Google bins its property maps search

It was a surprise to read the headlines about Google Maps dropping its property search this morning. The search engine giant who offered a free service to estate agents, has decided to end its service next month. Google blames its proposed retraction on low usage. Google maps is currently available in the US, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Japan.

This news resulted in Rightmove’s shares going through the roof, to £8.18, an all-time high.

In a low-key blog, Google’s vice president Brian McClendon stated: ‘One of the key philosophies is to take risks and to experiment. To that end, in July 2009 we announced the ability to find property for sale or rent directly on Google Maps.’

There is a hint that Google might, however, return to the fray.

 The blog continues: ‘We’ve learned a lot … Yet we recognise that there might be better, more effective ways to help people find local real estate information than the current feature makes possible.

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‘Real estate companies can also continue to use tools from Google to help connect with buyers and renters who use the internet to research properties. For example, companies can use the Google Maps API to embed customised maps that are useful to potential clients right on their own web pages. Our Google for real estate professionals site contains various methods for generating leads and improving real estate business operations.’

At Intercounty we have developed our very own app, to help you find your ideal home on the move, for more information and for your free download visit itunes

Loans and mortgage products top consumer online searches

According to recent research by Greenlight, 61% of the 2 million UK consumer searches conducted online for retail banking-related services last October were for loans and mortgages.

To compile the report Retail Banking October 2010, Greenlight used industry data to classify 750 of the most popular search terms consumers used to find providers of bank accounts, credit and debit cards, mortgages and loans.

It reveals searches for loans keywords were the most popular, accounting for a third of all searches for retail banking products. Mortgages followed with a 28% share, then bank accounts, 24% and credit cards 16%.

The term ’mortgage calculator’ was searched for 135,000 times in October, which accounted for 7% of all retail banking-related searches and 24% of specific mortgage-related searches. With searches for the term having peaked in January 2010, Greenlight expects this January to see a similar rise as consumers will reassess their finances for the New Year.

In natural search, MoneySupermarket achieved 67% visibility in October and ranked in top position in Greenlight’s league table which charts the 60 most visible sites; however, it ranked at position one for 232 of the 750 keywords analysed, having previously ranked in the same position for 260 terms.

Halifax was the best performing direct provider. It ranked at position one for 14 of the keywords analysed and featured at position five for the term ’mortgage calculator’.

MoneySupermarket was also the most prominent online advertiser in paid search overall.

However, unlike natural search, it was not the most visible for consumer searches pertaining to bank accounts, credit cards and debit cards or mortgages. KnowYourMoney, CompareAndSave and HSBC, respectively, topped the visibility ranks in those segments. MoneySupermarket was, however, the most visible site to the consumer for loan-related searches.

To gauge social media interaction with brands, Greenlight monitored the Facebook and Twitter accounts of the top 15 brands in its integrated league table which shows the most visible websites in both natural and paid search. Brands were ranked based on the cumulative value of their ’fans’ and ’followers’, a score which Greenlight terms Social Media Popularity Index.

uSwitch had the most active accounts, cumulatively producing 238 ’posts’ and ’tweets’ in October. Content included latest financial news as well as up-to-date deals on banking products.

Source: Mortgage strategy

Which? Hits mortgage providers

Which? Money has revealed that mortgage providers are charging their customers over 39 different types of mortgage fees. It states that the number and level of fees has gone up since the beginning of the financial crisis, with four in five two-year tracker mortgages charging over £990 in set-up fees in 2010, compared to one in five in 2007.

Set-up and additional fees can include anything from booking, administration, arrangement and valuation fees, to charges for falling into arrears, changing from interest-only to repayment and choosing to take out buildings insurance with another mortgage provider.

Which says most lenders now charge more than 20 types of additional fee, with Newcastle Building Society having 29, closely followed by Ipswich Building Society with 28 and several others on 27.

However, a handful of providers have kept the number of charges to a minimum – Stafford Railway charges just three types of fee.

But a spokeswoman for Newcastle Building Society, says: “As part of our Treating Customers Fairly policy we choose to be transparent as an organisation and ensure our customers have easy access to the information they need, the disclosure of mortgage fees forms part of this.’

Finding the right mortgage used to be simple, but now consumer’s need to make sure they ask about all of the costs associated with applying for mortgage products.

Source: Mortgage strategy

Part-exchange properties - first rise since 2007

Research conducted by LSL Property Services revealed that purchasing involving part-exchange properties rose by 13% in 2010 to 13,732, the first increase since 2007.

