Clarke and Son News

House prices in the UK have seen their biggest fall in 12 years during November, mortgage lender Nationwide has said.

The data from Nationwide suggests that the cost of an average home in the UK slid by 0.8% from a month earlier, making it the first drop in prices since February 2006.

BBC news states that the annual rate of house price inflation now stands at 6.9%, down from 9.7% reported in October.

The annual rate of house price inflation is now 6.9%, down from 9.7% in October.

The Bank of England has stated that the number of mortgage approvals fell to a near three-year low.

According to the Bank’s latest report, 88,000 new mortgages for home buyers were approved in October, 12% lower than in September and down 31% from October a year ago.

Full article at BBC.co.uk.

Mortgage lenders have pleaded with the Bank of England to cut interest rates - in order to shore up their finances.

BBC news reports that the latest reports from the CML (Council of Mortgage lenders) warns that “funding pressures have started to crystallise for a number of lenders”, and claims that their ability to borrow from other financial constitutions is worsening.

The CML has called on the Bank of England to slash interest rates sooner rather than later.

“November’s Inflation Report appears to anticipate at least two 0.25% interest rate cuts next year,” it says.

“But, earlier and more decisive action may be needed,” the CML adds.

BBC news further reports that the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy committee is to meet next week for its regular monthly meeting, where it will set interest rates.

The overall impact is to limit the availability of mortgage credit and to raise its cost for prospective borrowers Council of Mortgage Lenders

CML’s members may feel that the challenges presented by the credit crisis in financial markets and the problems at Northern Rock mean that it is time to cut interest rates from their present level of 5.75%.

Mervyn King, the Bank’s Governor, has already announced that he will make extra funds available to the banking system between now and the end of the year, to ensure that banks have access to enough cash.

And in the past week, two lenders - the Bradford and Bingley and the Alliance & Leicester - have managed to strike deals with other banks to raise billions of pounds in extra funds.

Continue to BBC.co.uk for the full article.

A Landlord has been prosecuted for allowing a young family to live in dangerous conditions.

The Landlord, a Ms Evelyn Gwyneth Waller of Conwy, North Wales will be the first person to be prosecuted under new laws.

Waller did not appear before St.Helens Magistrates on November 21 - but did enter a guilty plea by post for non compliance with the Housing Act 2004 Improvement Notice. She was fined £400 and ordered to pay costs of £1,502.45.

The court heard that the issue regarding a property in Clipsley Lane, Haydock where the tenants were a mother and three young children. The landlord failed to carry out important work on the property despite agreeing to do so.

St.Helens Council served Evelyn an Improvement Notice under Section 11 of the Housing Act 2004 - giving her 10 weeks to start work and six weeks to finish it.

24 Dash reports that the house in question was in a very dangerous and deteriorated condition - with exposed electrical components that could be accessed by children, smashed windows which the children could injure themselves on, lack of central heating over winter months and extreme damp.

The conditions were so bad that the tenant and her young family were forced to move out.

Councillor Neil Taylor of St.Helens Council said: “This is the first prosecution under the new Act and sends a very clear signal to landlords that the Council will take enforcement action to improved rented property where necessary.”

[Reference, 24 Dash]

Temporary workers could gain full employment rights after just six weeks working for a company, Personnel Today reports.

Employers fear that the British government is losing ground in its attempts to secure a longer qualifying period in the directive.

It is believed that the Portuguese presidency has support for a deal that would see a six-week, union-friendly, qualifying period accepted in return for the UK retaining its prized opt-out from the Working Time Directive.

The British government, however, is said to be opposed to such a deal - but running out of options.

David Yeandle, deputy director of employment policy at manufacturers’ body the EEF, told Personnel Today that he was “very concerned” about the political climate surrounding the directives.

The EEF is said to be adamant that temporary workers should be required to work within in a company for 12 months before receiving equal rights to permanent staff. However, Trade unions believe that they should have full rights from day one.

