Broadband speeds could swing decisions on home buying

Many people that are looking to buy a home look at a range of different factors in order to help them to decide which home is going to be most suited to their needs. There are many things that people will look for in a property, such as local amenities and facilities, road and transport links, neighbours, etc. However, more and more people are also looking at the broadband access in the area before making their minds up.

This trend has resulted in broadband becoming an important selling point for estate agents, and some are now using the availability of high speed broadband as a valuable selling point for properties. Property website Rightmove and communications giant BT are two companies have teamed up to provide information on broadband for over one million properties that are up for sale on the Rightmove site.

The importance of broadband has increase because nowadays people require higher speed broadband for a range of things such as entertainment and shopping, education, communication, and business use.

An official from Rightmove said: “Broadband is becoming one of the most, if not the most, important considerations for prospective buyers. Many people fall in love with a home only to find out it can only get really slow internet. By listing broadband speed with all the other property details buyers will be able to weed out homes that don’t have high-speed access.”

Another official said: “As a leading UK website services like superfast broadband obviously interest us and we have recently looked into how it can benefit us, although we are not currently in any form of partnership with BT.”

Tags: importance, high-speed access, uk, Technology Internet, estate, speed, Estate agent

High demand for property creates house price bubble

According to a recent report the high demand for property from potential buyers has resulted in a house price bubble being formed in the UK. Read more

Tags: housing bubble, recent report, estate, property demand, potential buyers, base intrest rate, house prices, property

Toughest time in three decades for property sellers

There is little doubt that the housing market is going through some real challenges in the UK at the moment. Homes are losing value hand over fist, with prices going down on a monthly basis, and mortgage lending has become extremely restricted, which means that refinancing on a home or getting a mortgage to purchase a property has become very difficult for some people and nigh on impossible for others. Read more

Tags: estate, huge 84%, Mortgages, low house sales, Mortgage fraud

Estate agents claim HIPs affecting the market

According to many estate agents the controversial Home Information Packs, of HIPs, are having an adverse effect on the housing market, with fewer homeowners with larger properties now putting their homes up for sale.

According to the National Association of Estate Agents there are fewer larger properties on the market now than is normally expected at this time of the year. Many estate agents put this down to consumer reluctance to deal with Home Information Packs, which have been at the centre of controversy since they were introduced.

HIPs are now required for all homes being sold that have three or more bedrooms. Eventually HIPs will be rolled out to all sizes of properties that are being sold, and there are concerns that this could affect the market further. According the government officials the Home Information Packs are of benefit to consumers. However, many industry professionals disagree and state that the packs are harming the housing market and putting many homeowners off selling.

The Chief Executive of the National Association of Estate Agents stated: “Clearly everyone accepts that there are a number of financial and economic factors that have caused the market to take a breather after seven hectic years. However, these figures show that there is an anomaly between instructions on properties where a Hip is required and where one is not.”

He also said: “With sales slowing and normally a traditional autumn bulge in instructions, it would be normal to expect stock levels to be significantly higher. This once again appears to show the adverse effect Hips are having on the market, the lives of consumers and indeed the overall economy.”

Alan Wright
13th November 2007

Tags: real, homeowners, properties, problems, packs, houses

Rural demand ‘outstripping supply’

Bad news for anyone looking to get a big house in the country as demand is outstripping supply by an average of 15 to one, rising as high as 29 to one in some areas.

Competition is so fierce that even before considering a mortgage to obtain such a property, anyone bidding in Tunbridge Wells, Ascot and Worcester is likely to be competing against 28 others, estate agent Knight Frank said.

Manor houses, farmhouses and country cottages have risen by £4,516, £13,474 and £34,241 per month on average since December while the number of interested buyers has risen by 21 per cent since January.

“The current average price of a manor house has now broken the £3 million barrier,” commented Knight Frank’s head of residential research Liam Bailey.

“Payment of City bonuses together with an increasing international presence in the country house market has aided price growth.”

This means that this is three percentage points ahead of the number of available houses, giving an annualised growth rate of 12.4 per cent.

Tags: estate, manor house, Bad news, said.Manor houses, month, percentage, Rural demand, Business Finance