Since George Osborne announced his plans for the housing industry in the budget last month there has been speculation from many members of the property industry as well as the private rented accommodation sector as to how his plans will work. The ‘Help to Buy’ scheme has been widely criticised as many feel that helping members of the public buy a property is not enough, and that the government should allow buy to let landlords to take advantage of the new scheme in order to alleviate demand for private rented accommodation.
However today it has been revealed in a report by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) that the housing market may actually be on the rise, and that there has been an increase in interest from potential buyers looking for a home. RICs went on to admit that even though the figures are well below that of the housing ‘boom’ years, they are still on the rise and are now at a three year high. Discussing the property market, Peter Bolton King from the Institute said: “A buoyant, healthy property market is central to economic recovery, and while these are very much early signs, it is encouraging that sales are beginning to pick up.”
The figures showed that compared to February last year the number of house sales in the UK rose by ten per cent, and it has been suggested that this is down to first time buyers being determined to buy a property even though they need to save around twenty per cent for a deposit. However, buyers have been warned that saving for a deposit is only one thing, actually affording the repayments will also be extremely difficult for some as mortgage interests rates are at their highest levels since the past twenty five years.
For example, Sylvia Waycot from Moneyfacts warned: “It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of heavily marketed mortgages that shout out about low interest rates, but beware that they will often be at the expense of high fees. The average fees charged have risen by almost 8% since January, though it is hard to justify how setting up costs can possibly have risen by this much.” It seems that even though the property market may be improving, buying a property is still risky, and so if you are planning on investing in a new house you should contact your landlord insurance provider for advice.