Get excited about 2017

Welcome to the Oakwood Estates January newsletter!

We hope to bring you news of what's going on with us, the local area and the property market so you are up to date. If you see something in our newsletter you wish to discuss further, please do not hesitate to give us a call.

Until next time,

Oakwood Estates.

Have you met our mortgage advisor - Richard Power?

Introducing Richard Power, our mortgage adviser from Regal Finance Group.

My job here is to assist Oakwood customers with their mortgages, from sourcing the most suitable product, to submitting the application with all the paperwork, and liaising with the lender, solicitor and estate agent on your behalf all the way through to completion. I can establish your maximum budget and provide illustrations to give you an idea of monthly costs for your mortgage, so you can search for your next property with confidence.

I have over 20 years experience in the industry, and have access to thousands of mortgages including many discounted exclusives not available on the high street or the internet. If you’ve only spoken to your bank, it’s likely I can save you money with a cheaper deal. Contact Oakwood Estates who will arrange a free of charge, no obligation consultation.

New Year - time to declutter!

It’s a new year and if you're looking to start off 2017 the right way with a home that's not full of clutter than we're here to help. We get it, your possessions can build up over time and before you know it, your home has been overwhelmed with tat and clutter. Our guide will help you to spot the useless amongst the treasured possessions, so that you can actually get a little sunlight into the house.

1. Books
Not all books, but the ones that you didn’t like or couldn’t get into are just taking up the precious space on your bookshelf. Charity shops always appreciate books and there are always book bins at your local refuse site.

2. Broken or unused appliances
The coffee machine the needs expensive coffee taking up space on the counter, that cooking tool that always makes the utensils draw stick and the chocolate fountain you had out for a party 4 years ago is all stuff that needs to go! Have a good clear out, assess if you ever need to use an Ice Tea maker and throw it out.

3. Old spices
When you first bought that spice rack, it only held the essentials. Now it’s overflowing with mustard seeds and thai spices. Declutter your kitchen by getting rid of your useless spices.

4. Useless tupperware
We all have those lunchboxes that are missing a lid (or vice versa) and if anything is ever going to fall out of the cupboard, it’s the Tupperware. Time to get rid.

5. Out of date tech
Old mobile phones, desktop PC’s even games consoles, take up room and cause a tangle of wires. There are lots of high street stores that are willing to take the stuff off your hands for money, even if it’s only &10 for everything, that’s better than having them in your cupboard.

6. Baby stuff
Once you’ve got the desired amount of children and your kids are no longer babies, you should throw away the baby things, or re-gift them to expectant friends and family.

7. VHS and CD's
Any dead formats you have kicking about the house will need to be thrown. Unlike other formats the value of VHS and CD as a collector’s item just doesn’t exist. Even most charity shops don’t sell VHS anymore. Time for a trip to the local tip?

A 2016 property market round-up

2016 was quite the eventful year by all accounts with its fair share of ups and downs and plenty to talk about from a property perspective. We take a look at the changes in UK property values, prices by region, asking prices and the collective worth of UK residential property.

Across the UK we saw some strong growth in property values in many regions, with an overall growth of 4.5% at the end of 2016, resulting in a combined value of &8.17 trillion for all UK residential property.

When broken down into regions, it appears that the East of England, with a current average property value of &358,401, saw the largest growth across the year, with a massive 11.56% rise in property value and the only region to break into double figures in 2016.

Not too far behind the East of England in 2nd and 3rd place was the West Midlands with a very respectable rise of 8.74% in value to &220,993 and South East England with a similar jump of 8.44% in value to &411,736.

At the other end of the table North East England did show some growth over the course of 2016, but only an increase of 2.41% to an average property value of &187,683. Wales ranked one place higher in the table than the North East with a 3.8% rise in value to &179,096.

Possibly the most surprising statistic from the recent index was London showing the third lowest growth in the last 12 months. While an increase of 5.12% to &680,593 is a considerable jump in value, the London region has historically been ahead of the UK average by a decent margin.

You can view the full table below…

Ranking	Region	Current Average Value	% Increase In Value Since January 2016
1	East of England	&358,401	11.56%
2	West Midlands	&220,993	8.74%
3	South East England	&411,736	8.44%
4	South West England	&297,054	7.88%
5	North West England	&190,005	7.57%
6	East Midlands	&209,183	7.42%
7	Yorkshire and The Humber	&173,362	5.58%
8	Scotland	&185,344	5.56%
9	London	&680,593	5.12%
10	Wales	&179,096	3.80%
11	North East England	&187,683	2.41%

Head of communications at Property Website Zoopla, Lawrence Hall, commented on the resiliency and stability of the property market in 2016 stating that it had “certainly been an historic year with the events of the last six months giving rise to potential political uncertainty. However, the property market - it seems - remains resilient and property values across Britain have continued to grow.”

Hall also added that “As city centre living becomes increasingly less affordable, our figures show significant increases in property values of commuter towns; those around the capital feature heavily in the top performers list.

Asking prices also took a jump in 2016 with the average in the UK rising by 3.4%, but with some areas such as Somerset and Northamptonshire raising their asking price to over 14% on average. The City of Bath tops the table here with a huge rise of 17.8% and average asking prices increasing by just over &70,000.

For many, the rise in values and stability of the property market is somewhat surprising after the uncertainty of the Brexit vote. Rob Weaver, director of investments at Property Partner, stated that “The combination of record low borrowing rates propping up demand and a severe shortage of both housing stock and available homes for sale has meant prices have continued to rise.”

Moving forward, weaver believes the outlook for UK property to be positive also, as he went on to say that ‘Overall, property prices are heading upwards slowly but surely despite uncertain times politically and economically. In the long term, the UK housing market will continue to outperform most other investment classes.

Home ownership halved among 25-year-olds over last 20 years

A new report has found that the number of 25 year olds who own their home has more than halved in the last two decades.
New analysis for the Local Government Association (LGA) reveals 46% of all 25 year olds owned their home 20 years ago - but only 20% of 25 year olds are on the housing ladder today.

The LGA, which represents more than 370 councils in England and Wales, said more homes for affordable or social rent are needed to allow people to save up for a deposit and get on the housing ladder.

The report highlights the growing divide between homeowners and people forced to remain in increasingly unaffordable rental accommodation.

In addition, the research shows that on average, private renters now pay 34% of their total household income on rent and social and affordable renters pay 29%. In comparison, homeowners pay an average of 18% of their total household income on their mortgage.

But the average size of a deposit to get a mortgage is 62% of annual incomes, or 131% in London.

Record low interest rates have helped to keep repayments low for those already on the ladder but have served to keep prices buoyant, pricing out those seeking to buy their first home. Average house prices are now 7.9 times average earnings, the report said.

The LGA’s housing spokesman, Cllr Martin Tett, said: “Our figures show just how wide the generational home ownership gap is in this country. A shortage of houses is a top concern for people as homes are too often unavailable, unaffordable and not appropriate for the different needs in our communities.

“The housing crisis is complex and is forcing difficult choices on families, distorting places, and hampering growth. But there is a huge opportunity, as investment in building the right homes in the right places has massive wider benefits for people and places.”

The LGA has set out over 30 recommendations for central government including freeing councils from restrictions on their borrowing to build more affordable homes, giving local authorities powers making it easier to compulsory purchase land that has planning permission for homes but which is not being built out, and allowing councils to set planning fees locally.