Recent Articles in First Time Buyer Property Checklists

Are volumes heading back to 2009 levels?
Mar 26, 2019

Normally in the property market, if volumes fall, then price falls will quickly follow. During the credit crunch we saw volumes slip back by 50%, on average, while property prices fell by around 20% - although some areas performed worse and others better. In some recent market presentations, I was surprised to see how far transactions had fallen back versus previous years and I even spotted that in some areas, based on Land Registry data comparing volumes from January to October 2009 versus 2018, some transactions had fallen back as far as levels experienced in 2009.

Kate Faulkner's latest property price picture
Mar 20, 2019

For the property market ‘to keep going’ ideally we need the annual rate of property price growth to lag behind wage growth. However, this hasn’t been something we’ve experienced, certainly up until the credit crunch and this trend definitely hasn’t existed since then, bar the last year or two in London, the South and East Anglia. Find out what's happening in your area. 

Property update from Philip Hammond's Spring Statement 2019
Mar 14, 2019

The Spring Statement from Philip Hammond wasn't the most exiting event of the day, but at least it was a rare bit of 'respite' away from the disaster that is now Brexit - or maybe not! Much of the statement repeats pledges and consultations on more changes to property taxation from previous budgets, but there is some news on where investment is going into areas such as Nottingham, Derby, Portsmouth, Southampton and the likes of Stoke on Trent. 

Will Brexit crash the property market?
Mar 8, 2019

I was the 'midnight expert' on  BBC's 5Live between Wednesday and Thursday with the fabulous Phil Williams and, as always, in between the sport and news updates we managed to chat about the property market - especially chatting about the impact of Brexit on today's and the future market. But  I also answered questions on shared ownership,  should first time buyers invest first, are lenders adding additional monies to your outgoings, is it better to buy a property with a mortgage or with cash, and genuinely hopefully pointing buyers, sellers, renters and investors in the right direction. 

English Housing Survey Part 1: How do we put a roof over our heads?
Mar 5, 2019

The English Housing Survey (EHS) is one of the most interesting and useful reports on our housing stock that exists. Whether you are a home owner or an investor, or just looking to buy your first property or rent, there are lots of useful pieces of information that can help you understand the market you own, invest or rent in. I have put together a series of articles that summarise the latest findings for housing in England and explains how our use of property is changing.  This is the first article on how people put a roof over their heads.