The number of loan approvals for house purchases in the UK reached 71,357 in March, broadly in line with the average over the previous six months, according to the latest figures from the Bank of England. A breakdown of the figures show that the number of approvals for remortgaging was 41,347, compared to the average of 40,755 over the previous six months while the number of approvals for other purposes was 12,875, compared to the average of 12,267 over the previous six months. According to Kevin Purvey, chairman of the Independent Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA), approvals dipped just slightly from February as the short term effect of the buy to let stamp duty surcharge fades away. He pointed out that remortgaging rose slightly over the average established over the previous six months. ‘Having seen the remortgage market bounce back during summer and autumn of 2015, it’s a positive sign to see it remaining in rude health in the first quarter of 2016. This is likely to be influenced by intense competition among mortgage lenders, which has driven mortgage rates down to record lows,’ he said. ‘Following house price rises, it means now could be a sensible time to consider remortgaging whether simply to refinance or release equity. We expect remortgaging to be one of the strongest growth areas within the mortgage market this year, with home owners looking to remortgage benefitting very much from lender competition and the plethora of products available,’ he added. David Brown, chief executive officer of Marsh & Parsons, said that the first three months of 2016 was by no means a typical quarter. ‘Activity in the opening three months of this year has been exceptionally skewed by the additional layer of stamp duty for both buy to let and second home purchases,’ he pointed out. ‘Naturally, the knee jerk reaction among these groups has been to hurry through property purchases before the deadline, and make savings while they can. Second home owners really jumped to it this spring, and were much more prominent in the market than we would typically expect,’ he explained. ‘Now that the ruckus has passed, we’ll see much more orderly transactions over the summer months, as the market rebalances towards first time buyers and other owner occupiers for whom it will just be business as usual,’ he added. Meanwhile, separate research shows that just a third of remortgagors consulted a mortgage broker in March and at 35% this was the lowest amount since September, leading to concerns borrowers may be missing out on best available rates. Overall the number of remortgagors consulting brokers has declined since the start of the year, according to the latest research from LMS. It fell to just 35% in March, the lowest amount since September last year and down from 39% in February. It is also 11% lower than the 46% who consulted a broker at the start of the year. This leads to concerns that borrowers may be missing out on competitive rates or the most suitable products for their circumstances as intermediaries can access products not available on the high street. The research report suggests that home owners are more confident in their own ability to make a decision about remortgaging without consulting a broker likely, in part, to low expectations of a base rate rise. Expectations of a rate rise among remortgagors has fallen four percentage points from 16% in February to 12% in March, the lowest recorded by LMS. Despite the competitive rates currently available, the number who remortgaged to lower their mortgage rate in March was just 57%, a drop of 11% year on year. The percentage of individuals who remortgaged in March because they came to the end of their current deal fell to 45%, a 5% fall compared to the previous month while 28% opted to increase the size of their loan, with 22% increasing the size of their loan by more than £10,000. The research shows that the number of people remortgaging who did so to help their children buy a home is now at 3%, up 1% from February and there was a 1% month on month fall in the number of people remortgaging to pay off other debts. There was also a 2% fall in the number of people opting to remortgage for home improvements, down to 18%. ‘A persistently low base rate and a host of competitive mortgages on offer may be leading many remortgagors to miss out on the best available rates through apathy. After seven years of a historic low rate, there is no sign of an increase in sight, reducing the motivation of homeowners to remortgage or consider their options,’ said Andy Knee, chief executive of LMS. ‘Concerning too, is the fall in the number of remortgagors seeking independent financial advice when remortgaging. While home owners may feel confident in their ability to remortgage, shopping around is the best way to ensure you take advantage of the most competitive offers that may enable savings of hundreds of pounds each month, and advice can help to navigate the complexities of the mortgage market to find the most suitable product for your circumstances,’ he explained. 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National home values in the United States increased to an average of $187,300 in July, the 48th month in row of appreciating values, the latest index data shows. Home values have risen by 5% over the past year and have been consistently climbing since August 2012, but still remain 4.7% below the peak of April 2007 when the median home value was $196,600. The index report from real estate firm Zillow shows that Portland, Dallas and Denver reported the highest year on year home value appreciation among the 35 largest metros across the country. In Portland, home values rose almost 15% to a median value of $334,900 while in Dallas and Denver prices were up 11.9% and 11.3% respectively. In notoriously expensive San Francisco, however, home values have been slowing down since the beginning of the year. In January, home values were up almost 12% year on year and are now appreciating at about half that pace, up 6.6% over the last 12 months. ‘The consistent rise in home values that we’ve been seeing for the past four years masks a number of region specific trends that have taken place over the past few months,’ said Zillow chief economist Svenja Gudell. ‘In most areas, the market is being driven mainly by a strong labour market and tight supply, especially among entry level homes that first time buyers are after. But some markets, especially the red-hot Pacific Northwest, are adding more jobs and attracting more residents, putting the pressure on home values and rents,’ she explained. ‘The Bay Area