Payday loans helping pay mortgage or rent

Research commissioned by Shelter has found that nearly one in five rent or mortgage-payers has borrowed money to cover their housing costs.

The charity says 2% – the equivalent of nearly a million people in Britain – have taken out a payday loan to help pay the rent or mortgage.

In the past year, the number of people going to Shelter because they can’t pay their rent or mortgage has risen by almost a third. But the charity’s advisers are warning that for every person seeking help, many will be keeping their problems hidden.

The survey found that as many as one in four people would feel too ashamed to ask for help if they couldn’t cover their housing costs – and even more wouldn’t admit their problems to family or friends.

Liz Clare, a helpline adviser for Shelter, stressed that there is no shame in struggling with your rent or mortgage:

“These days, we could all find ourselves at risk of losing our home. Falling behind with the rent or mortgage can happen to any of us and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Anyone at the school gates, in the supermarket or at work could be silently struggling.

“Times are tough, and we often hear from people who’ve reached crisis point because they haven’t felt able to ask for help earlier. Making the first step to ask for help is difficult, but advice from an expert early on can make the difference between losing your home and keeping it.”

Shelter is urging people to get advice early through its website, helpline or face-to-face services for the best chance of keeping their home. Advice can range from negotiating ‘mortgage holidays’ with lenders to helping with realistic repayment plans for rent arrears.

Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, said: “Sky-high housing costs, stagnating wages and the high cost of living have taken their toll. The economy as a whole might be on the up, but losing our home could now be a frighteningly real prospect for any one of us.

How many house hunters logged onto @Rightmove on Christmas Day

New data from Rightmove reveals a 20% increase in people looking for their dream home eetween Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day compared with 2012.

On Christmas Day there were nearly 14 million page views and over 10,000 people took time out from the festivities to send emails to agents.

On Boxing Day it got even busier, with page views jumping to over 25 million, up 21% on 2012. Views peaked on New Year’s Day, at over 38 million page views.

Those who unwrapped new smartphones or tablets at Christmas were eager to house hunt too – there were over 26,000 downloads of the Rightmove app across the various platforms between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.

Matthew James, Head of Communications at Rightmove, comments: 
“Whether it was people waiting for Santa to come, having a look post-Christmas dinner, or trying out the app on their new device, people clearly took advantage of some free time over the holiday season to look for a new home.  Many will have been those thinking about making changes in the New Year or potential sellers may have been having a look at asking prices or sold prices of other similar properties to their own.  But it wasn’t just people browsing the site as thousands of house-hunters registered their interest in properties they wanted to view, showing that there are a large number of active buyers out there.

“The market really picked up in the second half of 2013, and this increased interest from Rightmove users looking for a home compared to last year, added to the number of first-time buyers being at a three year high, increased lending and the government’s phase two of Help to Buy, all made for a very busy start for agents in 2014.”

Property searching on a mobile device has been growing steadily over the past few years and now accounts for over one third (37%) of all page views to Rightmove. Rightmove’s mobile site has recently been updated to include bigger images for people to browse, as pictures are one of the most important aspects of a listing that people want to look at before viewing a property.  New apps have also been launched for iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle and Windows Phonein recent months, including a new Windows tablet app just before Christmas.

Number of UK house sales doubles

(Source BBC)The number of UK homes sold per surveyor has more than doubled since the depth of the housing market downturn, a survey suggests.

Just over 21 sales per estate agency branch were recorded in the final three months of 2013, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said.

This was the highest number since March 2008, and up from 9.8 in January 2009.

The survey found surveyors expected prices and sales to keep rising.

Supply shortage

Continue reading the main storyr

Rising prices - which have been a feature of recent months - have mainly been the result of more buyers chasing the relatively few homes on the market.

"Unless we see a marked increase in the number of homes coming up for sale we could well be looking at a price rises becoming unsustainable in some areas," said Peter Bolton King, global residential director at Rics.

A number of commentators have predicted average price rises of between 4% and 8% in the UK in 2014.

The latest house price survey from the Office for National Statistics showed that year-on-year property price growth stood at 5.4% in the UK in November.

Excluding London and the south east of England, the ONS said prices were up by 3.1%.

