Latest Property Features

Latest Property Features

AFFORDABLE HOUSING TREBLES DURING 2008

Since house prices began to crack in the late-summer of 2007, a steady fall in the house price-to-earnings ratio has made it progressively easier for first time buyers to afford a home in some parts of the country, says Britain's largest lender.

MORTAGES DRY UP

The amount of new mortgage money pumped into the housing market - the gap between the total of new advances and money paid back by existing borrowers - could shrink in 2009 to barely a seventh of the 2007 figure, predicts a new market analysis.

MORTGAGES DRY UP

The amount of new mortgage money pumped into the housing market - the gap between the total of new advances and money paid back by existing borrowers - could shrink in 2009 to barely a seventh of the 2007 figure, predicts a new market analysis.

SHARP DROP IN PRICES FOR NEWBUILDS

The premium on the price of a new home over and above the cost of secondhand property, which usually ran at around 15-20% in the boom years, has largely evaporated as developers desperately try to secure more sales before the Christmas lay-off.

SHARP DROP IN PRICES FOR NEWBUILDS

The premium on the price of a new home over and above the cost of secondhand property, which usually ran at around 15-20% in the boom years, has largely evaporated as developers desperately try to secure more sales before the Christmas lay-off.

POTENTIAL PROFITS FOR FOREIGN HOMEOWNERS

Although the plunge of the pound against the euro and other currencies makes life much harder for British buyers abroad, those already owning homes abroad might sell in the coming months to bring a sizeable profit back to Britain.

IS THERE HOPE ON THE HORIZON?

Is it really all doom and gloom on the housing front as far as the eye can see - or could 2009 surprise a lot of people with an earlier-than-expected bounce back in the housing market? That's the question I put to various market commentators this week, and their reaction certainly does not reflect the wall-to-wall warnings of Armageddon which seem to dominate the airwaves.

MORE DELAYS IN THE HOUSING CHAIN

As Scotland launches a compulsory sellers' pack for homeowners from December 1 which is fuller, and pricier than the English version, the debate on the benefit of this concept could flare up again in the coming weeks.

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY

PBR DOES LITTLE TO RELIEVE AILING HOUSE MARKET By Jeremy Gates, Press Association

POSH POSTCODES ESCAPE PROPERTY CRASH

Despite the property crash, residents of the poshest streets in Britain are still sitting pretty - because of the desperate shortage of homes in the most prestigious postcodes.