Latest industry news
Data from NAEA Propertymark shows that both supply and demand continued to fall in November while sales to first-time buyers were flat.
Regarding demand, the body’s latest housing report shows that the number of people looking for a house registered to each estate agent branch analysed fell from 294 in October to 282 this month, which is the lowest number recorded for a November since 2012 – which saw 263 registered.
Data from the office for national statistics shows that, in nominal terms, the total value of residential property transactions in London in the 12 months to June dropped 5.1 per cent when measured on an annual basis.
The ONS adds that, across England and Wales overall, the housing market value stood at £255bn, down £1.6bn against the previous year, and £31bn less than the highest level recorded, over a decade ago, in the 12 months to June 2007.
More UK consumers are searching online to find a suitable mortgage broker, according to the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association.
An Imla report titled “The technological new frontier: digitisation in the mortgage market” suggests that as the Financial Conduct Authority and mortgage lenders support the further digitisation of the market, consumers will gradually find it quicker, cheaper and smoother to access mortgage finance.
Imla examined Google trends and found more people are looking for a broker online while fewer consumers are searching directly for the best mortgage deal.
It found that in 2018, searches for “mortgage broker” – which now automatically highlight local mortgage brokers with a web presence at the top of any Google search – reached a 14-year high, having increased by 180 per cent over the past five years.
The latest residential market survey from RICS shows that amid a weakening residential market, the time it takes to complete a sale from listing is 19 weeks – the longest duration posted since February 2017.
The report also details a slowing down of demand as well as sales, with new buyer enquiries falling to -21 per cent as compared to -15 per cent in October, meaning that buyers have grown more cautious, and the net balance of new instructions falling to -24 per cent – the fastest decline of this factor in 28 months. This leaves average stock levels at 42.1.
As 2018 draws to a close, the focus moves to predictions for next year’s mortgage market.
The Brexit-related uncertainties the country is facing are reverberating into the mortgage industry, according to professionals, but, there is also an air of positivity for the year ahead.
Ami chief executive Robert Sinclair predicts: “Employment levels will remain high, demand for housing will not slacken and whilst there might be some gentle price corrections these will be gradual, as now, and help rather than hinder the market.
“Gross mortgage lending will replicate this year at around £275bn and I expect the product transfer market to expand slightly to around £160bn. This will benefit intermediaries most.”
UK Finance director of mortgages Jackie Bennett says: “How the mortgage market performs next year is going to be somewhat dependent on Brexit and its impact on funding markets, general economic conditions and consumer confidence.”
Remortgaging has reached its highest level in almost a decade as competition increases and a large number of fixed rates come to an end, according to the latest UK Finance figures.
Its data shows there were 50,500 new homeowner remortgages completed in October, 23.2% more than in the same month a year earlier. The £9.2bn of remortgaging in the month was 22.7% more year-on-year.
First-time buyer lending also rose by 8.2% year-on-year, while homemover figures were up by 4%.
Buy-to-let lending remained subdued, with purchases down 9% but remortgaging increasing by 5.4%.
NAEA Propertymark members predict that house prices will fall in 2019, driven by Brexit uncertainty.
43% of estate agents expect house prices to fall next year, as 39% think supply will increase and 35% think demand will drop.
This is driven by uncertainty over Brexit, with almost half (46%) of agents agreeing that a no-deal Brexit will have a negative impact on the housing market.
Data from UK Finance reveals that homeowner remortgaging activity in October grew 23.2 per cent on an annual basis, numbering 50,500 new transactions and hitting £9.2bn in value, up 22.7 per cent annually.
Analysis of the data shows that, with a total of 400,700 remortgages having been completed from the start of the year to October, 2018 has been the most active year since 2008, when 773,000 homeowner remortgages were completed with the same time frame.
The data also shows first-time buyer lending and new homemover mortgages both grew in number and value during the month, too.
A total of 32,900 FTBs completed mortgages, up 8.2 per cent on the year at a value of £5.5bn – growth of 12.2 per cent within the same time frame.
Fresh data from Halifax shows that house prices increased 0.3 per cent on an annual basis this November, down from the 1.5 per cent growth recorded last month, making for the lowest rate of growth since December 2012.
On a monthly basis, Halifax reports that house prices fell 1.4 per cent as compared to growth of 0.7 per cent recorded in October, giving an average house price of £224,578.
On a quarterly basis, the house price index shows that prices dropped 1.1 per cent. In the three months to October, this number stood at a gain of 0.2 per cent.
Research collected by Moneyfacts highlights that following the Bank of England’s interest rate rise in August, mortgage borrowers have lost out in comparison to savers.
According to the finance website, the base rate rise in August has driven the average standard variable rate to its highest level since 2009, with fixed rates also increasing.