The Bank of England has recently pulled back from offering cheaper funds for lenders to hand on in mortgages through the Funding for Lending scheme.

Total number of £1m homes now nearly 400,000

Nearly 93,000 more home-owners have become “property millionaires” in Britain over the last year, research from a website has found.

The total number of homes valued at £1 million plus by Zoopla.co.uk this month has grown by almost one third (31%) compared with a year ago to reach 393,127.

Zoopla said that continued strong demand for prime residential property throughout 2013 has created 92,985 more property millionaires in Britain over the past 12 months.

Three-fifths (61%) of million pound plus properties were found to be in London. Property prices in the English capital have consistently surged ahead of the rest of the country this year, prompting some concerns that the market there is overheating.

The Government recently announced plans for non-UK residents to pay capital gains tax (CGT) on property sales from April 2015. Much of the strong demand in the London market has been put down to wealthy overseas buyers looking for a safe haven to put their cash.

The exclusive borough of Kensington and Chelsea was named by Zoopla as home to the highest number of property millionaires totalling 41,393. 

Outside London, 21,028 more property millionaires were created in the South East during the past year, bringing the total to 82,614. The highest proportion of property millionaires outside the capital can be found in the Surrey postcode area of GU25 covering Virginia Water, where almost one third (32%) of homes were found to be worth over £1 million.

On a regional level, Wales was found to be home to the fewest property millionaires in Britain, numbering just over 1,000 in total but still up by one quarter (24%) on 2012.

Lawrence Hall of Zoopla.co.uk said: “While Government schemes such as Help to Buy have concentrated popular attention on the lower rungs of the property ladder this year, there’s been a hive of activity propelling house price gro03 wth at the top-end of the market.”

 

:: Here is the number of property millionaires by region, according to Zoopla.co.uk:

1. London, 239,703

2. South East England, 82,614 

3. East of England, 28,128 

4. South West England, 13,960 

5. North West England, 7,043 

6. West Midlands, 5,418 

7. Scotland, 8,161 

8. East Midlands, 2,667 

9. North East England, 2,574 

10. Yorkshire and the Humber, 1,814 

11. Wales, 1,043 

:: Total 393,127 

House prices rose by £1,394 in November

LSL’s latest index shows that house prices have risen by £1,394 in November alone, taking the average home value to a record £238,839 - 4.9 per cent up from November 2012. The price increase, though, is not just limited to London: on a year-on-year basis, values have climbed in all regions for the second month in a row.

The recovery applies to transactions too, with sales set to be 16 per cent higher in 2013 than in 2012.

David Brown, commercial director of LSL Property Services, comments: “The housing market is almost unrecognisable from twelve months ago... Competition is strong as a result of rising demand and supply of new instructions not growing, a factor that will continue to prop up prices in the long term. 
"Confidence is higher throughout the market, with the Help to Buy scheme and record low interest rates contributing to the positivity. Over the second part of this year, consumer confidence has snowballed as the economic picture improves, leading to a significant rise in sales. 
"The increased availability of mortgages - in part thanks to the government’s schemes - along with the greater range of mortgage deals on offer has opened the door to a new host of first-time buyers, making the dream of homeownership now a reality for thousands."

“Strong headway is finally being made towards a universal recovery," adds Brown, but cautions that there is "still uneven growth in property values across the country".

Indeed, London prices continue to race ahead with 9.2% annual growth in the capital vastly outshining the rest of the UK. 

"Between August and October, sales in London were up 27% on the same three months in 2012, reflecting intense demand for properties in that city, both from domestic and overseas buyers," continues Brown. 

“In his Autumn Statement the Chancellor unveiled plans to unleash a further £1 billion to unblock housing development, to address the critical shortage in supply. This will play a role in preventing prices rising too far too fast. But this is only the beginning, and it’s vital that house building is given greater attention in 2014 and beyond, in order to ensure the recovery rolls forward at a sustainable level.”

One third of tenants in the UK are planning to buy in 2014

ONE third (32%) of private tenants in the UK are planning to buy their first home in 2014, Rightmove reported this morning.

Nearly a quarter (24%) of those say they are looking to buy as a direct result of phase two of Help to Buy or have brought forward their plans to buy because of it.

