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Month: October 2020

Warning of severe delays in housing market completions

Posted on by Mike

The housing market has been in the news a good deal this week. The new worry on sellers and purchasers’ minds is the fear of “severe delays” and the “large backlog” of home sales.

  • In the news today reports of 418,000 home sales across the UK – worth a total of £112bn – are still in the process of moving forward, but yet to complete.
  • With 140,000 more people than last year waiting to complete their purchase for their dream property, many people are starting to fear that they may miss out on the stamp duty holiday altogether, housing experts say. 

The time it takes to move home, from an initial offer being made to completion can take anywhere from six weeks to six months, depending on the complexity, the speed of the mortgage offer, searches being completed in good time and with no legal issues outstanding, let alone everyone in the chain agreeing to the contract and exchange. 

The sheer volume of people trying to move home right now hasn’t been seen for over ten years, and if some completions are going to take up to six months to progress (because the sheer volume of transactions adds delay and strain on teams of estate agents, valuers, mortgage providers and conveyancers), then the end date of 31 March 2021 might start to look unachievable for some. 

The deadline of the SDLT suspension is five months away and approaching fast. If you can’t finalise your house sale or purchase within that time, then the SDLT tax relief difference you pay on a £500,000 property will be an additional £15,000 – no wonder there’s a groundswell as people start to bolt for a closing door. 

 

Here’s the comparison chart on the 2020-2021 rates which include the Coronavirus reductions announced by The Chancellor in July 2020 and the proportions of purchase price levels and their respective SDLT charges: 

SDLT

[Note: different SDLT charges apply to leasehold and second property purchases, in addition there are first time buyer allowances.]

 

See related articles: 

Rishi Sunak‘s temporary SDLT suspension announced 

Act Fast or You May Miss Stamp Duty Deadline – Sky News 

140,000 new buyers – Zoopla 

Rebecca Beswick joins committee of Leicester Children’s Holidays – a local charity

Posted on by Mike


Rebecca Beswick, Associate Solicitor and Head of Commercial Property based at our Leicester office has been appointed to the fundraising committee of a local charity, Leicester Children’s Holidays.

Leicester Children's Holidays

New volunteers

Becki is one of four new members to join the committee of volunteers this month, she joins alongside Marketing Lecturer at De Montfort University, David Gordon, Leicester Accountant  Sandesh Jesrani, and Leicester’s partnership school service and published author, Kelso Simon.

Leicester Children’s Holidays, which can trace its heritage back to 1898 supports disadvantaged children from across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland and aims to provide activity holidays for 120 children in 2021 and thousands more children and young people beyond this.

Rebecca Beswick

Rebecca Beswick said of her appointment:

“I’m proud and delighted to join the committee of volunteers of this worthy and local charity, Leicester Children’s Holidays. Sometimes you forget how fortunate you are in your own life – these holidays can be a life-changing experience for children who may not have been on holiday before.

The holidays provide an important lifeline and respite for disadvantaged children. To help these children understand that there is a whole new world out there, one that could provide a positive experience, is very important for their development.

Getting involved will be a rewarding activity for me personally and I hope to bring to the committee my commitment and enthusiasm and help drive their initiatives forward.”

 

Read about Rebecca Beswick and fellow volunteer committee members.

More about the charity, Leicester Children’s Holidays

 

 

East Midlands enjoys 8% house price increase as property prices soar

Posted on by Mike

 

It’s not surprising that since the Chancellor introduced a coronavirus reduction to stamp duty for properties up to £500,000 in value, the average house price in the UK has grown by 2.5% in the past 12 months, with people seeking to move into the country (taking advantage of new style home-working opportunities) and moving out of cities to more affordable and beautiful places.

  • According to national statistics published in October, the average UK house price reached a high of £239,000 in August 2020, £6,000 higher than in August 2019.

  • For England, the average house price increased by 2.8% over the year to August 2020, up from 2.4% in the year to July 2020, with the average house price in England now at £256,000.

  • UK average house prices increased by 2.5% over the year to August 2020, up from 2.1% in July 2020.

  • Average house prices increased over the year in England to £256,000 (2.8%), Wales to £173,000 (2.7%), Scotland to £155,000 (0.6%) and Northern Ireland to £141,000 (3.0%).

  • The East Midlands was the region in England to see the highest annual growth in average house prices (3.6% to August), while the North East saw the lowest (0.2%).

In the East Midlands, property prices since August have continued to soar and activity is the highest it’s been for years.

Recent news reports today (28th Oct) announce house price growth in the East Midlands is up 7.7% on the year before, just behind Scotland’s 8.7% house price growth, enjoying a mini boom due to pent-up demand and the removal of stamp duty for homes up to £500,000 until 31 March 2021.

  • Rightmove: the pace of growth is now easing, but sales agreed for October are still up by 58% on this time last year.

 

Rachael Mitchell, experienced conveyancer at Lawson West Solicitors in Leicestershire said of today’s news:

“The peak of the coronavirus demand spike is likely to have been in September 2020 when all law firms and estate agents were again inundated with new property sale and purchases. We now see early evidence of the conveyancing market starting to calm slightly as we move into the colder autumn and winter months, but we do expect another spike for Christmas and next year in February and March as we get closer to the stamp duty nil rate band temporary allowance deadline.”

 

 

ONS:  House Price Index report to end of August 2020, published 21 Oct 2020

This is Money, 22 Oct 2020

Daily Mail, 28 Oct 2020  

 

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