The part-exchange market boomed during 2007 and early 2008, with transactions hitting 36,799 and 32,959 respectively. However in 2009 transactions dropped by 69% year on year to 12,164.

So what is attracting customers to part-exchange? Customers who participate in part-exchange schemes don’t have to worry about selling their properties and have reduced costs normally associated with buying and selling a property. However these type of schemes are dependent on new properties being built - private new home development has steadily increased in the last year, with 21% more new homes built in England in Q3 2010 compared with 2009.

Ian Long, managing director of St Trinity Asset Management, says levels are well below the peak but are looking more positive.

In the first three quarters of 2010, 65,800 new homes were built in the private sector - 5,090 more than in the whole of 2009.

At the end of 2010, developers had approximately 1,060 unsold second-hand homes in their inventories - a 12% jump from approximately 930 a year ago.

At the peak of the part exchange market, developers had an estimated 2,830 new build part exchange homes on their books at the end of the financial year 2007.

Source: Mortgage strategy

All you need to know about mortgages...

We have compiled this quick guide for our clients and followers who are looking into raising a mortgage for either a first or second home. Some of our clients are also thinking about changing their mortgage type, as pressure is put on the Bank of England to increase interest rates this year.

Repaying your mortgage

There are basically two alternatives: Repayment (or capital and interest), and interest only

Repayment mortgage

With a Repayment mortgage you pay part interest and part capital repayments to the lender each month and in this way the capital debt outstanding is reduced until the loan is repaid.

An Interest-only mortgage

With an interest only mortgage, you make no capital repayments until the end of the term. Instead payments may be made into an investment designed to repay the loan at the end of the mortgage term. with this type of mortgage there is a risk that the value of the investment may not be enough to repay the debt. The most common forms of investment used are endowments. ISAs or certain types of pensions. During the mortgage term you pay only the interest to the lender on the outstanding balance.

Combination

Some lenders are able to offer a combination of the above which may be more suited to your individual circumstances.

Interest rates

In addition to the standard variable interest rate., there are many different schemes available. fixed, Discount, capped and collar, Flexible or even a combination of some of the above.

Standard variable rate

With this type of mortgage your payments will go up or down when the lender’s mortgage rate changes. Most standard variable rates tend to move in line with the bank of England base rate but there is sometimes a delay and there is no guarantee that the lender will pass on the full effect of the increase rates come down.

A “tracker”

This is a varible rate where the intersrt rate is set amount above or below the Bank of England or some other base and so always “tracks” charges in that rate. Some people are considering changing their existing tracker mortgages, as rates are predicted to increase this year.

Fixed rate

The rate is fixed for specified number of years, so you know what your payments will be over that period. following this period, the rate will usually revert to the lender’s standard variable rate.

Discounted rate

A discounted rate gives you a reduction of, for example 1% off the varible rate for a specified period. So although the rate may rise and fall you will be be paying less than the variable rate for this period.

Capped rate

Your payments are variable, but they are guaranteed not to rise above a set level (the “cap”) during a specified period. These schemes may sometimes include a “collar” or minimum rate level which is the level the rate will not fall below. Following this period, the rate will usually revert to the lender’s standard variable rate.

Flexible mortgages

These are various benefits which usually include the ability to vay monthly payments in line with your changing circumstances, They may also allow you to take payment holidays and to borrow back any overpayment you have made. Because of their flexible nature and the variety of schemes available it is not possible to give a full description here, but your mortgage advisor will provide more detail if you are intersted in this type of loan.

Current account mortgage

This is a flexible mortgage linked to your current account. some companies in this sector also link savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages and personal loans together into combined accounts. With this type of mortgage, you are only charged interest on the net account you owe the lender, after netting off savings or current account balances againsy the amount of you mortgage.

Cashback

Some loans o offer a lump sum which is paid out following completion, with a mortgage charged at the lenders variable basic rate. Smaller cash backs may be offered with reduced rates and other incentives as a combination package. These type of mortgages will typically have early redemption charges which would apply if you redeemed within a specified period after completion.

Buy to let mortgages

A buy to let mortgage enables you to buy a property with the purpose of renting it out. A deposit of at least 15% of the property’s value may be required.

What is APR?

All lenders have to quote an Annual Percentage rate (APR) in addition to their standard interest rate. this is to help you compare different schemes. The APR can be confusing but, as the calculation of APR takes into account other costs such as the arrangement fee and indemnity premium, it gives a more accurate indication of which mortgage is likely to be most expensive. Although the principle is the same, different lenders use varying assumptions for their calculations.

