Autumn Statement 2023 Key headlines
In the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced support for low-income renters by raising the Local Housing Allowance to cover the lower 30% of rents. This will give 1.6 million households an average of £800 of support. Cuts to employee National Insurance from 12% to 10% will save the average earner £450 per year. Reductions to […]
First-time buyer funding
The average deposit paid by a first-time buyer was £43,693. Perhaps unsurprisingly, almost two-thirds (63%) were in the top 40% income bracket. Just over two thirds (68%) of first-time buyers paid less than a 20% deposit, while a fortunate 5% were mortgage-free. 85% reported funding the purchase of their first home with savings, whilst 27% […]
Rental affordability
Although earnings in the south of England are generally higher than in other parts of the country, anyone needing to rent a home, will have to give up a higher proportion of their income just to cover the rent. ‘Rental affordability’ is a good indicator of the pressure in any local rental market. It is […]
More renters are small business owners
Newly released data from the 2021 census shows that there were significant changes in the make-up of people living in the private rental sector in the last decade. There was a 17% jump in the proportion of private sector renters working in higher managerial and professional occupations, and today they make up almost one in […]
Transactions and prices – moving in tandem but to different scales
There were just over one million residential sales across England and Wales in the year to end July. This is -11.4% below the volume a year ago. Whilst it is lower than the high transaction volumes experienced during the pandemic, it is only 7.8% below the average for the five years up to 2019 (pre-pandemic). […]
Only 24% of second homes are used solely for that purpose
Latest data from the English Housing Survey reveals that there are 3.3 million second homes. Of that, the vast majority are rented out (69%). A small portion are second homes which are due to be rented out or sold shortly (6%) and a very small slice are used by student children (just 1%). Which means […]
Outlook for the housing market and wider UK economy
Monitoring the outlook of various economic indicators gives us a good view on both the current and future direction of the UK’s housing market. With 14 consecutive interest rate rises, the Bank Base rate reached 5.25% in August. Latest projections are that rates are likely to peak before the end of the year, having successfully […]
Playing the long game
The Ashes are over for another year but with the cricket season still very much in play, we take a nostalgic look at changes in the housing market over previous series. The last time England won the Ashes was eight years ago in 2015 at home, and since then we’ve seen the average house price […]
Renters planning to stay longer
The average length for an initial rental contract in Q2 2023 was 12.7 months, up from 10.5 during the same period in 2019. Renters are planning to stay for longer, in part due to low levels of stock and rising rents in the open market. Renters are looking to remain in their properties for the […]
Perfect picnicking
The start of British Summer Time, coincides with National Picnic week, a picnic being a great way to spend time outdoors with family and friends. More than 27.6 million homes, the equivalent to 95% are within a 10-minute walk of an accessible public park, garden, play park or playing fields, all popular locations to pull […]