On 14 April, the Office for National Statistics released its House Price Index for Feb 15.
The headline figures concerning house prices in the UK were:
- Annual increase of 7.2% to Feb 15.
- Down from 8.4% to Jan, and 9.8% to Dec.
- England was above the UK average at 7.4% increase.
- The average increase for First Time Buyers (FTBs) was 7.4% higher than in Feb 14.
Land registry data (as at 0900hrs on 17 Apr 15) shows only 14 properties sold in Newbury for Feb 15, compared to 63 in Feb 2014, 23 in Feb 2013 and 30 in Feb 2012.
This is too few for a useful average, but based on prior trends we can expect Newbury to have outperformed the UK rise.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reported a fall in lending to owner-occupiers compared to Jan 15 and compared to Feb 14. 40,600 loans were advanced, down 1% on the previous month and 16% aganst Feb 14.
There were, however, 15,900 buy-to-let loans in February – down 13% on the previous month but up 11% on the same period in 2014. These loans came to £2.2bn in value, down 12% compared to January but up 16% on February 2014.
Analysis from the Director General of the CML suggests that much of the BTL lending was due to remortgaging.
Supply of properties suitable for BTL investors remains low in Newbury, with typical gross yields of around 4%. Gross yields of 5 to 5.5% and occasionally 6% can be found, but require swift action to secure.
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