This year there has been a huge amount of press on the low level of first time buyers and how taking that first all important step onto the property ladder is becoming increasingly difficult. The term “generation rent” is becoming more common in the media but as 2012 draws to a close Halifax have published a housing market survey which shows that the number of first time buyers has now reached a five year peak.

The survey states that an estimated 216,000 individuals purchased their first property this year which is a 12% increase on the figures seen in 2011. While this is certainly the highest number of first time buyers seen since 2007, it is still almost half the 402,800 people who bought their first home in 2006.”

Affordability is measured within the Halifax survey, the top three most affordable local authorities listed for first time buyers are all located in Scotland; Stirling, Renfrewshire and South Ayrshire. The top ten most affordable areas are all located in Scotland or the North of England.The least affordable areas in the UK are listed as Camden, Oxford and Brent. Although affordability varies across the UK it is estimated that 65% of first time buyers required financial assistance this year.

Halifax housing economist Martin Ellis commented; “The number of first-time buyers has risen to a five-year high, boosted by the improvement in affordability resulting from the reductions in both house prices and mortgage rates in recent years...Conditions for potential first-time buyers, however, remain very difficult, with problems raising the necessary deposit and concerns over the economic climate continuing to prevent many from entering the market."

It is also important to note that during the last five years the average age of first time buyers has risen by a year from an average of 29 to 30. In London a first time buyer is generally two years older than the average 30 years, this may be due to the fact that London based first time buyers need to find larger deposits.

We recently received an instruction to sell a period two bedroom cottage in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. 

Click here to view the property

Three days after receiving payment our assessor visited the property to do the floor plan, just 24 hours later it was drawn up and finalised ready for approval, at this stage we sent out an online valuation guide to assist with pricing. The vendor was happy with the floor plan and decided to begin marketing at a price of £167,500 within 24 hours the marketing was live on over 400 property sites.

After just 7 weeks marketing across our comprehensive list of property portals including Rightmove and Zoopla an offer of the full asking price was made and accepted which smoothly resulted in a quick sale.

Choosing to sell using our option one package priced at just £219.95+VAT instead of via a local commission based agent saved our client around £3500 in commission fees!

Our client was so happy with our service that once the sale had completed they kindly emailed us to say;

“Thank you for all your help in selling my house, you really have been fantastic & if I was moving or knew anyone who was moving I would definitely recommend you.”

We are open 7 days a week so if you have a property in West Yorkshire to sell why not call our qualified agents now on 0800 68 999 55 or drop us an email to see how we can help you sell your property on info@urbansalesandlettings.co.uk

Despite the generally slow sales market house prices in London have continued to rise during 2012. Egerton Crescent with its SW3 postcode has now been named the most expensive street in England and Wales. With its grand period properties surrounded by the V&A, Harrods and South Kensington tube station it’s not hard to see why this street is so desirable. The average property on Egerton Crescent is valued at an estimated £8.1 million by Lloyds TSB. Even this high estimated valuation seems on the low side as a four bed property on the street sold recently for just over £12 million.

Selling prices for the road illustrate a huge rise over the last ten years.  The Daily Mail list the selling price of the same five bed property on Egerton Crescent as £430,000 in 1998, the property sold again in 2006 for £5,130,000 the property’s most recent sale in 2011 saw an achieved price of £10,500,000.

Although many affluent areas of London are seeing record prices of well over 70% the average UK house price; it is thought that the new 7% stamp duty threshold on properties worth over £2 million could slow down the London sales market considerably in 2013.

According to the estimations of Lloyds TSB the top five most highly-priced streets in London are also located in West London:

1. Egerton Crescent - Kensington and Chelsea

2. Parkside - Merton

3. Campden Hill Square - Kensington and Chelsea

4. Blenheim Crescent - Kensington and Chelsea

5. Lansdowne Road - Kensington and Chelsea

 Moving away from central London and its record prices land registry records for 2012 property sales provide excellent information on the other very highly priced areas of the UK.

High valued property in Surrey means that outside of the London boroughs the county is home to the next most expensive properties. Woodlands Road in Virginia Water is listed as the most expensive road in Surrey, here the average house is worth £3.2 million.

The North of England has seen a shift in it’s most expensive street with Withinlee Road nick-named “Footballer’s Alley” no longer holding the title. Altrincham’s Park Lane is now listed as the road with the highest priced properties in the North; with the average home priced at just over £2 million.

Landlords are responsible for the electrical safety of any property you let from the start of the tenancy. As an online estate agent we often receive questions from our landlords on how to maintain electrical safety, we suggest completing visual hazard checks to ensure all appliances are non hazardous. Burn marks around sockets and plugs, sparks emitting from appliances and exposed wires are examples that you must look out for when carrying out a visual hazard check, anything noted should be dealt with by a qualified professional.