One in five people (18%) currently living with their parents but planning to make the move to home ownership have also been influenced by the scheme.

But, said Rightmove, the shortages underpinning the housing market will not fundamentally change because of “a few months of Help to Buy”. The scheme is due to have a shelf life of three years, or 36 months.

The Rightmove report is published as new data from the ONS shows that the number of households in rented accommodation is now 34% of the total, up from 29%.

According to Rightmove, tenants in London and the south-east are keenest to buy, while those in the north-east and Scotland are the least likely, according to today’s Rightmove Consumer Confidence Survey, which questioned nearly 17,500 people.

Of those renting, over half (58%) are ‘trapped renters’ who would like to buy but cannot afford to. Only a small number (13%) are renting for lifestyle reasons, saying that it suits them, while 28% would like to buy eventually.

The increased number of tenants hoping to get their first step on the housing ladder could see rental prices staying flat next year, Rightmove predicts.

Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst, said: “More tenants look set to buy in 2014, but saving a deposit still requires time and commitment, meaning that overall tenant demand is unlikely to change much.

“It could ease a little in 2015, but the reality is that many first-time buyers will still be priced out of buying, especially with increased competition from buy-to-let investors attracted by solid rental returns and the possibility of increasing capital values.

“With there being an increase in supply of property to rent, it’s important that landlords improve the standard of their stock to attract the best tenants as there is more choice of property to rent in some parts of the country.

“In the past three years rental prices have increased by a total of 7.6%, and the fact it has slowed to 1.4% within the past year is an indication that landlords will have to try harder to get the best returns.

“More landlords and the increase in supply due to buy-to-let mortgage availability is likely to keep rental price growth in check in 2014.

“However, it could be that we see buoyant rental and sales markets at the same time as a result of the housing shortage of the last ten years, which won’t be solved by a few months of Help to Buy.”

The latest ONS data shows a sharp increase in the number of households in the private rented sector.

Matt Hutchinson, director of SpareRoom.co.uk, said: “The number of households renting has risen from 29% to 34%. While other household spend has stayed the same or increased, for most people rent is their biggest monthly outgoing. The ONS data tallies with our findings that not only are more people renting, but more are returning to shared accommodation, including couples and the over 40s. Flat and house sharing is no longer the preserve of young professionals and students.

“Soaring living costs means it’s a struggle for many renting households just to keep their heads above water, let along have enough spare cash to put aside towards deposits. It’s clear that the aspiration to own our own homes one day is fast becoming out of reach for British households.”

Supply of homes at lowest level in history

The UK’s housing inventory has hit an all-time low, according to Home.co.uk’s latest report.

The number of properties for sale in the UK has plummeted 38 per cent since December 2007, Home.co.uk reveals, taking the available housing supply to the lowest levels in history.

With buyer demand increasing, the low supply is driving up prices.

In London, where the shortage and demand are most severe, prices have bucked the seasonal slowdown trend, with values leaping 0.8 per cent in the last month alone.

Across England and Wales, prices slipped by only 0.1 per cent, although prices in the North East of England fell 0.7 per cent over the last year and are down 2.2 per cent in Scotland.

On an annual level, though, average prices in England and Wales have shown a post-crisis record rise of 6.1 per cent.

Doug Shephard, Director at Home.co.uk comments: "With such a low volume of properties for sale, there are concerns about how the market will cope with the impending upturn in buyer interest in early 2014.

"On the demand side, individuals and investors have access to relatively cheap credit and yet, due to the sheer lack of choice, the number of transactions that can actually be realised is very much restricted. Growing demand and diminishing supply will no doubt place further pressure on prices in the coming months, especially in London and the South East."

London house prices driving people to move away – but only 26 miles

Rising house prices have sparked a jump in the number of people looking to leave London but on average they only move 26 miles away, according to research published on Monday.

  Estate agent Hamptons International also found that throughout England and Wales people were generally reluctant to move far, with the average distance just 2.5 miles. 

  Its analysis of who is moving where found that 32 is the average age that Londoners move away, often because they have young families and want to settle somewhere outside the capital before their children start school. It forecasts central London prices will rise by 32% over five years and said that was a key driver in families moving out while staying close enough to commute back. 

