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 With property prices beginning to show a steady fall month after month it appears that the time is right for first time buyers to leap back into the property ladder. As a bonus, with low interest rates available at this time for most first time buyers it will be cheaper to simply acquire a mortgage versus paying rent on a property of the same value.
About a third of all properties available on the market are discounted by six percent and the prices are expected to continue to fall by almost four percent before the close of 2010 according to predictions from Jones Lang LaSalle the property services global firm.
Therefore, the market is almost crying out to new buyers given the fact that they are exempt from stamp duty for the time being on all homes under £250,000 and the deals are already out there without negotiations. Plus, vendors are going to compete for any new buyer’s business given the fact that they have nothing to sell off before a transition can be made.
With all this in mind, it seems curious that first time buyers are not biting at the bit, but there is a perfectly logical reason for this: the deposit. The Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates that a first time buyer on average will need to have a 24% deposit in order to secure a mortgage which comes out to average about £34,000 which of course most buyers do not have on their own.
This had led many people to turn to their parents to act as guarantors so that the bank will approve a mortgage. If this is not an option, then the choice is either pay a higher interest rate or start saving because the best deals are still available only to those who can meet the deposit.
 Property values in the U.K. are down, with August seeing the most dramatic drop in prices in 16 months. According to analysts, the housing market will undergo a re-pricing that could last up to a year.
The average price for homes fell almost half a percent from July. This is the biggest drop on record since April of last year. Homes now cost on average around 158,000 pounds, which only furthers the suspicion by many that the housing market is becoming weaker. Some economic experts also predict that future data will show a drop in mortgages as well.
According to Bank of England Deputy Governor Charles Bean, the economy will remain fragile, and it may be necessary for the Government to increase their stimulus in order to help with the economy.
Richard Donnell of Hometrack Ltd. states that there is a “growing weakness” in the demand for housing, and that this weakness may last for more than just one season. He has also stated that a large supply of available homes could be the cause of the falling prices.
The “scarcity of housing for sale” over the last two years drove up prices dramatically, but now that more and more houses are becoming available, it appears that the demand has gone down along with the prices of homes.
Charles Bean has said that “recovery remains fragile”, and that a “margin of spare capacity” has not yet been worked off. Bean believes that the Government must intervene in the economy in order to make it stable. But as housing prices and mortgage rates continue to fall, it appears that a full recovery is a ways off.
After choosing a mortgage lender, the second hardest part of being a new home buyer is choosing a mortgage home insurance policy. Even though the market opening up has helped increase the competition among home insurance providers lowering the rates for cover substantially, it has also made choosing a good policy a little more complicated.
Given the fact that your home insurance policy choices may mean the difference between losing your home and investment down the line, or keeping it in tact, you should not take the decision of choosing home insurance cover lightly. The following are a few tips to make sure you and your mortgage are protected at all times.
First of all, you should also choose to consult with policy expert specialists because while your mortgage lender is no doubt prepared to offer you an insurance policy, there is a good chance that they may not offer you the most cost effective premium. It is also important to bear in mind that fact that most mortgage lenders are not insurance policy experts, thus they are not prepared to make sure that you get full or effective cover while policy expert is.
Second, you should always shop around for prices and quotes on home insurance because this may save you a large amount of money if you are securing a new mortgage. As a first time buyer, you should be aware that the costs your parents paid are likely different than yours so while they may advise you in one direction, it is a good idea to some research on your own. The internet is a great way to shop around for home insurance quotes without committing to a long sales pitch or feeling obligated to purchase cover from the first agent that you meet with.
Third, after shopping around you should sit back down with your policy expert. They are an independent source of information and can help you properly arrange your insurance coverage. They also likely are aware of the complexities of certain types of coverage such as convertible life insurance which you may not completely understand the finer details on.
In addition, policy expert can walk you through all of the terms and conditions of your chosen policy so that you can make sure that you never breach your contract therefore nullifying any claim that you may make in the future.
Finally, you want to make sure that you do not choose unsuitable cover or head the other direction and become underinsured. Common examples include the fact that a self-employed person will not need to take out the unemployment insurance as pertains to sickness of accident.
On the other hand, cutting out an optional element such as contents home insurance is foolish since it only costs a little more for coverage that may save you a fortune if severe damage does occur to your home.
 About 50% of all homes across Britain could take part in a new £7b initiative known as the ‘rooftop bonanza’ which is worth about £1,000 a year to each person who takes part.
Households that want to take part in the ‘rent a roof’ program designed to help promote green energy do not need any capital to get involved. Those who can afford £10,000 or more can choose to purchase guaranteed incomes that will be worth about 8% every year by selling them to the ‘feed in tariff’ provided by the Government.
