Posts tagged ‘David Cameron’
Was 2010 a good year for you on the property market?
This is a legacy post from the findaproperty.com blog which is now maintained as an archive within the Zoopla blog. Links have been preserved.
I’ve just had a very interesting conversation with Russell Winterburn, one of our research boffins here at FindaProperty. He’s put together this rather excellent graphic showing what’s been going on in the housing market over the past year. It also might go some of the way to explain why your home is probably worth less now than it was in January.
He picks out some of the main influencers on property searcher confidence over the past year. As you’ll see below, the year began with a little boost to consumer confidence coinciding with the UK crawling out of recession. Confidence dipped, Russell says, in February as house prices dropped for the first time since 2009. March and April saw consumer confidence hold steady as the stamp duty threshold is raised to £250,000 to stimulate the market.
There’s a dip again in May, with the election of the new Coalition Government as they promise to cut public sector debt and reel in spending, but by June, the removal of HIPs drives new vendors back to the market and we get a fillip.
In July there’s a dip in consumer concerns as falling house prices begin to bite, but August sees a three month rise and then levelling off as the market picks up a little and several letting agents report their busiest September in over three years. Ongoing financial constraints continue to hit potential home buyers in November and research from the MyHomeLife panel shows 71 per cent of people think obtaining a mortgage is more difficult now than it was a year ago.
Irrespective of movements in the property sector, Russell tells me that consumers are likely to remember 2010 as a year of public sector spending cuts and one of restrained optimism.
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
Five to View: Property in Witney
As David Cameron takes up residency in Downing Street, we take a look at the housing market in his constituency of Witney.
Before Dave, the Oxfordshire town’s main claim to fame was the high quality woollen blankets it has produced for several hundred years.
Now, however, its name will be forever wrapped up with that of the UK’s latest prime minister - only time will tell whether this new association will prove to be quite so cosy and long-lasting as Grantham’s was with Margaret Thatcher.
Here’s our pick of properties in Witney:
(Click on pics for more images & full property details)
1. Cabinets minister
Witney house for sale at £1,750,000 (Savills 0843 2810 956)
2. This red has to go!
Witney house for sale at £1,500,000 (Knight Frank 0843 2811 227)
3. White house
Witney house for sale at £975,000 (Savills 0843 2821 775)
4. True blue
Witney house for sale at £795,000 (Savills 0843 2821 775)
5. Ivy league, UK style
Witney house for sale at £540,000 (House Network 0843 3635 806)
Downing Street residences drop £462,420 to £4.5m under Brown
10 Downing Street is one of the most exclusive addresses in the country, with a valuation to match. It is more than likely that Number 10 is one of the few properties that will never come on to the property market and it takes millions of votes to secure the keys. Messrs Cameron and Clegg clearly have a struggle on their hands to wrestle those keys from Mr Brown who has been a Downing Street resident for twelve years now and will be very reluctant to call in the removal men.
So, with just over two weeks to go, the race is on amongst the party leaders to get their hands on a piece of prime real estate in the heart of London (SW1A) which we value at £4.5m. It’s worth noting that this figure is only for the official residential digs in Downing Street – which consists of 3,800 sq ft. Yes, surprisingly small.
Here are some other interesting facts relating to the official residences on Downing Street:
- Winner will enjoy rent-free living which would otherwise run to £4,250 per week
- Value of PM’s residence has dropped by £462,420 during Brown’s occupancy
- Under Blair, Downing Street residence grew in value by avg. of over £335k p.a.
- Brown and Major tenures reduced value versus growth under Blair and Thatcher
- Stamp Duty bill (if on open market) would be a whopping £225k (5% from April 2011)
In light of the current deficit the next Chancellor may be well advised to think about selling up and moving his boss’ official residence to one of the other Downing Streets across Britain. The most cost-effective move for taxpayers would be to Downing Street in Sutton-In-Ashfield where the average property costs £50,853. Alternatively, if commuting to Westminster is essential for the PM, a move to Downing Street in Farnham, Surrey, where the average property price is £253,528 would help pay down more than £4m of the budget deficit.
If there is a change in leadership over the next few weeks, Gordon Brown is likely to drop quite a few rungs on the property ladder as house prices in his own constituency of Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath are amongst the lowest in the land at an average of £120,910 versus his current address in SW1 where average house prices are £920,361.
Cameron and Clegg will both be keen to upgrade to SW1 from their own constituencies where current values are £289,686 and £219,136 respectively.
Changes in value of official residential digs at 10 Downing Street, SW1A
| Leader | Arrival Value | Departure Value | Value change | Years in office | Av. change p.a |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown Years | £5,037,251 | £4,574,831 | -£462,420 | 2.9 | -£165,150 |
| Blair Years | £1,644,558 | £5,037,251 | £3,392,693 | 10.10 | £335,910 |
| Major Years | £1,804,952 | £1,644,558 | -£160,394 | 6.5 | -£24,676 |
| Thatcher years | £692,602 | £1,804,952 | £1,112,350 | 11.6 | £96,726 |
*Source: Zoopla.co.uk
Take a look at our recent post on how the leaders, constituencies and parties perform from a property perspective.
Please feel free to share and use these figures; all we ask is that you credit the source as the Zoopla.co.uk and if possible link to Zoopla.co.uk.