  "In the last three months the number of London buyers registering with our country offices has increased by 12%. As house prices increase at a faster rate in London than anywhere else, Londoners are increasingly waking up to the idea that they can get more value for money outside the capital," said the group's head of sales, Marc Goldberg. 

  The south-east and west are the biggest draws, taking half the 250,000 Londoners who left the capital in 2012, the agent said.

  People aged between 19 and 25 are most likely of all age groups to move to the capital, largely reflecting students moving there and young graduates taking jobs in London. It also found that people moving into London move furthest – on average 34 miles. 

  While the average distance home buyers in England and Wales move was just 2.5 miles, that masked a wide range: two thirds moved within five miles but 14% moved more than 50 miles. People moving within London went an average of 1.3 miles.

Rightmove Infographic for November

Rightmove’s November House Price Index reported that the average asking price of property coming to market fell by 2.4% (-£6,181) in November, in line with the usual pre-Christmas slowdown.

Their infographic provides a breakdown of how prices are performing across each region and property type.

Welsh house prices rise over last 12 months

WELSH house prices have beaten expectations and increased for the first time in almost a year.

In the past seven months the nation’s house prices have gone up by an average of £1,563. The average house price in Wales is now £157,779.

A flood of first-time buyers coming into the market is credited with driving the spike.

But experts have warned that the rally could lose steam if more houses are not built soon.

“The market will hit a roadblock if the lack of housing supply in Wales is not addressed,” said chartered surveyor Richard Sexton.

Average September house prices went up 0.5% on the same period a year earlier – the first such increase since February.

Stronger than expected economic growth is also credited with lifting house prices.

“The economy is racing along and the rise in confidence, underpinned by better access to mortgages, is fuelling the property market in Wales,” said Mr Sexton.

Alongside robust growth figures, the Westminster Government’s New Buy mortgage guarantee scheme is expected to propel the Welsh housing market further into the black.

House prices rise in every region of England

House prices in every region of England rose in September, according to official data published on Monday which reignited the debate about the prospects of a new house price bubble.

The Land Registry data showed that even before the government accelerated the second phase of its Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme, prices had increased 3.4% in a year on average, and were higher than in September 2012 in all English regions. However, prices in Wales were down by 1.7% year on year and fell by 0.4% in September.

Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight, said: "There is a mounting danger that house prices could really take off over the coming months, especially if already significantly improving housing  market activity and rising buyer interest is lifted appreciably further by the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme, which will take full effect in January."

Overall house prices in England and Wales continued to rise in September, increasing by 1.5% over the month to an average of £167,063, according to the Land Registry. This remained below the peak reached in November 2007, when average prices hit £181,839. There was also a jump in the number of homes sold for more than £1m.

The data, which does not include newbuild homes or those which have not changed hands since 1995 – but unlike other indices does include cash sales – covers the period before the launch of the second part of the government's controversial Help to Buy scheme earlier this month. The scheme gives a taxpayer-backed guarantee to lenders offering 95% mortgages that are open to first-time buyers and home movers on newbuild homes worth up to £600,000. Critics have argued it will further fuel an already rising market.

UK's 10 most and least affordable rural areas

Here are the 10 most affordable rural local authority districts according to Halifax's findings, with the average house price and the house price to annual local earnings ratio:

1. Copeland, North West, £ 100,791, 2.7

2. Stirling, Scotland, £ 149,838, 3.4

3. East Ayrshire, Scotland, £ 100,382, 3.5

4. Western Isles, Scotland, £ 102,592, 3.7

5. Pendle, North West, £ 101,296, 3.9

6. North Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and the Humber, £ 125,276, 4.0

7. Shetland Islands, Scotland, £ 140,610, 4.3

8. West Lindsey, East Midlands, £ 135,343, 4.4

9. Selby, Yorkshire and the Humber, £ 158,055, 4.4

10. Allerdale, North West, £ 133,364, 4.4

Here are the 10 least affordable rural local authority districts according to Halifax's findings, with the average house price and the house price to annual local earnings ratio:

