Thanks for the response. Hopefully lenders relax a bit as lockdown is eased.
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They’ll have to, for the market to not crash massively; I knew the figures would’ve changed, but that’s a massive difference for me. I’m just going to sit tight and see what’s what, I don’t want to buy just for the sake of it, prices are not going to increase, so there’s no sense in diving in for now.
Mortgage advisor said when she went back to work, you could really only occasionally get 85% mortgages, she said 90% deals are coming back, but they’re limited and not always so good.
Being a first time buyer, that’s obviously more important to me, as I have no equity to play with. Like I said, I’ll be sitting tight and waiting I suspect. I did view somewhere on the Thursday, but realised when trying to come up with an offer, I just didn’t know what was best - that’s what pushed me not to bother.
Well I've just seen my first repossession in years -- since probably 2011 or 2012. We viewed a vacant house in quite a posh area bordering London on Saturday and it became clear it was a repossession. Stickers all the taps, cooker, sink, toilet etc saying do not use.
Asked the agent what the story was as they normally sell much more expensive houses and this was quite 'low end' for them. The agent said it was a company selling and after a while admitted it was repossessed just before repossessions were paused but by the time they got the keys lockdown had happened and they couldn't show it so didn't advertise it.
Four bed detached house with a garage, neighbours all have brand new Range Rovers and Porsches, one even had an Aston Martin. Not the kind of area you'd expect to see a repossession in.
Also yesterday Hermes came to collect a parcel and the guy who turned up was in a current shape C Class. Quite a good spec too with the AMG pack. Not the sort of car you'd expect someone in that job to use for work.
I think the house of cards is beginning to fall.
No, it ruled it out for us. We don't have the money needed for a 'proper house' in that area so would rather a semi where we currently are rather than a detached there (low ceilings, narrow rooms). Shame as it's a lovely area and even one road away from one of the good guys here. Our dream/lottery win house is for sale on their road a few doors down.
Nationwide tightening their mortgages to a maximum 85% loan again. That'll exterminate the market positivity that's been about.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53084853
As I said would keep the thread updated with nationwide figures each month
https://www.nationwide.co.uk/-/media...un_Q2_2020.pdf
-1.4% monthly
The market is only going to go one way. It’s going to be very tough for some but offer opportunities for others!
The property market only ever goes one way.
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/...t-cheaper.html
For 100 hundred years flat who is to say the same cannot happen?
Supply and demand will also be an impact. Boris is harking on about a building boom - and he’s not just talking infrastructure projects.
However, there was a piece in the local paper recently about house demand local to me, and it was going on about more Londoners desiring a move out of London thanks to Covid lockdown and a desire for space. It also outlined divorces etc upping demand in general.
I have no skin in the game (aside from my family home I live in) but my suspicion is that the lower and upper ends of the market will remain buoyant in most currently desirable areas, even given the abundance of bad job news at the moment, but I’m no expert.
Potential stamp duty holiday announced tomorrow:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53319433
If it comes into affect straight away, and if it affects property prices over £500k (I.e 0% up to then the old rate applies over £500k) then it will help me with my current purchase plan, not holding my breath though!
"UK house prices fell for fourth month in a row, says Halifax | House prices | The Guardian" https://amp.theguardian.com/money/20...ax-coronavirus
So you have a market in which new buyers are struggling to enter and you artificially prop up prices by reducing SDLT at a cost to be made up elsewhere from the magic "money tree".
Prices are already at unsustainable levels absent rampant wage inflation which is certainly not happening for the foreseeable future. Let market forces sort this out, prices will fall, property prices become more sustainable and use the money that was due to be spent on SDLT savings propping up other parts of the economy, or better still, avoid increasing national debt even more.
Indeed, but you have to raise tax from somewhere and let me draw the parallel of the commercial property market. The Government has done precisely zero by way of support to Landlords and has actually made things more difficult with legislation that has seen many well capitalised companies simply refuse to pay rent, whilst Landlords still have debt to service. Values are generally falling which will in turn reduce pension pots with typically 20% allocated to property. Now imagine the government reducing SDLT to try to prop up that market too.
You've got to draw the line somewhere and SDLT is an embedded part of our tax system. To "inflate" our way out of the huge debt requires mass consumption in other areas which comes at a cost. There is a reason housebuilders are re-paying furlough costs and that is because they make large profits. The government can let that market cool, new houses will still be built cost effectively but land prices will fall, profits reduce and hopefully some equilibrium returns so homeowners can truly afford to be in their property, not simply because lending rates are artificially low today.
Well, house purchases are now free of stamp duty up to a value of £500k until the end of the financial year. Interesting.
Will allow many first time buyers who can't get a mortgage with a deposit below 15% to add their stamp duty monies to their deposit and see if they can get enough together for 15%. I can't see it doing all that much in the southeast. Potentially some downsizers will benefit with their onward purchase but I'm not expecting any change in activity where I'm looking.
Does anyone know if stamp duty still applies if you purchase a house up to £500k but already own other properties?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53319433
“The chancellor has announced a temporary holiday on stamp duty on the first £500,000 of all property sales in England and Northern Ireland.”
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/stamp-du...-reduced-rates
Looks like it will affect all properties, even those over £500k. I’m quite surprised at this policy, but it is good timing for me.
^ same here. We’ve been on the fence about moving for a while given Brexit and then COVID but this would save us £15k+ which is certainly not to be sniffed at.
If I’d just completed a purchased I’d feel mightily pissed off. But thems the breaks I guess
Makes sense. A property crash would hardly get everyone out spending in the wider economy and creating a recovery, and it would reduce stamp duty revenue too. Really it has to affect all price brackets or it would distort the market, making it impossible to list things at just over the threshold.
It’s about time they changed this tax in any case, maybe they can rethink it once this is over. Having forked out an absolutely insane amount when moving a while ago, it seems perverse in the extreme to be penalised for moving house. The price of London properties means the tax is absurdly high, and just when you need every penny to move. My worry is a new tax on the value of properties (some kind of wealth / mansion tax), when you’ve already been cleaned out on stamp duty to get the thing in the first place, ie double taxation due to shifting policies.
Stamp Duty would be fairer if the threshold was based on local property prices, or perhaps based on size like Community Charge. But as for all things tax related, whatever system you come up with will be hugely complicated and full of loopholes.
How about a tax on the number of windows? ;-)
I hope not. That would be us well stuffed.
https://aquantumoftime.org/images/windowstax_600px.jpg
First time buyers already had 100% relief on the first £300,000.
One of my daughters has recently bought her (and her husband’s) first house and paid £250 SDLT on a £305,000 purchase.
Another is buying with her boyfriend at £315,000 and will save an additional £750 SDLT after today’s announcement.
Indeed. Now they are slugging it out with those that can pay more because they did not previously have that relief. And buy to let investors now pay 3% SDLT so with the talk of negative interest rates, might decide that timing is right to stick a few quid into a BTL. The £4bn could really have been spent in a more effective way than encouraging taking on more debt at a time that job security is at a low point.
Depends where you are in the country, but it would be a huge saving and contribution for most.
I would have been delighted if I’d saved paying the tax on the first £500k of my place.
Employment and economy news just keeps on getting better. Property prices can only go up.
[/sarcasm]
If people become increasingly unable to buy a house, then stamp duty is irrelevant. And mass unemployment together with tremendous job insecurity will kick the stuffing out of the market over the next tfew years.