A mortgage is a loan secured against your home. Understanding the many different mortgages can be a confusing business unless you take professional advice. If you would like some more information on our mortgage products, then give our team a call today on 0845 073 6628.

Busy home buying period, despite finance hurdles

Finance still remains one of the biggest hurdles to home buyers and sellers in the UK. The latest report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors published this week showed that the property market remains mixed.

December sales were made more difficult due to the impact of the snow. However at Intercounty we experienced a very busy period last month and this month, despite predictions and concerns of a slow down in 2011.

In the three months to December, the average number of completed sales per surveyor stabilised at an average of 15.2, up from 14.8, says the RICS UK Housing Market survey.

More positively, surveyors’ expectations for sales over the coming months edged up, with 8% more expecting sales to increase rather than decrease, up from 6% in November. Many respondents suggested that the market would begin to pick up again in the Spring.

The key issue now seems to be making mortgage finance more readily available. If you would like more information about some of the great January and February mortgage deals that we have on offer, then contact our team today on 0845 073 6628, for no obligation advice.

Inflation could edge up to 4% by spring | News | Mortgage Strategy

Inflation could edge up to 4% by spring | News | Mortgage Strategy

A quarter of home owners have underinsured homes

A new report published by Direct Line, has revealed that a quarter of home owners are underinsured by undervaluing their home contents.

Research into The Hidden Value of British Homes shows £212.9bn worth of possessions in UK homes are at risk. On average 26% of people with contents cover are underinsured by £20,000 - with £138.5bn at risk in total.

Most worrying is that one in five have no insurance for home contents at all, which leaves on average £74bn of possessions completely at risk.

You might be making personal or family cut backs at the moment, but insurance is one area where you must make sure you stay fully covered. There are some really competitive home insurance policies in the market at the moment.

It can also be easy to forget to insure acquired items from an inheritance or a latest purchase, so make sure you try to review your insurance needs on an annual basis. By not insuring your home for enough money puts your belongings at risk. The easiest way to work out how much cover you need is to work your way through each room of your house, totaling up the amount of items and value in each room.

The report also found that among those with contents insurance, 39% had not adjusted the value to account for inherited heirlooms such as jewelery, furniture and antiques.

A total of 4% did not realise that the amount of contents cover on their home insurance would need to be adjusted or simply admitted they had not got around to it.

Landlord confidence hits an all time high

We are now two weeks into 2011, and the buy-to-let property market is stronger than ever, and landlord confidence at an all time high.

The January Upad Landlord Confidence Index revealed that 63% of residential landlords are more confident than last month, up from 60% in December. The main reason for this was a higher demand from tenants.

This is the highest we have seen landlord confidence since January last year. However they still have a number of concerns. Finance for properties remains difficult to access, which has made it difficult for landlords to increase their portfolios to meet increased demand for rental property. In a time of high unemployment it would make sense for landlords to have a greater access to finance to buy new property so that they can bring more properties onto the market, which will make house rental prices more affordable.

Grant Shapps, housing minister stated last Monday that unaffordable house prices were ‘crazy’ and that he wants to stabilise the market. However it might be more useful if he was to intervene in the finance market, to ensure that both landlords and first time buyers have access to the mortgage products they need.

New VAT rate, how will this impact landlords?

VAT (value added tax) rose from 17.5% to 20% last week. Despite the Chancellor George Osborne indicating that the increase is entirely necessary to fund cuts, economists have warned that the rise may well risk further rises in inflation. Opposition politicians have said it’s a regressive move that will hit the poorest hardest.

So will this have any effect on landlords? Unlike retail businesses or those who charge for services, landlords are not likely to be hit all that hard by the VAT rise. Rents, after all, are not subject to VAT. However landlords will be affected when they buy goods for their properties and also when they buy services such as plumbing help and the like.

If you are a landlord with numerous properties then it might be worth considering registering for VAT. Even if you have already explored this avenue and have decided against it in the past, it might be time to examine it again in light of the new VAT rate.

Even if you are turning over less than £70k per year it might be worth doing, ask your accountant as he will be able to advise you on all the various schemes available.

Funny Year, 2010!

If 2009 had a sense of humour about it, with property prices and sales volumes both holding up well against all expectations, then 2010 must rank among the funniest of all – funny peculiar that is, not funny ha ha!

Certainly not funny for those thousands of people hoping to have moved by now, or even more first time buyers who have been prevented from starting on the property ladder because of prohibitively stringent lending criteria.