If the property you are letting is a HMO (House of Multiple Occupation) you must have a periodic inspection carried out by a qualified electrician once every 5 years. If you are letting a property that is not a HMO you are under no legal requirement to have an inspection carried out on your property although it is highly recommended. If you do have a periodic inspection on your property you will receive an Electrical Installation Condition Report, a copy of this should be given to your tenants.

Since 2008 all UK homes must be RCD protected, an RCD is a residual current device which helps protects against dangerous electrical shocks and reduces the risk of electrical fires. Landlords must take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of their tenants; portable appliance testing is one of the best ways of doing this. Portable appliance testing must be done each time you have new tenants in your property. In the UK 30 deaths and 4000 accidents a year are recorded due to faulty home electrics and unsafe electrical appliances.

To ensure tenants are familiar with the appliances in a property the landlord or managing agent should  provide copies of all instruction manuals and safety booklets supplied with electrical appliances, this simple step helps minimise the chance of injury due to lack of knowledge.

Failure of landlords to comply with the Electrical Equipment (safety) Regulations 1994 is a criminal offence and can result in:

-  A £5000 fine

-  Up to 6 months imprisonment

-  Possible manslaughter charges in the event of a tenants death

It is recommended that landlords keep a written record of all electrical appliances in their property, noting condition and the fuses fitted inside the appliances. This information will be very relevant should a tenant ever injure themselves through an electrical appliance in your property.

The owner of a rental property in Lincolnshire has been fined after failing to repair the electrics in his property which were deemed to be dangerous. Mr, Nelson received formal requests to make improvements to his property following an investigation by the local Council. Nelson failed to make improvements to dangerous electrics which were exposed. Due to the risk caused by the dangerous conditions and the failure to comply with the improvement notice, the council carried out emergency action to make the electrics safe. The cost of the work, which was carried out by a council contractor was charged back to the owner. Nelson was found guilty of the offence at Skegness Magistrates Court and was fined £600, plus ordered to pay £1,000 costs.

 Councillor William Gray commented:

 "It is totally unacceptable for landlords to disregard the safety of their tenants in such a way. While most landlords do maintain their properties to a good standard, we will continue to pursue those who don't."

With this case in mind all landlords should consider the electrical safety of their property portfolio and ensure the appropriate checks are made and any issues dealt with promptly by a qualified professional.

Written by Sarah Male, Urban Sales and Lettings

Experts have predicted that the 2013 property forecast is going to remain much the same as this year. This is not welcome news for struggling first time buyers as the market remains flat and mortgages are not becoming any more accessible.

Halifax stated that it “expects little change” in 2013 for the prices of properties and although the outlook “remains more unclear than usual”, it is still predicted that before the end of next year price margins will remain within -2% and 2% of the figures we have seen throughout 2012.

"We expect continuing broad stability in house prices nationally in 2013. Prices are again likely to end the year at levels close to where they begin with the market continuing to lack any genuine direction,” said Halifax’s housing economist Martin Ellis. He also states that the escalating energy costs and minimal wage growth would restrict home buyers further.

The Funding for Lending Scheme was launched by the Government in August 2012. The idea behind this scheme was to make mortgages more readily available to first time buyers, however lenders have still been targeting borrowers who have larger deposits and are swaying towards borrowers with the cleanest credit history. This has left borrowers who are not able to raise enough funds in the same position as they were before the scheme was launched.

In the third quarter of 2012, the level of first time buyers reached its highest peak in three years. This was still a huge drop compared with the figures seen in 2006 and 2007. It is suggested that just 26% of borrower’s take-home pay will be taken by mortgage repayments due to low interest rates; this has dropped significantly compared to 36% over the last three decades. Unfortunately, restricted mortgage availability will continue to force more would be first time buyers into rented accommodation which will, according to Martin Ellis, “Probably result in further growth in the buy-to-let sector”.

In November 2012, house prices rose by 1%, this would take the average cost of a property in the United Kingdom to £160,879. This figure is still 1.3% lower than prices in the previous year. House prices in the three months leading up to November saw a drop of 0.7% on the previous quarter.

Howard Archer, chief economist at IHS Global Insight comments; "While an impressive looking rise in itself, this has to be put in the context that house prices had fallen in each of the previous four months including a drop of 0.1% in October... Recent signs of modestly improving housing market activity and the likely increasing beneficial impact of the Funding for Lending scheme underpin our belief that house prices will broadly stabilize. However, we suspect that any significant, sustainable turnaround in house price is still some way off."