1. Cotswolds, West Midlands, £ 318,128, 9.4

2. Torridge, South West, £201,076, 8.2

3. North Dorset, South West £215,906, 8.0

4. Chiltern, South East, £407,012, 7.6

5. East Devon, South West, £213,677, 7.5

6. Vale of White Horse, South East, £288,522, 7.4

7. Teignbridge, South West, £202,566, 7.4

8. North Devon, South West, £194,000, 7.4

9. East Dorset, South West, £281,760, 7.3

10. East Hampshire, South East, £291,990, 7.3

Rural retreat still costs £24,000 more than city home

The recent wave of first-time buyers into Britain's property market is helping to close the house price gap between urban and rural properties, a study has suggested.

But people buying a home in a rural retreat still pay nearly £24,000 more typically than those purchasing a property in a city, Halifax found.

In the past four years, the gap has been narrowing, with the average price of a home in an urban area rising at five times the rate of one in the countryside, at 10% compared with just 2%.

Halifax said this could reflect a recent increase in first-time buyers coming into the market to snap up properties. First-time buyers account for two-fifths (40%) of house purchases using a mortgage in rural areas, but in towns and cities they make up more than half (52%) of such transactions.

The Government has introduced a string of schemes to improve mortgage access. A mortgage price war was sparked after its Funding for Lending scheme was introduced last year and from this month people with deposits as low as 5% have been able to apply for state-backed mortgages under the Government's flagship Help to Buy scheme.

Lenders have been handing out more mortgages in recent months to first-time buyers than in any other period since the credit crunch started.

Halifax found that a house in a rural area costs £206,423 on average, which is 13% more than the typical cost of a property in an urban area at £182,710.

While a "rural premium" exists in every region across Britain, it ranges from £86,218 in the South East to £11,570 in the North East.

In percentage terms, people living in the West Midlands pay the biggest premium to live in a rural area, at 59%, while those living in the North East pay the least at 9%.

The average house price in the countryside is equivalent to 6.3 times gross annual average earnings, while in urban areas it is lower and therefore potentially more affordable, at 4.9.

Halifax found only five rural areas in Britain where house prices cost less than four times local annual earnings typically, which is the long-term average.

Copeland in Cumbria was named as the most affordable rural area, where the house price-to-earnings ratio was 2.7. This was followed by the Scottish regions of Stirling, where the ratio is 3.4, East Ayrshire where it is 3.5 and the Western Isles, with a ratio of 3.7. Pendle in Lancashire completed the list, with a ratio of 3.9.

At the other end of the scale, the Cotswolds were the least affordable area in rural Britain, with average house prices standing at £318,128 which is 9.4 times the local average income.

First-time buyers account for less than one quarter (23%) of house purchases in the Cotswolds, according to Halifax, marking the smallest proportion in Britain, while Copeland was found to have the biggest percentage share of people taking their first step on the ladder, at 58%.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said: "There is a significant premium on property in the countryside across Great Britain.

"Country living remains a widespread aspiration, but relatively high prices put rural homes out of the reach for many. Potential first-time buyers are particularly affected by high property prices, and consequently they account for a smaller proportion of homebuyers in the countryside than in urban areas."

Halifax used official figures and its own house price database to make its findings.

Here are average house prices by region, with the typical price of a rural property in 2013 followed by that of an urban property, and the percentage difference or "premium" in monetary and percentage terms:

:: North East, £137,010, £125,440, £11,570, 9%

:: North West, £ 200,997, £131,938, £69,059, 52%

:: Yorkshire and The Humber, £ 175,466, £127,452, £48,014, 38%

:: East Midlands, £ 179,692, £134,412, £45,280, 34%

:: West Midlands, £ 231,996, £145,801, £86,196, 59%

:: East of England, £ 235,876, £204,863, £31,013, 15%

:: South East, £318,185, £231,968, £86,218, 37%

:: South West, £232,630, £183,048, £49,583, 27%

:: Scotland, £ 160,374, £137,352, £23,022, 17%

:: Wales, £ 154,270, £131,184, £23,086, 18%

:: London (urban only), £ 316,293 n/a

:: Britain, £ 206,423, £182,710, £23,712

Mortgage lending at highest level since 2008

Mortgage lenders said on Friday that they were financing the largest house-buying spree for five years, in the latest sign of an accelerating housing market.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) described house prices in London as "resurgent", though it acknowledged that they had risen only modestly elsewhere in the country.

