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...In April, Hamptons reported homes in London were more likely to sell above asking price than properties elsewhere in England and Wales for the first time since 2016....
...Mortgage brokers have welcomed an “innovative” home loan aimed at first-time buyers, which requires a deposit of just £5,000 for homes worth up to £500,000....
...The average asking prices for properties of up to two bedrooms, which Rightmove classifies as being for first-time buyers, was almost flat month on month at 0.3 per cent....
...Northern Ireland was the best-performing region, with house prices rising by an annual rate of 4.6 per cent in the first three months of 2024, according to Nationwide....
...The PMI survey showed that commercial building activity reported the first reading above 50, indicating expansion, since August 2023....
...Their supporters say they provide borrowers with certainty and help them pass mandatory affordability tests, particularly those buying their first home....
...UK house prices rose more than expected in February, posting their first annual increase in more than a year according to lender Nationwide, adding to evidence of a market recovery as mortgage rates eased...
...UK mortgage approvals rose to a 17-month high in February. Mortgage rates have fallen from their peak last summer....
...UK house prices fell for the first time in six months in March, according to the lender Halifax, surprising economists and adding to signs of inconsistency in the property market recovery....
...From BofA: Mortgage rates have eased — now hovering just around 7% — and we expect the first Fed cut . . . in June....
...Neal Hudson, housing market analyst at Residential Analysts, said: “There would be a greater risk of negative equity obviously with this, you’d also be paying a premium mortgage rate, and it doesn’t necessarily...
...“Sellers are having to continue to rein in their price expectations,” says Lucian Cook, head of UK residential research at estate agent Savills....
...Evidence that a recovery is under way in the UK housing market has been bolstered by data suggesting the number of agreed sales jumped in the first two months of the year....
...The first signs of borrowers responding are likely to show up in mortgage approvals....
...And that’s naturally where high mortgage rates are going to hit hardest.”...
...Figures from Halifax last Friday showed house prices declining for the first time in six months, contrary to expectations....
...The sharp rise in mortgage costs as the Bank of England raised interest rates to tame inflation put the brakes on the property market, and imposed a particular strain on affordability for first-time buyers...
...Separate BoE data last week showed that real interest rates on new mortgages fell for the first time since 2021 in December, helping lift mortgage approvals to a six-month high....
...Most analysts predict the central bank will make its first rate cut in either June or July....
...Labour, which has a strong polling lead over the Tories, has pledged to boost housebuilding and introduce a new mortgage guarantee scheme for first-time buyers if it wins power....
...On Tuesday BoE data showed that the average rate for new mortgages fell in December for the first time since November 2021 and that mortgage approvals rose to a six-month high....
...In the first quarter, property sales by floor area fell 19.4 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics....
...UK estate agents have registered the first rise in housebuyer demand and sales in almost two years, according to a leading survey that highlights the impact of the falling cost of mortgages....
...A scheme to back 99 per cent mortgages for first-time buyers was under consideration but is now unlikely to make it, according to officials....
...potential sellers balked at trading in their low-rate mortgages for ones with higher rates, while prices moved out of reach for many first-time buyers....
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