July sees quieter market
New applicant enquiries and the number of houses available are considerably up on the same time last year, according to the latest survey of the members of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA). However, July is a traditionally quiet time for the UK housing market and this remained the case this year, with less activity than in the previous month.
NAEA members experienced a downturn from the previous month in a number of areas – in July agents saw falls in the number of house buyers on their books, the number of houses available and the number of sales agreed.
While viewing figures have remained fairly consistent in 2005, the average time taken to sell a property has been slowly increasing month-on-month. July, however, took a positive turn, with the average length of time between instruction and exchange of contracts at 19 weeks, compared with 20 weeks in the months of May and June. In July last year it was taking 22 weeks to complete a sale.
Neighbourliness ‘a thing of the past’
According to new research by Linden Homes, the neighbourly request for a cup of sugar is becoming a thing of the past. Fifty-nine of us do not even know the names of our neighbours, while when we have spotted a neighbour we are three times as likely to avoid contact as have a chat.
While most of us would lend a cup of sugar to our neighbours, a massive 56 per cent would do so begrudgingly. Those who live in apartments are significantly less likely to enjoy friendly neighbourly relations than their house-inhabiting counterparts; 21 per cent of those in apartments would be happy to leave a spare set of keys with a neighbour, compared with 38 per cent of house-dwellers. However, an encouraging three-quarters of us would go and investigate if our neighbour’s burglar alarm sounded.
Housing costs on the rise
The cost of owning and running a house rose by five per cent in 2003/2004, more than four times the rate of CPI inflation, according to research by Halifax. Rising council tax bills accounted for more than 30 per cent of the total increase in housing costs, the single largest factor.
At £5,948, annual housing costs make up 23 per cent of total household spending by owner occupiers and are one-third more than household spending on the essential items of food and drink, clothing, education and health care. London housing costs are the highest, 77 per cent above annual housing costs in the North East, which at £4,358 is the cheapest region in which to run a household.
Britain’s homes ‘not big enough’
The UK is simply not providing the homes people want, according to new research from propertyfinder.com. The survey found that there is an annual shortage of 350,000 medium-sized homes on the market and that one-quarter of buyers are forced to buy a smaller home than they are looking for.
Forty-one per cent of the UK’s housing stock is two-bedroom homes, yet only 21 per cent of home hunters are looking for a property of that size. In an average year, the survey found, 240,000 home buyers are forced to buy two-bedroom homes when they would like something bigger.
Surprisingly, affordability is not seen as the culprit, even at the end of years of sharply rising prices; instead, availability explains the shortfall.