Latest figures show an increase in affordable homes The number of affordable homes has increased according to the latest figures published by the government’s housing accelerator, Homes England. The numbers of house builds started and completed in the past 12 months are both up on the previous year. Between April 2018 and March 2019 there were 45,692 new house builds started under programmes managed by Homes England, and 40,289 completed. …Read More
£500m to help build 11,000 new homes, including rooftop properties
The government is providing £500m to help housing associations build 11,000 affordable new homes, including some ‘rooftop’ properties. The funding boost will help the government towards its target of building 300,000 properties a year by the mid-2020s.
UK house prices show annual rise but monthly fall
UK house prices rose by an average 1.7% in the year to January but there were wide variations in different regions across the country. The House Price Index compiled by the Land Registry shows that although prices rose year on year, there was a fall of 0.8% from December 2018 to January 2019. The average property in the UK was valued at £228,147
Property agents must join scheme to protect landlords and tenants
All private rented property agents must now sign up to a scheme protecting renters’ and landlords’ money. Under the new regulations that took effect on 1 April, all agents in the private rented sector are required to join a government-approved scheme to protect their clients’ money while it is in their possession – with fines of up to £30,000
Equity Release – Financial Planning for Retirement
For retired property owners’ Equity Release can appear a simple option to obtain a large tax free sum of cash currently tied up in the bricks and mortar of their home. However, as with all major financial decisions, professional advice should be sought to ensure that the chosen scheme is the right one for you.
£1 billion fund created to help build thousands more homes
A new fund is being created to help speed up the delivery of thousands of new homes across England. Housing Secretary James Brokenshire says the government is entering into a partnership with Barclays Bank to provide £1 billion of loan finance to help support small and medium sized developers. Support, ranging between £5 million to £100 million
First-time home buyers save £284m because of stamp duty cut
More than 120,000 first-time home buyers have saved a total of £284m because of the cuts to stamp duty introduced last November, according to government figures. The first £300,000 of the price of a property is now exempt from tax for people entering the housing market for the first time. It means that the new stamp duty cost for first-time buyers is: • properties up £300k, no stamp duty • properties between …Read More
More than a million people have opened Help to Buy ISAs
More than a million people have opened a Help to Buy ISA, the government savings account designed to enable first time buyers to get on the property ladder. The scheme was launched on 1 December 2015 to provide potential buyers with the opportunity to save up to £200 a month with the government topping up their contributions by 25%, up to a maximum of £3,000. First-time house buyers across the …Read More
Help to Buy schemes used by over a million home buyers
Nearly 260,000 people have bought their home using Help to buy schemes and more than 870,000 have opened a Help to Buy ISA. The latest figures issued by the government show that: • over 259,000 completions have taken place using one or more of the Help to Buy schemes, most of these are first-time buyers • more than 215,000 (84% of total completions) first-time buyers are now on the housing ladder thanks …Read More
Government plans to unlock more brownfield land for new homes
The government has announced new measures to speed up the development of derelict and unused land for new homes. Housing and Planning Minister Gavin Barwell said local authorities across the country will have to produce and maintain up-to-date, publicly available registers of brownfield sites. The new registers will help housebuilders identify sites quickly, helping to unlock land for thousands of new homes. Communities will also be able to highlight local …Read More