Wednesday, November 18th,
2009 by Click Conveyancing
The end of the stamp duty holidy will hit the housing market hardest in regions that are already failing to benefit from the recovery.
The RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) said the end of stamp duty exemption on properties costing up to £175,000 would have a "detrimental effect" on recovery in areas like the West Midlands, East Midlands, Wales and Scotland were the average conveyancing transaction is between the current threshold of £175,000 and the old £125,000.
The RICS are forecasting a drop in conveyancing activity when the stamp duty threshold is lowered back to £125,000 at the end of this year.
These figures are stark in contrast to London where 95 % of surveyors said the cost of property was increasing during October. But the overall view of the group said the majority of chartered surveyors did not think the end of the stamp duty holiday would distort market.
Those in London and the South East thought the end of the stamp duty holiday would not impact on the market, this is probably because the exemption has had little benefit in these areas as average conveyancing transactions are well above the temporary £175,000 threshold
Those in the North are also less concerned about the impact the end of the exemption would have on house purchases as the average house conveyancing transaction in the region costs just £116,051
Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist, said: "At the time of its introduction, we did question how great an impact this policy would have and judging by the fact that only surveyors in certain parts of the country are particularly concerned about the ending of the holiday, it could be said that some areas of the UK hardly even noticed the change.
"However, the additional transaction cost is still a worry to many, particularly first-time buyers, and is a threat to the market in the areas of the country that are still seeing a weak price environment."
The group called on the Government to use the end of the stamp duty holiday as an opportunity to introduce a "wholesale restructuring" of the tax. It would like to see the current 'slab' system abolished and a new system introduced under which the higher rates are only charged on the proportion of a property's price that is over the various thresholds. It is also calling for the tax not to be charged on the first £150,000 of a property's price, regardless of the home's value.
A coalition of seven property groups, led by the National Association of Estate Agents and the Association of Residential Letting Agents, is also calling on the Government to reform stamp duty, which it claims is distorting the housing market.
"We have seen evidence of the regional contrasts that are referred to in the article , namely that the SDLT holiday has had little impact in high value areas such as London and a greater impact in northern regional areas where average property values are low. Our experience is from a slightly different perspective to that of the RICS in that we are actually seeing a spurt of activity in the run up to the SDLT holiday coming to an end because purchasers who will benefit from the current provisions want to complete before the deadline."
"The fall in house prices during the recession has resulted in many estate agents experiencing low stock levels because sellers are reluctant to place their property on the market unless they have to move . This means that there is at present a pent up demand from prospective buyers who are more likely to be encouraged to enter the market by Lenders adopting greater flexibility in their lending policies than the SDLT threshold."
Tony Swift
Wednesday, October 21st,
2009 by Click Conveyancing
Conveyancing firm Barnetts has become the first UK Solicitors to launch an iPhone application. The application allows clients to get an instant quote and instruct and track the progress of their case via their iPhone device.
The iClick app is available for free on iTunes by searching keyword conveyancing.
Clients click ‘quote’, enter the price of the property and select whether they are buying or selling. The app then connects to the firm’s live quote system and downloads the latest fee information direct to their phones in seconds.
If a client is happy with the fee and wants to instruct the firm, they enter some basic contact details and will be contacted by Barnetts’.
To track their case clients enter their case reference and a password. Key transaction milestones information will then be displayed this is in addition to the already hugely popular text messaging which is sent out at key milestones.
Barnetts Legal Technology Award winning IT and Development team developed the software in-house and it forms part of a bigger project titled iTrackerNet.
Stephen Lucas ICT Director at the firm:
“iTrackerNet sits inside our in-house developed panel management software and will allow other firms to use the platform and offer quotes, instruction and tracking across a number of platforms from the web, iPhone, mobile and even Sky TV. It uses a common platform easily integrated to other firms’ case management systems. We’re keen to open up the technology we have developed for the benefit of the Industry and are making our products available to be licensed by other firms”
Richard Barnett Senior Partner at the firm:
"In the last few years, conveyancers have been challenged to provide the best possible service at the most competitive price. To succeed with this goal, the use of the latest techniques and technologies has to be embraced. It is not by accident, therefore, that Barnetts have been in the forefront of this revolution in service delivery to our clients and stakeholders, having won prestigious industry technology awards in the last couple of years. The natural progression of this pursuit has resulted in Barnetts releasing the first 'app' from a conveyancing firm in this country for the benefit of clients. Access to quotes for a new matter is as simple as completing a couple of information lines, and pressing 'send'! From there a transaction can be tracked via the iphone, online and even by the Sky Interactive red button'"
Wednesday, September 23rd,
2009 by Click Conveyancing
Latest industry figures released today by the British Bankers Association shows an increase of 81.4% for the number of new mortgages approved in August 2009 compared to August 2008.
The average value for an approved home purchase now stands at £134,500 and for an average remortgage approval £132,500
Remortgage approvals in August have taken a tumble compared to last years approvals and are down -47.4% compared to August 2008.
Other figures show a decrease in consumer lending with spending on credit cards down 13.6% on last Augusts figures and personal deposits rising strongly as people continue to strengthen their financial position and respond to the recession by building deposits and repaying borrowing.
Joe Whelan Chief Executive at Barnetts comments :
“Whilst mortgage approvals are up 81.4 % it needs to be put in context as the comparison year was very poor. If compared with 2007, before the credit crunch the figures are actually 40% lower. The current growth in demand is more evidenced in the lower priced property bracket, which may indicate a return to the market from the buy-to-let investor. In some areas there are reported shortages of properties for sale”.