And not funny for estate agents either – what the media has tired of throwing at us, other factors have made up for. 2010 started with horrendous freezing conditions which scuppered any hope of an early spring recovery.

But no sooner had the snow melted and there was talk of a general election – never a good omen for the property market as people’s plans grind to a halt. But fate was not content with that – oh no! The possible post-election withdrawal of the Home Information Pack (HIP) all but paralysed the market. Then of course, HIPs actually were withdrawn immediately after the election and fate laughed again as the consequent oversupply of properties on the market depressed prices.

Then, not only did England’s performance in the World cup make everybody laugh/cry, but it also encouraged them to take their eye off the ball property-wise, as prices slid further.

What next? A vicious budget and an unfunny spending review that had even the affluent laughing on the other side of their face followed by predictions of massive job losses and further cuts.

As we exit 2010, hit by unseasonably cold weather, people seem to becoming oddly immune to the bad news. Whilst volumes remain low, prices are up 3.4% on average depending on who you ask, although this has much to do with inactivity at the bottom end of the market.

So all in all a funny year, and whilst we are not laughing all the way to the bank, our clients seem chirpy enough. We’d like to thank them for their patience with us in the past few months, and accepting our excuses about the market, although we have achieved some cracking sales despite everything!

We look forward to an entertaining 2011.

“Mixed Message but a Clear Strategy”

Over recent months the headlines have been littered with reports about the current state of the property market. However anyone following the reports closely will notice that they all appear to contradict one another. Some state that properties are falling and others suggest that there will be rise. This is of course also due to conflicting material being released from different surveys and different media sources.

One would think that the property market would be very easy to measure, but it’s not, because firstly the market moves so quickly and is so fickle that as soon as one report, based on last months figures comes out, this months figures show a different perspective altogether. A prime example of this is a re-tweet I did yesterday about prices falling by 1.3% in December according to Halifax, but figures released by Rightmove showed a slight increase over the same period of 0.4%.

According to a recent Land Registry report is suggest that house prices have decreased by 0.8%. This may be a reflection of poor trading conditions over the spring and summer during election year, followed by the immediate withdrawal of the Home Information Pack, which fueled supply, especially from ‘speculative sellers’. Although we found that transactions were up by 12% on the same period last year and this is still 29% below the long-term norm.

In contrast Rightmove, the property portal who advertise over a million properties nationally, showed a rise of 0.4% in December, despite sellers dropping their prices by an average of just under £7,000. This is of course based on asking prices, not sales achieved, which is a very important distinction. This may account for why asking prices have risen – sellers are aiming to accommodate a low offer by increasing their asking price.

However, by inflating an asking price and assuming that a low offer will follow, is just another way of overpricing a property. Overpriced properties in our experience simply don’t sell. Buyers don’t even make offers on overpriced properties because they don’t view them in the first place, because on they can see that they do not compare well with other properties being advertised. We feel that the task of a skilled estate agent is to first of all ensure that a property is positioned well in the market, so that buyers are attracted to it, and secondly to negotiate a figure as close to the asking price as possible.

Therefore it follows that an attractive, well-researched asking price is the key to selling your property at a time when others are simply too expensive for the current conditions. When some properties are struggling to compete, other accurately priced properties will be the ones that sell.

If you would like more information about any of our services then visit our website or call us and we will make sure that your property is positioned correctly in the market place.

Mortgages more affordable than ever, say Halifax

Mortgages are more affordable than ever, according to Halifax First Time Buyer Review published last month.

Monthly mortgage re-payment costs are now below the long-term average, and 40% of local authorities are affordable for first time buyers, a sevenfold increase on 2007, the report shows. It also reveals that 95% of first time purchases are now exempt

The proportion of disposable earnings devoted to mortgage payments by a potential new first time buyer stood at 27% in September 2010, the lowest since December 1998 and almost half of the peak level of 50% in September 2007. This significant improvement in affordability over the past three years has been mainly driven by a combination of lower house prices and declining mortgage rates, the lender says.

The North East remains the most affordable region in the UK for first time buyers, 83% of local authority districts here are affordable to FTBs, more than in any other region. The report also shows that only 5% of first time buyers paid stamp duty between April and November 2010 as a result of the temporary increase in the stamp duty threshold for first time buyers from £125,000 to £250,000 announced in March.

Nationally, 39% of home purchases made by FTBs have benefitted from the increased allowance. First time buyers in the South East have benefited most from the change, with almost three quarters, 73%, of first time buyers in the region not paying stamp duty due to the increase.