The EEF have also claimed that rights for temporary workers pose real threat to jobs & that the threat to tens of thousands of British jobs through the takeover of Jaguar and Land Rover illustrates the risks of giving temporary workers full employment rights, manufacturers have warned.

The EEF claims that without the ability to use agency staff flexibly to keep costs down, British suppliers would become even less competitive.

EEF deputy director David Yeandle highlighted the need for caution: “Temps give employers the flexibility to be more economical, and create an environment conducive to keeping jobs in the UK,” he said.

[Reference, Personnel Today.]

House prices in the UK have continued to fall for the second month in a row during November as higher interest rates continued to hit the market.

24 Dash reports that the the average cost of a home in the UK fell by 0.2% to stand at £175,700, according to housing information group Hometrack.

The fall, following a drop of 0.1% in October, helped to further slow the annual rate of house price growth to just 3.6%, the lowest level since July last year and down from 4.4% the previous month.

The group said prices fell across 20% of postcode districts, with half of these falls concentrated in southern England, where demand has slowed most during the past few months.

Hometrack is the latest group to report monthly house price falls after property website Rightmove said the average cost of a home fell by 0.7% in the four weeks to November 10 and Halifax said it dropped by 0.5% in October.

On a regional basis, house prices fell in all areas of England and Wales except the North where they remained static.

Price falls were greatest in the East Midlands, where the average cost of a home dropped by 0.3% during the month.

(Source, 24 Dash)

Home information packs will be required for all properties being sold in England and Wales from 14 December, the government has announced. (BBC)

Despite having many critics, The government insists the packs are bringing benefits to consumers.

The decision to extend HIPs to all properties follows an independent review carried out by Europe Economics.

This found “no evidence of any impact on transactions or prices” beyond a “predicted” and “marginal” short-term impact on new listings.

In addition, the requirement to have a HIP available before a property can be marketed has been put back to June 1st 2008, which means that there is no change to current processes and procedures.

Finally, in an unexpected change, the requirements for leasehold properties has been significantly reduced with only the lease now required for leasehold HIPs.

Find out more about HIPs and procedures on our website.

There appears to be a certain amount of confusion about the changes to HIPs due in the new year.

Some believe that all properties will require a HIP and a property cannot be marketed without all the documentation in place.

As has already been seen, there remains no news on 1-2 bedroom properties and there is no requirement for the complete HIP to be available before marketing.

From January 1st 2008, a HIP will need to be in place, but if the searches and leasehold documentation are not available, the property may be marketed anyway.

HIP providers must continue to try and obtain outstanding information, but a property may be marketed with just an EPC, title information, index and sale statement being available.

Visit our website for more about HIPs from Clarke & Son.

When will 1-2 bedroom properties require a HIP?

Although there are rumours that all properties will require a HIP from January 1st, currently, this has not been announced by the government although an announcement is expected in November.

How long is a HIP valid for?

Technically, there are no time limits on the contents of a HIP, and there is no obligation on either the agent, seller or HIP provider to keep them updated. However, the local authority searches will typically only be accepted by lenders for between 3 to 6 months after they have been produced.

Do new-build properties need a HIP?

Currently, the calculation methodology used for producing the Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) does not work for properties built to post 2006 Building Regulations standards. Therefore, the government has decided that as they cannot contain an EPC, then a HIP is not required for such properties.

Is there an obligation to produce a printed copy of a HIP?

The “responsible person”, i.e. the estate agent (or seller if selling privately) must make a copy of the HIP available if requested. However, the buyer does not have to accept an electronic version, and a reasonable fee may be charged for providing a printed copy.

Who owns the HIP?

Fundamentally, whoever has paid for the HIP is the owner and they are free to transfer the HIP to whichever agent they choose. If the agent has paid for the HIP, then a commercial arrangement may exist that may restrict the transfer of the HIP.

Does a HIP need to use “perfect binding” to be legal?

No - there is no specific requirement to use particular binding methods, but there is a duty of care on the HIP provider to provide an accurate copy of the documentation which implies some precautions should be taken to ensure that it remains in the correct order.

