UK property news headlines shine a light on apparent trends in the housing market. Some reports focus on the movement in the overall house price index. Others consider the apparent slump in house prices.
Private sector landlords are warned of further, relatively steep, increases in buy to let mortgage rates and the cost of borrowing.
It’s a sign of these uncertain property times, perhaps, but there are some apparently prepared to pay as much as £95,000 for a humble beach hut.
Nationwide House Price Index
The influential House Price Index maintained by the Nationwide building society revealed the biggest decline in average house prices since July 2009.
In the 12 months to the end of March, house prices across the whole of the UK fell by an average of 3.1% – the biggest slump in prices in 19 years.
Changes in the monthly rates of decline have been relatively small – but nevertheless steady. A 0.5% drop this February, for instance, was followed by a further 0.8% fall in March.
There were regional variations, of course. Scotland fared the worst – a previous year on year increase of 3.3% was reversed into a 3.1% fall by the end of the first quarter of this year. In the West Midlands, on the other hand, average prices fell by a relatively modest 1.4% during the same timeframe.
UK house prices have dropped an average of £3,006 since the start of 2023
Similar themes were pursued in a story published by the Express newspaper on the 26th of April.
This also addressed the recent fall in average house prices across the UK but provided a particular focus on London where values have dropped by an average of £5,903 since the beginning of this year.
Some parts of the country – the Southeast, Southwest, and Scotland – have fared still worse, with a monthly decline of as much as £21,000 in one or two areas, according to local estate agents.
With the cost of a home in the UK falling by an average of £3,006 since the beginning of the year, the current national average house price has fallen from January’s £293,673 to £290,667 in February.
Landlords warned over further interest rate hikes
A story in Landlord Today on the 28th of April issued warnings to private sector landlords of further impending increases in borrowing rates and the cost, therefore, of buy to let mortgages.
The Bank of England’s base lending rate currently stands at 4.25% – the highest it has been in 14 years. The article says that some sources are expecting the Bank of England base rate to hit 5.0%.
This expectation comes after Office for National Statistics figures stated that inflation fell less than expected to 10.1% last month.
The next meeting of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee is Thursday May 11.
For sale: a £95,000 beach hut
If you’d thought that a humble beach hut on your favourite stretch of coastline would represent a fairly modest investment, you may need to think again.
A story in the Daily Mail on the 20th of April identified five seemingly ordinary, standard beach huts ranging in price from a shade less than £30,000 right up to £95,000.
All of the examples were for beachside cabins with the usual restricted floor area, and the price for at least one of them included leasehold ownership only.
The five are at:
- Hunstanton in Norfolk – with an asking price of £29,950;
- Kingsway at Hove in Sussex – £33,500;
- Holland-On-Sea in Essex – £42,500;
- Tankerton in Kent – £65,000; and
- Thorpe Bay in Essex – £95,000.
If you’re planning to invest, you’re probably praying for another fine, sunny English summer.
