House price growth picks up
House prices rose by 0.8 per cent in July following three months of broadly flat growth, according to Nationwide Building Society. The annual rate of growth is currently 5.9 per cent, which is more than twice that seen this time last year.
The average house in the UK costs £167,733, which is £9,385 more than at the same time last year.
Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide group economist, says the market looks healthy. ‘Indicators of market activity suggest that housing market demand remains fairly buoyant. This will help to support prices, at least in the short term.’
David Newnes, managing director of Your Move Estate Agents, said, ‘First-time buyers have been struggling to get on the property ladder before today’s announcement. The 0.25 per cent increase will put some potential buyers off making their purchasing decision, not just because of this rise which in real terms is quite small, but because any rate rise knocks confidence.’
‘The market over the last six months has been healthy and steady; this week’s rate hike is totally unnecessary. There is now a risk of the housing market slowing down, which is surely not what the Bank of England intended. The reality is that property remains a very good long term investment and we need first time buyers to be able to come to the market with confidence, not worried about what will happen round the corner to interest rates."
More pay inheritance tax
More of us are liable for inheritance tax, according to research by Halifax. The study, based on data from HM Revenue & Customs, shows the number of estates paying inheritance tax rose by 72 per cent to 30,451 over the five years to 2003/04.
Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), says, ‘The NAEA has been campaigning for years for an increase in inheritance tax thresholds.’ Inheritance tax, he says, has failed to keep up with the large increases in the average property values in recent years. ‘[It] has morphed into an unfair tax on the thousands of people who inherit properties worth a modest amount. It is truly shocking that the majority of estates that have paid inheritance tax over the past few years were valued at less than £500,000. It's high time the government started playing fair and brought the inheritance tax threshold in line with inflation.’
Modern science has come up with a brand new way for vendors and agents to advertise properties to passers-by – a patented new type of sign that avoids many of the problems associated with the traditional ‘for sale’ boards.
The new Snap Salers are ‘for sale’ signs made from a flexible, perforated and washable material which are easily placed in a window using suction pads and are completely visible from the outside while still allowing light in. Traditional boards, while still necessary in some places, are expensive and time consuming to install and remove, less attractive, prone to vandalism and graffiti and vulnerable to the elements.
Parkheath Estates has beaten off stiff competition to become the first agent to market its properties with Snap Salers. Claire Sherman of Parkheath’s marketing department says, ‘Ours is a very competitive market and the new signs give us a real head start on the opposition, especially in the fast moving rentals market.’