‘Whilst the tightening in lending criteria experienced across the mortgage industry since the onset of the credit crunch in 2007 deterred first time buyers from trying to secure mortgage finance, there are now encouraging signs of a modest improvement in mortgage availability,’ said Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax.

If you would like to calculate how much a new mortgage would cost then go to http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/mortgage-affordability-calculator# and it will do the work for you.

Surprise rise in property prices in December

In December house prices rose unexpectedly, the first gain in over seven months, according to the latest index from the Nationwide Building Society.

The average price of a property in December was 0.4% than a year ago at £162,763, the first monthly increase since May. But prices are expected to fall in the first half of 2011 in some areas of the UK, as demand remains weak.

‘Despite December’s increase, house prices have fallen in four out of the last six months and it would be premature to suggest that the recent downward trend has been broken on the basis of one month’s figures. However, the December figures do underscore the fact the current downtrend is only very modest,’ said Nationwide chief economist Martin Gahbauer.

Prices fell 1.3% in the fourth quarter, declining in 10 out of 13 regions, Nationwide said in a separate quarterly report. The declines were led by Northern Ireland with a 3.4% drop, while East Anglia was the best performing area with a 1.6% gain. Values in London decreased 2% during the period.

‘There is little to indicate that buyer demand is set to pick up materially from current levels. As a result, the slow drift down in house prices is likely to persist in 2011, at least for the first half of the year. Whether it continues into the second half will depend on the flow of new property onto the market,’ explained Gahbauer.

Gahbauer warned that house prices could show greater declines if the Bank of England decided to raise its interest rate above its historic low of 0.5% earlier than he expected next year. ‘On balance, a relatively stable picture, with the possibility of a small price decline, appears the most likely outcome for 2011 at this stage,’ he added.

Other indices show prices falling. The latest figures from the Land Registry’s flagship house price index shows that in November prices fell 0.6% to put the average house price in England and Wales at £164,773.

Hometrack stated that prices fell for a sixth month in December and may decline 2% in 2011.

Overall the property market is in better form that in 2009. Average prices and sales volumes are up year on year, and the pace at which house prices are dropping, by no means show a property crash. The continued difficulty for first-time buyers to be able to finance their new homes is the lack of available mortgages. I’m sure that if we see a loosening of lending criteria in 2011 then the price growth could return sooner than predicted.

House prices cost over £1m in over 200 streets in England

There is no surprise that recent research has shown that homes in London, Surrey, Buckinghamshire and Dorset were among the most expensive in England. With the average home costing in excess of £1m in nearly 230 streets in England.

One of the most expensive streets was Parkside in Wimbledon, South-West London, with average prices of more than £5m.

More than half the top 20 were in London, but Woodlands Road West in Virginia Water, Surrey, was the dearest outside the city, Lloyds TSB said.

This was followed by Burkes Road in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire and Brundenell Avenue in Sandbanks, Dorset.

The most expensive street in the north of England was Withinlee Road in Macclesfield, Cheshire, where the average house price stands at £1.6m.

Sedley Taylor Road in Cambridge cost more than any other location in East Anglia, at £1.1m.

However it’s a different story in the East Midlands, West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber and Wales which showed no average property values of more than £1m.

Parkside, in London's SW19 postcode district, was followed at the top of the list by Wycombe Square, Blenheim Crescent, Mallord Street and Drayton Gardens, all in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Average prices in these streets exceeded £4m.

Kensington and Chelsea was a "prime, central London location" which was attracting "affluent celebrities and ultra-wealthy foreign businessmen, helping to drive up house prices", said Nitesh Patel, a housing economist at Lloyds TSB.

The bank's survey also assessed house prices in Wales, where the most expensive street was Llantrithyd Road in the Glamorgan Vale, with an average price of £789,000.

Good news for property owners in those peak locations. If you would like to see some of our £1 million plus homes, then visit our website at www.intercounty.co.uk.

Home owners injected £6,1bn in Q3

Figures just out from the bank of England show that home owners injected £6.1bn of equity into their homes in Q3 2010 compared with £5.8bn in Q2.

It was the 10th consecutive quarter in which the amount of money people extracted from their homes was negative. Individuals have injected £49.7bn into housing equity since Q2 2008 when the housing equity withdrawal measure turned negative.

The figure is also the biggest net injection of equity people have made into their homes since Q1 2009.

Housing equity withdrawal as a percentage of post-tax income was -2.4% in Q3 2010 compared with -2.3% in Q2 2010.