 Park Lane, Mayfair, the exhibition will run from 10am to 4pm, Saturday 2nd February.
Our team will be on hand to guide you through the properties available, with insights on expected yields on investment properties backed up with some recent case studies.
So whether you’re looking to invest, purchase or rent, we will be able to advise you on the different areas around Beaconsfield, how they can benefit you, and how you can discover exciting properties to explore further when you visit.
To find out more call our team on 01494 680018, 0207 0791444 or email info@ashingtonpage.co.uk
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Market thaws as new seller numbers jump 22%

21
Jan

Rightmove’s January House Price Index reports that sellers coming to market this month increased their average asking prices by 0.2% (+£440) to now stand at £229,429. With new seller prices up by 2.4% (+£5,369) year-on-year, more sellers coming to market, and a new year jump in Rightmove traffic, early indicators offer reasons to be confident that both prices and transaction numbers will see a modest rise in 2013.

Miles Shipside, director and housing market analyst at Rightmove comments: “Those coming to market this month have taken a pragmatic pricing approach and kept their asking prices pretty much the same as sellers in December, up by just 0.2%. Sensible pricing will help buyer affordability, one of the factors needed to help warm up the market and encourage a recovery from the credit-crunch freeze in transaction volumes. The thaw will also be helped by growing confidence that prices are more likely to go up than down. There is an increasing body of evidence suggesting genuine ‘green shoots’ of recovery after a prolonged period of the housing market bumping along the bottom.”

The jump in the number of sellers coming to the market this month is a clear indication of improving confidence. The weekly run-rate of new property listings is 11,153 this month, up 22% on the 9,108 recorded over the same period a year ago. While still down 37% on five years ago, before the full impact of the credit-crunch, this is the highest level recorded at the beginning of a new year since 2008. Rightmove’s traffic in the first two weeks of 2013 was also up by 27% compared to the same period a year ago. Rightmove also finds that seven in ten of those looking to sell in 2013 are motivated by discretionary factors rather than forced sale drivers such as the ‘three Ds’ of death, debt and divorce.

Shipside observes: “While the number of sellers financially fit enough to come to market is still well down on pre-credit- crunch levels, there appears to be an increased willingness among those that can to ‘give it a go’. With Rightmove breaking traffic records, the chances of selling are on the up for sellers whose properties match the price, location and finish requirements of the greater numbers who are searching for a property to buy.”

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Mortgage Update

16
Jan

There is a bit of good news to kick off the year with the Bank of England expecting mortgage approvals to rise in 2013. A report published in it’s latest quarterly bulletin concluded that early indicators suggested that the Funding for Lending Scheme was working as expected. It stated “the scheme appears to have contributed to lower bank funding costs which in turn is filtering through to lower mortgage rates”.

As at 3rd December 2012, 35 banking groups had signed up to the scheme. Reinforcing this was a report from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) who were optimistic that a slow recovery was underway. Indeed property transactions and lending have come in ahead of the CML’s forecast for last year at 930,000 property transactions and £144 billion gross lending. Their forecast for this year is 950,000 property transactions and £156 billion gross lending.

Alongside the market forecasts the CML also published an industry self evaluation on what the UK’s mortgage lenders think about their market, where it has come from and where it is going. This encouragingly pointed towards a market that will both grow and improve in 2013 as lenders focus on delivering the needs of consumers. Nowhere is this more needed than in the first time buyer market where lenders need to redouble their efforts to help this important sector. Without first time buyers the market does not really move forward. Those with large deposits or equity are seeing some of the cheapest mortgages ever seen whilst those with a 10% deposit have only seen marginal reduction in rates.

One of the biggest barriers to home ownership for first time buyers remains raising the necessary deposit. A typical deposit required in England and Wales is nearly £26,500 with this figure doubling for those looking to buy in London, and in most cases with stamp duty to find as well.

However addressing this and perhaps a positive sign of things to come is the recent launch by Barclays of their Family Springboard mortgage. The scheme offers a mortgage to those with a 5% deposit with the borrower’s family setting aside 10% of the purchase price in a linked savings account against which will be a legal charge to protect the lender in the event of any missed payments during the initial fixed rate period. The product is open to all borrowers not just first time buyers.

For further details on this and any other scheme it pays to take independent mortgage advice.

James Walton works for Independent Financial Advisors Park Grove Mortgages Ltd – 0208 845 0875.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

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We’ve won – again!

07
Dec

We’re delighted to be able to share that we’ve won another award at the Sunday Times Estate Agency of the Year. Yesterday many of the team attended the award ceremony, which had Olympic hero Rebecca Adlington presenting the awards. This year we took away the Silver for best agency in the South East, making it the fifth year in a row that we’re winners at these top awards.

This is what the judges, made up from some of the leading property experts in the UK had to say about us:

“The team at Ashington Page continue to shine every year and the way this agency acts should act as inspiration for others seeking to ‘do it right’.
The owners really place great value on their team and this is reflected in the detailed and considered training programme and culture of reward which they operate.
Their marketing materials are high quality and slick and help to position them as an authority, leading to high levels of word of mouth recommendations.
Aiding in this endeavour are property clinics, run on Saturdays, these have been well received and the attendance is excellent.
Congratulations on maintaining exceptional standards.”

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London – We’ve got it covered

26
Nov
Many London and International buyers are interested in investing, purchasing or renting property in and around Beaconsfield. With its easy commute, beautiful countryside and superb schools it regularly ranks as one of the best places to live for those who need to work in the city.
While many of our buyers will initially find your property through our listings on the major property portals, having a physical presence in London is still a valuable asset.
As members of the Guild of Professional Estate Agents our National Property Centre on London’s Park Lane is amongst the very best placed in Europe. Its 2000 sq ft of showroom, touchscreens and plasma displays attract clients from all over the world who are looking beyond London for property to buy.
As well as featuring your property there, accessible any time of the day or night via the innovative touchscreen search tools, we run property exhibitions for London buyers and investors looking to learn more about the Beaconsfield area and the properties that are available.
The Property Centre is only a couple of minutes from Marble Arch Tube Station, and right in the heart of London’s Mayfair district. So whether it’s attending one of our exhibitions, or just dropping in to see what’s available, London buyers will discover your property.
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