Posts filed under ‘Politics’
Comprehensive Spending Review to hit housing market
The Chancellor will set out the Government’s four-year public spending plans in the Spending Review at 12:30 on Wednesday 20 October. This announcement will reveal just how extensive the cuts to government spending will be. It’s anticipated that a significant number of public sector job losses will happen over the coming years. This could mean that areas with high rates of public sector employment are likely to take a disproportionately hard knock over the coming months.
In areas where more people are employed by the state, rising unemployment will lead to more homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages as well as dampening demand from buyers, which will put downward pressure on house prices in these areas. House prices are likely to be far more resilient in areas with a smaller share of public sector employees.
Here are areas in England and Wales where house prices are most and least likely to be hit the hardest:
Top 20 areas likely to be most affected
| Rank | Local Authority Area | % of workforce employed in the public sector | Current avg. property value | 3 year % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oxford | 46 | £326,396 | -3.61% |
| 2 | Denbighshire | 45 | £146,289 | -9.06% |
| 3 | Cambridge | 43 | £306,521 | -6.88% |
| 4 | Middlesbrough | 43 | £117,623 | -8.53% |
| 5 | Hastings | 43 | £164,255 | -5.19% |
| 6 | Ceredigion | 42 | £185,569 | -7.53% |
| 7 | Canterbury | 40 | £224,699 | -10.11% |
| 8 | Stafford | 40 | £188,162 | -8.54% |
| 9 | West Dorset | 40 | £271,555 | -9.22% |
| 10 | Merthyr Tydfil | 39 | £94,854 | -7.85% |
| 11 | Sefton | 39 | £170,518 | -9.66% |
| 12 | Liverpool | 39 | £132,083 | -10.21% |
| 13 | Greenwich | 39 | £276,512 | -3.64% |
| 14 | Taunton Deane | 39 | £214,130 | -9.03% |
| 15 | Lewisham | 39 | £265,822 | -3.42% |
| 16 | Swansea | 38 | £151,570 | -9.47% |
| 17 | Eastbourne | 38 | £207,468 | -7.88% |
| 18 | Newcastle upon Tyne | 38 | £166,890 | -9.10% |
| 19 | Blackpool | 37 | £114,300 | -14.58% |
| 20 | Gwynedd | 37 | £155,043 | -8.70% |
Source: Zoopla.co.uk / ONS
Top 20 areas least likely to be affected
| Rank | Local Authority Area | % of workforce employed in the public sector | Current avg. property value | 3 year % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | City of London | 4 | £468,962 | 3.14% |
| 2 | Crawley | 12 | £211,235 | -5.82% |
| 3 | Corby | 13 | £132,191 | -8.61% |
| 4 | North Warwickshire | 14 | £173,686 | -9.31% |
| 5 | Broxbourne | 14 | £260,362 | -6.00% |
| 6 | NW Leicestershire | 14 | £175,327 | -8.16% |
| 7 | Bracknell Forest | 14 | £271,346 | -6.80% |
| 8 | Hillingdon | 15 | £289,043 | -5.04% |
| 9 | Tamworth | 15 | £151,501 | -9.11% |
| 10 | Three Rivers | 16 | £389,658 | -5.34% |
| 11 | South Holland | 16 | £152,377 | -10.41% |
| 12 | Harborough | 16 | £239,865 | -8.49% |
| 13 | Slough | 16 | £202,182 | -8.93% |
| 14 | Thurrock | 17 | £186,756 | -7.21% |
| 15 | Hertsmere | 17 | £367,525 | -5.16% |
| 16 | Tower Hamlets | 17 | £329,663 | -3.74% |
| 17 | Trafford | 17 | £239,271 | -9.41% |
| 18 | Woking | 17 | £344,991 | -5.66% |
| 19 | Flintshire | 17 | £164,483 | -9.84% |
| 20 | Hounslow | 17 | £328,716 | -5.47% |
Source: Zoopla.co.uk / ONS
As always, please feel free to share and use this information, all we ask is that you credit the source as Zoopla.co.uk / ONS and link to either Zoopla.co.uk or blog.zoopla.co.uk. Thank you
Tony Blair buys £975,000 property for daughter
In the week that Tony Blair’s memoirs are published news has also broken that he and Cherie have just bought another property – a three-bedroomed maisonette in London, NW1 for their daughter Kathryn Blair for £975,000 (cash). This property price is reported to have been £20,000 below the original for sale asking price.
Whilst it’s tempting to publish the address, we’ve resisted but we can reveal that the average property value on the street where they bought, according to Zoopla.co.uk, is £883,407 which is higher than the average home value for NW1 - £607,787.
This property is located on a street with 36 properties and the lowest priced property sold since 1995 on this street is number 34 where a transaction took place on 16th July 1996 for £135,000. The most recent house to sell on this street was number 30 which sold for £1,225,000 in October 2007.