If this sounds like too much to possibly work, then you may want to steer away from clever marketing claims that other solar panels outside of British Gas who are directly involved in the project are making in an attempt fool customers to taking their deal instead.
Consumer group Which? found recently after a thorough investigation that many solar panel companies are not using clear marketing methods. To top it off, at the moment there is a great deal of debate in the industry about which solar panels are actually the best choice and which ones may in fact cause health risks.
British Gas stated that householders that are unable to pay for their panels after two years, which is the interest free period on the ‘rent a roof project’ will be subject to normal credit terms although the company declined to explain what they considered to be ‘normal.’ These vague details are often what lead consumers to make the wrong choices when it comes to a solar panel company with an offer that seems almost too great to be believable.
Consumer Focus member, Liz Laine, stated that while free solar panels can help reduce the cost of electricity bills, consumers need to carefully review what the long term stipulations in the contracts are so t they make sure they are not getting scammed in the long run or overcharged.
A revolutionary and award-winning new home insurance service has been launched – the first to offer immediate, online cover to people, no matter what their circumstances.
homeprotect (www.homeprotect.co.uk) is the first insurance provider to cater online for people typically shunned by mainstream rivals – estimated to be 15% of the overall home insurance market. This includes owners of the 4m UK homes at risk of subsidence, the 2m homes situated in flood plains, 2.8m people working from home and a further 8m people carrying criminal convictions. These are all people the insurance industry has historically classified as ‘non standard2’ and is therefore unwilling to cover, either because the risk is deemed too high or complex or because their technology platforms do not cater for people outside the ‘ordinary’.
“Most insurance providers focus on the 85% of the public who are relatively uncomplicated, and they have no interest in people whose circumstances fall outside the ordinary,” said homeprotect chief executive David Walker. “Well, people with unusual or unique circumstances no longer have to accept that getting their home insurance sorted is going to be a lengthy and frustrating process. With our unique homeprotect service there is no need to ring around to find a specialist broker and then wait days for an insurer to review their circumstances and offer a price. Through technology we have built a system which can offer all customers a quote, no matter what their circumstances, and enable them to obtain immediate cover – either online or over the phone.”
The homeprotect service is now being launched to the broader public following a successful pilot which demonstrated the ease and convenience with which people with unique or unusual circumstances could obtain home insurance cover.
This included the following six satisfied customers:
1. Peter, Shropshire. Turned to homeprotect after being refused insurance because he lived near a river: “I was given no explanation as to why they refused to insure me. Out of 64 companies, homeprotect was the only insurer which would cover my property.”
2. Ms J, Yorkshire. Refused home and contents cover by other insurers because her house is sometimes empty for more than six weeks. “homeprotect’s speedy and efficient service not only provided us with the cover we needed but gave us the reassurance that we could travel to our hearts’ content and still be covered.”
3. Miss R, south-west. Denied home insurance contents renewal, even though she had never made a claim, as she had failed to declare a conviction. “Not knowing the criminal system I was not aware I needed to alert the insurer and was certainly not trying to deceive the system. I felt ashamed but staff at homeprotect treated me fairly and respectfully.”
4. Derek, Aberdeen. Sought reduced premium costs after taking steps to strengthen his home against possible subsidence. “I wanted insurance tailored to my needs as a responsible homeowner and homeprotect delivered.”
5. Jackie, Hull. Property affected by floods in 2007. “homeprotect called me and offered me an instant quote which came in significantly cheaper and were one of the only companies which would cover my property.”
6. Jas, Berkshire. Turned to homeprotect after converting two adjacent properties into one. His previous insurers insisted upon underwriting them as two separate risks. “homeprotect offered me a fast easy and competitive rate which I could not refuse.”
 Gross mortgage lending has decreased by three percent compared to July of 2009 dropping from £14b to £13.6b even though the Government has repeatedly demanded banks began to offer loans again.
The level increased by 5% in June however is still on path towards meeting the Council of Mortgage Lenders final goal of £140b in lending funds this year. Despite this fact, the overall lending funds will still be way below lending funds in 2007 which measured up to £362b.
CML economist, Paul Samter, stated that it is hard to see anything more than a slow market performing for the rest of the year and that it is highly likely that over the course of the rest of 2010 lower transaction numbers and overall lending will be seen compared to the end of the year in 2009. Samter also noted that there was a large pickup towards the end of the year as the buyers were attempting to move before the close of the first stamp duty holiday.
Mortgage brokers are also in agreement that it is hard for home buyers to navigate through the tough mortgage landscape.
Coreco mortgage broker, Andrew Montlake, stated that the small increase in mortgage activity that has been observed is only notable given it is against a small rate to begin with. He added that there has been an increase in the amount of educational materials available to borrowers and an increase in lenders entering the market again. However, the mortgage environment is still not close to its previous pre-recession ‘normal’ state.