Amid continuing debate about the impact of government-sponsored schemes designed to make credit more easily available, research by the Liberal Democrat peer Lord Oakeshott showed, however, that the house price revival was not just a London phenomenon. 

Houses in more than 50 local authority districts were revealed as less affordable than at the peak of the 2007 credit crunch. Oakeshott's analysis of local authorities in England found the ratio between local house prices and local earnings was higher than it was in 2007 in districts as diverse as Rutland, the Cotswolds and the Suffolk coast.

According to the CML, almost £50bn was advanced to home buyers in the third quarter of 2013, a 17% increase on the previous three months and the highest figure since the third quarter of 2008. Despite a slight dip in September, lending for that month was up 41% on the same month last year, at £16bn.

"Indicators suggest we are witnessing the strongest house purchase performance in five years," said the CML's chief economist, Bob Pannell. "House prices too have revived, but modestly, aside from a resurgent London market."

The earlier than expected introduction of the second stage of Help to Buy, designed to help buyers with deposits as low as 5% of the value of a property has sparked a debate about the potential for a boom in house prices.

One third of tenants allege they have suffered a ‘retaliatory’ eviction

One third of tenants allege they have suffered a ‘retaliatory’ eviction or been threatened with one after making a complaint to their landlords about the condition of a property, or after asking for repairs to be carried out.

The claim comes from a survey carried out by online community The Tenants’ Voice.

While the figure seems very high, it is not clear whether it is disaffected tenants who have had bad experiences and who are drawn to the organisation and its website.

Nor is it clear whether these are tenants of landlords who by and large do not use managing agents: the survey says that 61% of tenants would prefer to talk to the agent through whom they found the property.

The site, which says 2,000 tenants took part in the survey, also claims that 61% of tenants are wary about complaining to their landlords and that damp is the number one complaint from 59% of tenants.

Seven in ten (71%) tenants in the survey claim to have paid for repairs to a rental property out of their own pocket rather than report the problem to their landlords.

Six in ten (61%) tenants polled said they had asked their landlords in the past to make repairs and that the landlords had been difficult or flatly refused to sort the problem out.

As well as damp, tenants said they had complained to their landlords about the general disrepair of the properties, while boilers and electrics were also a common focus for complaints.

Glenn Nickols, director of The Tenants’ Voice, said: “While 86% of tenants have never heard of retaliatory evictions according to our poll, a third of the tenants we surveyed who have been evicted or threatened with eviction have actually fallen foul of this practice.

“If tenants are not comfortable about approaching their landlords, then a good letting agent can be extremely helpful in resolving any problems.” 

House prices rise in Scotland say surveyors

A lack of available properties and "burgeoning" demand among buyers has forced house prices up in Scotland, according to a monthly survey.

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) found house prices increased in September.

Last month, 32% more respondents reported prices rises rather than falls in the Rics survey.

A net balance of 78% more surveyors also reported an increase in new-buyer inquiries.

However, Rics said the lack of homes coming onto the market resulted in the number of new instructions failing to keep pace with the "burgeoning" level of demand.

Looking ahead, more than half of those surveyed expected prices to continue to rise in the next three months.

'Big concern'

Responding to the latest survey, Rics director Sarah Speirs said: "It's encouraging that the market is starting to improve in all parts of the country, with more buyers looking to make a move and more sales going through.

"Even so, it's a big concern that the supply of property coming to the market is lagging so far behind demand, particularly with the recent launch of Help to Buy in Scotland.

"This imbalance is likely to result in further upward pressure in prices over the coming months, particularly in popular areas."

The report comes as it was revealed that house prices in and around Aberdeen have more than doubled in the last decade.

Data from the Nationwide Building Society showed that the increase is only matched by Islington and Westminster in London.

The growth in the north east has been largely put down to the expanding oil and gas industry and the workers it attracts to the area.

UK house sales at four year high

The number of homes sold in the UK hit an almost four-year high last month as the housing market recovery continues to gather pace, according to the September RICS Residential Market Survey.

