What do recent property news stories actually mean?

It is an exciting and vibrant market, where things are constantly changing. And if you only move every few years, it’s really easy to get out-of-date with what’s happening. Often property news breaks through into the mainstream news, and you hear snippets. But nothing beats sitting down with your local newspaper, or looking on the web to see what the main issues really are. There are three issues that have dominated the UK’s property news in the last few months - and they have all been mainstream news stories too. They are interest rate rises, any slowdown in the growth of house prices, and HIPs, or Home Information Packs. Just like property insurance scare stories, some of the stories written are so negative, that if you believed everything you would be tempted to stay where you are for the rest of your life! But of course it’s never that bad. Here is a look at each of the main issues in the recent property news and what they actually mean. Interest rate rises Last week the Bank of England announced it was keeping interest rates at 5.75 per cent. That’s the third month that the base rate has stayed level, and some people believe the rates could be cut in November. Since August last year, rates have gone up five times. Interest rates are important because they directly affect the cost of mortgage repayments, unless you are on a fixed rate deal. Although many people have come off low rate deals in the last few months and faced a significant increase in their monthly costs. The Bank of England committee tinkers with the interest rates to try and keep inflation under control. Its job is to stay as near to the government’s target of 2 per cent. You can use property news and of course general news sites to keep up-to-date with changes. If the rates do stay at this level or drop, this can only be good news for the property market. The slowdown in the growth of house prices There seem to be property news stories about this virtually every week, and many of them are conflicting. One thing is certain - prices are not growing as fast as they have been in the last year. There are lots of regional variations in the rate of house price growth. But it’s important to realise that house prices are still growing… it’s the rate of growth that is slowing. That’s a clear distinction. It would be a different situation if house prices were actually falling. Some experts think we are due for a house price correction in the near future, but the long-term growth will still be there. Home Information Packs The introduction of HIPs has been the one of most controversial changes to the property market for many years. The property news media has been awash with complaints from house sellers, estate agents and surveyors. The idea of HIPs is simple. The pack is a collection of documents that have to be provided before a house can be put up for sale. They include an Energy Performance Certificate, local authority searches, title documents and guarantees. But what that means in practice is that they are expensive, and can slow down the process of getting your house on the market. HIPs were introduced for four bedroomed homes in August and extended to three bedroomed homes in September. Some people believe they have reduced the number of people speculatively putting their home on the market, just to see what they could get for it. And others believe some people are holding their property back to see if any further changes will happen. In the long-term, it’s likely that people will get used to HIPs and just treat them as another part of the property buying process. This means any impact they are having on house supply now will probably be short-lived.

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