This now takes the total number of properties The Blairs own to nine. The portfolio contains some impressive residences and is worth in the region of £15m. Here are two of the other properties they own:
1. The South Pavillion at Wotton Underwood (reported £4m purchase price)
2. Connaught Square, London, W2 (reported £3.7m purchase price)
Related story: Tony Blair to sell his one time constituency home
HIPS SUSPENDED WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT
Following on from the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats releasing their ‘Coalition Agreement’ document on 12th May which confirmed, under the Environment section (pt 6), that “Home Information Packs (HIPs) are to be scrapped and Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) retained” mass confusion set in and home owners, agents, Lawyers and HIP providers each reacted in their own way – some of the comments can be read here.
The main points for debate surrounded the absence of any time scale, resulting unemployment and the legal issues facing home owners and estate agents.
Well, the Government has acted pretty quickly (eight days) and fulfilled their manifesto and confirmed today that HIPS have been suspended. This was announced at a press conference held at Bullman Booth estate agents in Battersea, London.
Full press release on Communities and Local Government website.
This should now banish any second thoughts or delays from home owners who were waiting in the wings to sell their property.
CLG Secretary of State Eric Pickles said:
“HIPs are history. This action will encourage sellers back into the market and help the market as a whole, and the economy recover.”
Housing minister Grant Shapps said:
“This is a great example of how this new Government is getting straight down to work by cutting away pointless red-tape that is strangling the market. Rather than shelling out hundreds of pounds for nothing in return we’re stripping away bureaucracy and letting home owners sell their properties.
“But we’re also showing our commitment to a greener housing market by keeping Energy Performance Certificates and making them more relevant in helping buyers make informed decisions on the energy costs of their new home.”
Here’s our comment on the situation from our Commercial Director, Nick Leeming. Do let us know your thoughts on the situation using the comment box below.
“There were serious concerns that a delay in the scrapping of HIPs would harm the housing market by deterring would-be sellers from putting their homes on the market. But the government has responded quickly and the imminent suspension of HIPs will banish any second thoughts from homeowners. The writing was always on the wall for HIPs. The packs did not contain all the key information buyers and solicitors would need and sellers were always reluctant to incur additional costs – particularly during the economic downturn when there was no guarantee of a sale completing. The inevitable job losses are unquestionably a bitter blow for those who paid considerable amounts to train as home inspectors. The hope is that the demise of HIPs will boost the housing market recovery and, in turn, create further employment in the sector.”
Please feel free to use Nick’s comment above; all we ask is that you credit the source as Nick Leeming, Commercial Director, Zoopla.co.uk and link to Zoopla.co.uk.
CONFIRMATION: Grant Shapps Housing Minister
Grant Shapps, the Conservatives’ former shadow housing minister, has confirmed, via his twitter page last night, that he has been appointed Minister of State for Housing.
It is understood that the role no longer has Cabinet status and therefore, unlike his Labour predecessor, he will not attend Cabinet meetings.
Is this, coupled with the time it took to make the appointment, an indication as to where housing is on the list of priorities?
Let us know your thoughts below.
A full guide to Cabinet members can be found here.
About Grant Shapps
Previous positions held
MP for Welwyn Hatfield, May 2005 –
Vice-Chairman of Conservative Party Campaigning, Dec 2005 -
Shadow Minister for Housing, June 2007 – May 2010
Proudest political achievement
Founding the Conservative Homelessness Foundation
Interests outside of politics
Aviation (holds a pilot’s licence)
Family life
Married to Belinda
Three children: Hadley and twins, Noa and Tabytha
Information taken from the Conservatives website
CONFIRMATION: HIPs to be scrapped
UPDATE 20TH MAY
LINK TO NEW POST – HIPS SUSPENDED WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have released a ‘Coalition Agreement’ document setting out the what has been reached between the two parties on a range of issues. In the document the following is buried towards the end under the Environment section pt 6 – a confirmation that Home Information Packs (HIPs) are to be scrapped and Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) retained.
We have taken these screen shots from the BBC News website, but a full version of the document is available here.
HIPs are one of the first casualties of the new coalition government and this is positive news for the housing market. Sellers see them as an annoyance, buyers don’t ask to see them and solicitors often refuse to rely on the information they contain. In an environment where property transactions are still far too low, any additional expense that makes sellers think twice about putting their homes on the market is not welcome. The introduction of HIPs was full of good intentions – designed to speed up the home-buying process and prevent people pulling out of purchases further down the line. However, the packs were ultimately diluted to the point where buyers and mortgage lenders did not have the vital information they needed – such as a structural survey – and they’ve been on borrowed time ever since.
The retention of Energy Performance Certificates is an environmentally positive move, but it is possibly more about complying with EU directives on reducing carbon emissions, clearly a positive move, than helping home buyers and sellers. The new government should now consider replacing HIPs with a simple pre-sales pack to include local searches and a draft contract for sale only.
We’d like to hear your thoughts on how this might effect the market, speed up the sales process or simply have no benefit at all.
Leave a comment below or come and find us on Twitter.
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