The average amount of properties sold per chartered surveyor in the three months to September reached 18.7. Although still historically low, this is the highest figure since November 2009 and demonstrates the extent to which the market is now picking up across the country.

In tandem with increasing numbers of sales, prices continued to grow, with 54% more respondents reporting rises rather than falls. 

Prices have now steadily increased since Easter and, significantly, this growth was seen right across the UK. Last month, every part of the country saw prices go up, with the exception of the North East where prices fell modestly for the second successive month.

Unsurprisingly, with Government schemes such as Help to Buy enabling more buyers to access the market, demand rose steadily during September as a net balance of 49% more surveyors reported rises in new buyer enquiries. While the amount of homes coming onto the market also rose, it was not enough to keep pace with the burgeoning level of demand.

Looking ahead, predictions for future growth are equally upbeat. A net balance of 56% more respondents expect the number of transactions to increase further over the coming three months, while 48% more predict prices to continue their push upwards.

Peter Bolton King, RICS' global residential director, says: “It’s encouraging that the market is starting to improve in all parts of the country, with more buyers looking to make a move and more sales going through. Even so, it’s a big concern that the supply of property coming to the market is lagging so far behind demand. This imbalance is likely to result in further upward pressure in prices over the coming months, particularly in the nation’s hotspots.”

Help to Buy: Your questions answered.

Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst, tackles some of the most commonly occurring questions – including some common misconceptions.

Q. Is the scheme for new-build homes only?

A. No. The new Mortgage Guarantee scheme is for new build and existing property up to £600,000. The Equity Loan scheme, which has been running since April, is for new-build properties only.

Q. Is it just for first-time buyers?

A. No, the Mortgage Guarantee scheme is for any buyer as long as it is a residential repayment mortgage, not a buy-to-let.

Q. Is the scheme for the whole of the UK?

A. Yes, the Mortgage Guarantee phase of Help to Buy is available across the UK. The equity loan phase of Help to Buy is available in England and is for new-build properties only up to £600,000. Scotland has just launched a new build-only Equity Loan scheme called Help to Buy (Scotland), for properties up to £400,000. Wales has yet to formally announce an Equity Loan scheme but is expected to do so soon.

Q. Are we creating an artificial market or a ‘price bubble’? E.g. will I be in negative equity in 5 years’ time if I take up the scheme?

A. The property market is exactly that – a market. Property prices can go up and down depending on a number of factors, including the balance between supply and demand. It is worth remembering that prices are lower today in some parts of the country compared to five years ago, part influenced by the difficulty of buyers obtaining mortgages. Help to Buy will increase demand for property, though crucially, it is not just for first-time buyers and so as existing home owners move they will have to sell helping to increase property supply. Help to Buy is scheduled to last for three years, the thinking being the mortgage market will be functioning better when it finishes, enabling a smooth transition.

Q. I don’t need or want a government-backed mortgage, how will this affect me?

A. It is likely that many of the mortgage products for those with a deposit of 10% or more will not be assisted by the governments’ Help to Buy scheme. However, the improved lending environment should mean more competitive rates for those with 10% to 20% deposit benefitting all buyers, whether in the scheme or not. For those with 5% deposit this government underwritten scheme is the only real option.

Q. Will I be dependent on the state if I take out a Help to Buy mortgage? Can they change the rules?

A. A Help to Buy Mortgage Guarantee is essentially the same as a traditional 95% repayment mortgage, with all the usual terms and conditions between you and the lender. However, as part of the Mortgage Guarantee agreement between the government and the lender, the lender is not able to offer a Help to Buy assisted mortgage in some circumstances, such as buy-to-let mortgages. In reality you may not even spot it is a Help to Buy mortgage, other than being a 95% loan to value. Equity Loan Help to Buy mortgages on new build properties obviously have more rules.