Bank profit margins on the other hand have reached their highest record in two decades.
 Town halls that take the time to approve new homes for their citizens will receive cash bonuses from the Government according to House Minister Grant Shapps who stated that the incentives are aimed at promoting new frontline services such as council tax discounts and playgrounds.
Under the new plans, councils can start to offer the green light to new homes in exchange for receiving a House Bonus on every new property that is built within the town.
The Government will also match the council tax that is raised when a new home is built within a city until 2016.
Given that a homeowner typically pays around £1,439 for council tax, this could add up to be annual savings of about a thousand of more pounds.
Shapps stated that it was necessary to put the incentives into place after it was realized that house-building targets were not being met and that this way a better planning system could be put in place for local people.
Shapps explained that house-building is at its lowest rate since the year 1924 when similar action by the Government had to be taken in order to get the new homes that the UK is now in need of.
Additional plans underway by Shapps include a plan to make it easier for tenants to move when forced to by work or to move so that they can be closer to family. Most tenants who want to move at the moment have to hand in keys and get in line at the end of the social housing queue making the process oftentimes long and difficult.
 Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrat social leader, rejected the lifetime housing tenancies of David Cameron stating that they were a reminder of the Statsi and were a betrayal of the Conservative election.
Housing minister, Grant Shapps, however decided to still offer up a consultation paper for the housing proposal with Shapps stressing that any propositions within the proposals will not apply to those current housing association or council association tenants.
In addition, he is sending the proposals out to local councils instead of central government in the hope that local councils will consider changing the process in their areas.
Shapps is aware of the fact that he is the first housing minister to continue to pursue the policy given that there is a large amount of criticism on the short term that will become quite intense before ten year passes and the impact of the proposals will actually become realized.
The list of proposals are aimed at helping a person in council housing to increase their social potential and mobility without damaging an existing council house tenant as they would not be threatened with the idea of losing their lifetime tenancy or right to pass a transfer any council housing on to their children.
A handful of housing associations support Shapps because they also feel that at the moment social housing is not allocated in an efficient matter. Shapps has continued to emphasize that the proposals are a better way to deal with the fact that there are 1.8m people in the UK on waiting lists for homes.
 HomeAway Holiday-Rentals released figures that show Londoners plan to make millions by offering their homes as rentals to tourists who are in town for the London Olympics 2012. Homeowners that are pondering the possibility can make about £4,500 on average by renting out their home for the 16 day Olympic event by offering their homes to others at a rate of £2000 per week.
At the moment, 500 London properties are already listed for rent on HomeAway.co.uk and the company expects to see listings jump up by about 100% before the Olympics arrive.
UK General Manager for HomeAway Holiday-Rentals, Tim Boughton, stated that the switch to home holiday rental from hotels has been increasing at a steady rate with large demand in particular for sporting events that have a global reach.
Boughton went on to say that during the 2010 South Africa World Cup many visitors looked into rental properties instead of renting out a hotel room, which increase the average weekly income of each property by about 150%.
He also said that since London will soon be a host to global visitors, the company expects to see the demand for properties in the city to skyrocket which in turn will increase the average price of such home rentals, in particular for those that are close to the events.
The site reported that in the last few days before the World Cup this year, booking enquiries increased by about 1000% compared to the same month in 2009 with homeowners quickly catching on and listing their homes for higher rates.
 Housing prices are dropping again as job uncertainty and the need for high deposits is stopping buyers according to Nationwide. June is the first month that the UK saw a fall in prices since February with the average house price said to fall by about £764.
Nationwide stated that the amount of possible new home buyers has dropped since an increase in properties has gone on the market. Chief economist for Nationwide, Martin Gahbauer, stated that it will take a few months before it can be determined for sure if this is a trend of flat prices or if prices may be heading downward.
Scrapping Hips (House Information Packs) have caused a large amount of potential sellers to return to the market increasing the amount of properties that have gone up for sale. Nationwide added that uncertainty over the economy and jobs has returned as the Government is working on outlining its new plans and outlook.
Prices are still higher when compared year on year to last June and July with house prices higher by 6.6% on an annual basis and the rate of inflation slipping back down to 8.7% in June compared to its April peak of 10.5%.
Nationwide highlighted the many problems that the housing market faces before it can return to normal including transactions that are still proceeding on the same terms as before the financial crisis occurred.
Gahbauer explained a combination of uncertainty and poor credit options have limited the amount of buyers with a large enough resources to actually make a purchase, and out of those with the finances, they are scared to purchase a home without confidence that they will maintain their employment.
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With property prices beginning to show a steady fall month after month it appears that the time is right for first time buyers to leap back into the property ladder. As a bonus, with low interest rates available at this time for most first time buyers it will be cheaper to simply acquire a mortgage versus paying rent on a property of the same value.