and Southern California are still growing at a faster pace than the nation as a whole, but growth rates have come back to earth a bit after several years of rapid growth. And markets in other regions, like the Northeast, keep steadily chugging along. All housing is local, and as the local economies in individual metros ebb and flow, housing will follow suit,’ she added. She also pointed out that more than at any time since the boom and bust, the US housing market is being driven by local fundamentals, and not by national trends. Zillow’s latest figures also shows that rents across the country have increased by 2% over the past year to $1,408 per month and have now increased for 47 months in a row. Of the 35 largest US metros, Seattle, Portland and San Francisco reported the highest year on year rent appreciation. In Seattle rents rose almost 10% to a median of $2,052 per month, while rents in Portland rose just over 8%. In San Francisco, the median rent price rose to $3,407 per month, the second highest of all metros, right after San Jose in California while rents in San Francisco appreciated 6% over the past year. Source link

Whether you are looking to sell your home, or you have just purchased your forever home, a bedroom redesign should be top of your list. A complete overhaul of your bedroom’s current design can help close the deal on selling your house, or ensure you put your own personal stamp on your brand-new living space. Discover which trends are really taking off this year, and which styles are making a come-back in our helpful list of 2017 bedroom must haves. A Blast From The Past According to Countryliving.com, the 2017 bedroom is all about heirlooms, with granny stitched blankets and antique knick-knacks completing the vintage look. Should you be fortunate enough to have been bequeathed family heirlooms, make them a feature in your bedroom by showcasing them on wooden shelves, or by draping fantastic pieces of jewellery from ornate hooks around the room. If you don’t have any original items to enhance the space, pick up ornaments and framed pictures from local charity shops. Vintage style bedspreads and cute embroidered pillow cases can be purchased from retailers such as Not On The High Street, and TK Maxx. All About the Wood Wooden beds remain one of the most popular styles whether they be for the master suite, or for a child’s bedroom. Robust and versatile, wooden beds are can assist with keeping a vintage feel throughout the bedroom, or, more modern styles embrace this year’s obsession with all things white. A white wooden bed frame is compatible with many different styles, allowing homeowners to invest in a piece that will not go out of fashion, and can remain a focal point as the designs change. A site which offers a variety of wooden bed frames at reasonable prices is Bedstar, and is worth a look if you are attempting to stay stylish and remain within a certain budget. Flower Power Floral prints are very much in favour at the moment, which may be due to the current trend for all things vintage. Amateur designers are being encouraged to mix and match small and large floral prints in the bedroom. Throws, scatter cushions, bed linens, and duvet covers are the best options for floral prints, and if you are feeling particularly brave, decorate the walls with bold floral designs, or floral wallpaper. The Gallery Transform your bedroom into a personal gallery by creating a feature wall of your most loved paintings, or even your own artistic endeavours. This is a bold method of decorating a plain wall, and a contemporary alternative rather than merely papering or painting a feature wall. This is also a great way to showcase your children’s most treasured hand-made pieces, even, or perhaps especially, when they have long flown the coup. Keeping It Simple If you aren’t a fan of including many different colours in a scheme, you may relish the thought of using just white and a colour, to redecorate your bedroom. Blue and white is this year’s must-have colour combination and evokes a sense of calm in your personal sanctuary. Think of gingham duvet covers and throws and plain white walls with splashes of blue introduced in paintings, ornaments, and furniture.

People are losing their minds over a simple collage competition that no one can solve. Marketers at Vivacity London, a marketing consultancy for the property and construction sector, set about launching a simple ‘identify-the-London-buildings’ competition and discovered they’d created an unsolvable puzzle that has left participants “utterly addicted and committed to cracking it” – Matt Acton MRICS, Project Manager, Heriot-Watt University.  Choosing 30 iconic London buildings to create a beautiful, eye-catching collage, Jennifer Evans, Managing Director of Vivacity London, hoped to launch a pertinent competition for London’s challenge-loving Property and Construction sector…. only to find that literally no one can solve it. “It’s clever, beautiful, and enraging all at once – I’m devoted to solving it, if I have to walk the width and breadth of London!” Julian Davies MRICS, Managing Director, Earl Kendrick Associates. “I’ve been very close to throwing my laptop out of the window, it’s that infuriatingly complex and addictive…I won’t give up!  Sarah Fisher, Director/Owner, MIH Ltd. The proposal is simple, identify all 30 buildings for the chance to win a business consultancy package worth £7,300, but whether anyone wins it remains to be seen. At first glance, you don’t imagine it to be that hard as you immediately recognise such landmarks as The London Eye and Tower Bridge. However, as you tick off the first ten or so, it becomes harder to identify where in London you’ve seen that building before and what its name is. Jennifer Evans, Managing Director of Vivacity London, says: we invite professionals from the sector to play it on their commute, during their lunch break or at home with the help of family and friends, with the chance of winning the deserved prize, but we also welcome everyone else who enjoys a challenge to participant just for fun.  Think you can solve the unsolvable puzzle? View the 30 Buildings collage and full competition details here: https://www.vivacitylondon.com/blog/30buildings Email your entry to 30Buildings@vivacitylondon.com. Closing Date: July 19th Winners will be announced on the website: July 21st (if there are any) “I pride myself on my knowledge of London and I’m pretty hacked off I can’t solve this one!” Laura Passey, Owner, Laura Passey Interiors “It has me completely flummoxed!” David Graves MRICS, Managing Director, JCF Property Management.