Q. Is this phase of Help to Buy (Mortgage Guarantee) just an extension of the Equity Loan scheme to existing properties?

A. No. Phase two is a Mortgage Guarantee scheme. It involves a traditional repayment mortgage with a loan to value of up to 95% and is available on both new build and existing property. There is no equity loan. A buyer with a 5% deposit should ask a mortgage advisor to explore the possibility of a Help to Buy backed mortgage for the remaining 95%. Phase one (Equity Loan) is available on new build properties only and will run alongside the Mortgage Guarantee scheme. A. No. The new Mortgage Guarantee scheme is for new build and existing property up to £600,000. The Equity Loan scheme, which has been running since April, is for new-build properties only.

Q. Is it just for first-time buyers?

A. No, the Mortgage Guarantee scheme is for any buyer as long as it is a residential repayment mortgage, not a buy-to-let.

Q. Is the scheme for the whole of the UK?

A. Yes, the Mortgage Guarantee phase of Help to Buy is available across the UK. The equity loan phase of Help to Buy is available in England and is for new-build properties only up to £600,000. Scotland has just launched a new build-only Equity Loan scheme called Help to Buy (Scotland), for properties up to £400,000. Wales has yet to formally announce an Equity Loan scheme but is expected to do so soon.

Q. Are we creating an artificial market or a ‘price bubble’? E.g. will I be in negative equity in 5 years’ time if I take up the scheme?

A. The property market is exactly that – a market. Property prices can go up and down depending on a number of factors, including the balance between supply and demand. It is worth remembering that prices are lower today in some parts of the country compared to five years ago, part influenced by the difficulty of buyers obtaining mortgages. Help to Buy will increase demand for property, though crucially, it is not just for first-time buyers and so as existing home owners move they will have to sell helping to increase property supply. Help to Buy is scheduled to last for three years, the thinking being the mortgage market will be functioning better when it finishes, enabling a smooth transition.

Q. I don’t need or want a government-backed mortgage, how will this affect me?

A. It is likely that many of the mortgage products for those with a deposit of 10% or more will not be assisted by the governments’ Help to Buy scheme. However, the improved lending environment should mean more competitive rates for those with 10% to 20% deposit benefitting all buyers, whether in the scheme or not. For those with 5% deposit this government underwritten scheme is the only real option.

Q. Will I be dependent on the state if I take out a Help to Buy mortgage? Can they change the rules?

A. A Help to Buy Mortgage Guarantee is essentially the same as a traditional 95% repayment mortgage, with all the usual terms and conditions between you and the lender. However, as part of the Mortgage Guarantee agreement between the government and the lender, the lender is not able to offer a Help to Buy assisted mortgage in some circumstances, such as buy-to-let mortgages. In reality you may not even spot it is a Help to Buy mortgage, other than being a 95% loan to value. Equity Loan Help to Buy mortgages on new build properties obviously have more rules.

Q. Is this phase of Help to Buy (Mortgage Guarantee) just an extension of the Equity Loan scheme to existing properties?

A. No. Phase two is a Mortgage Guarantee scheme. It involves a traditional repayment mortgage with a loan to value of up to 95% and is available on both new build and existing property. There is no equity loan. A buyer with a 5% deposit should ask a mortgage advisor to explore the possibility of a Help to Buy backed mortgage for the remaining 95%. Phase one (Equity Loan) is available on new build properties only and will run alongside the Mortgage Guarantee scheme.

House prices in biggest month-on-month rise for six years

HOUSE prices in England and Wales posted their biggest month-on-month gain in more than six years in September, but talk of a price bubble is overdone, property analysis firm Hometrack said in a survey on Monday.

House prices rose 0.5 percent from August, the biggest increase since May 2007, Hometrack said. Prices were up 2.4 percent from the same month last year, the biggest annual increase since December 2007.

British house prices have picked up over the past 12 months, and some are concerned about an unsustainable price boom. But Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack, played down these fears.

"Prices are rising off a low base and talk of a housing bubble in relation to the national market is overdone," he said.

"We are seeing continued house price growth in London combining with modest gains across other regions and creating a picture of a broadening market recovery," he added.

Hometrack said it expected prices to continue to rise in the short term but cautioned that the market remained very sensitive to changes in demand and especially changing expectations over the outlook for mortgage rates.

Separate data from lender Nationwide released on Friday showed that British house prices shot up at their fastest annual pace in more than three years in September

September house price infographic from Rightmove