If a property is being “quietly” marketed, will it still need a HIP?

If an agent communicates to more than one person about the availability of a property for sale, then it will require a HIP.

If a property was on the market before the introduction of HIPs, will it need a HIP?

There was originally a concept of a “Drop Dead Date” whereby all properties would need a HIP irrespective of when they were placed on the market. However, since May, with the imposition of the temporary arrangements, this date has not been set, and currently there is no requirement for a property that has been continuously marketed since August 1st (or September 10th for 3 bedroom properties) to have a HIP.

If a property is being sold with a tenant who will NOT be moving out at the time of sale, is a HIP required?

No - the law is clear that tenanted properties do not need a HIP.

What types of properties will need a HIP?

The general principle behind HIPs is that they are aimed at private home owners who are planning to sell their own property. Therefore, properties such as tenanted buy-to-lets or commercial properties are not required to have a HIP.

From January 1st 2008, what will be required before a property can be marketed?

The transitional arrangements currently in place will expire on 31st December 2007, so the original HIP requirements will then come into force. These stated that you will need at minimum, the index, evidence of title, energy performance certificate and sale statement before a property can be marketed. The original 28 day rule will come into play regarding searches and leasehold information.

Overall, how long will a HIP take to produce?

Realistically, and given some of the recent problems with several water companies, HIPs are taking about three weeks to produce. The main bottlenecks are the drainage and water searches, local authority searches and obtaining leasehold information from managing agents.

What are the minimal documents required for a HIP to be compliant?

An index, sale statement, evidence of title, energy performance certificate, local authority searches, drainage search and leasehold documentation where appropriate.

For More Information about Home Information Packs, please visit our website or, if you are local to  Basingstoke, call us on 01256 320555.

According to figures shown today, and reports from 24Dash.com, house prices fell at their fastest rate for more than two years during October - as would-be buyers continued to stay away from the market.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said the cost of property in the UK fell for the third month in a row in October and at its fastest pace since July 2005.

At the same time the number of people looking to buy a home fell for the 11th consecutive month as a combination of higher interest rates, the recent credit crunch and tighter lending criteria from mortgage lenders hit demand.

But the group said a shortage in the number of homes being put up for sale was continuing to prop up the market.

The report also says that the level of people looking to sell their home fell for the fifth month in a row as homeowners were under little pressure to sell while the economy remained fundamentally sound.

RICS spokesman Ian Perry said: “The housing market is seeing the awaited slowdown that many had been expecting, with modest falls reported across most UK regions.

“A decline in transactions may be in the offing as stalemate returns to the market, although a material fall in prices would require a weaker labour market prompting forced sales.

“Credit market turmoil has yet to put downward pressure on prices in the capital although prices have now stabilised even here. Significantly, London is the only region where new instructions have risen over the last two months indicating that more leveraged buyers at the margins may already be feeling the credit squeeze.”

The RICS survey is the latest of a raft of data suggesting a slowdown in the property market is now under way.

Read more at 24Dash.

This is the warning coming from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) who say there could be a sharp fall in the number of one and two bedroom homes put up for sale if the Government rolled out its controversial packs to include them, effectively pushing up prices of smaller properties.

This would further limit the supply of new homes on the market and is likely to push prices up, especially for first time buyers.RICS has warned that the introduction of Home Information Packs to the housing market had wiped out a significant proportion of the 20% of sellers who put their home up for sale just to test the market.

RICS spokesperson Jeremy Leaf said:

“With prospective buyers and sellers currently taking a ‘wait and see’ approach to moving, activity in the housing market is grinding to a halt.

“The Housing Minister needs to understand that rolling Hips out to one and two bed properties could find first-time-buyers caught between a rock and a hard place as accessibility to the market would go off the scale.

“Lack of smaller properties for purchase will force first-time-buyers to remain in the lettings market where rents are already climbing at the fastest pace in over eight years.”

For more information on this storu, visit 24-Dash. Please visit our website for information regarding HIPs in Basingstoke.