Source: http://www.homemove.co.uk Furthermore Lindsay Cuthill of Savills estate agents received an enquiry from a businessman about purchasing a mews house in Chelsea, who said he felt that his money is safer in property than in the banks. Buyers are struggling in today's market due to the mortgage drought but investors who have ready cash are in a stronger position to negotiate price reductions than those who require a mortgage.  Nervous sellers will be happy to reduce the asking price as much as 20% if a buyer has cash, according to Mr Bailey. Furthermore, this group of people are able to sit tight amid the housing market uncertainty until house prices begin to recover.  The Halifax reported yesterday that UK house prices experienced a fall of 1.3% in September.According to the Halifax, a further £2,000 has been wiped off the value of an average home, taking the average cost to £172,108, similar to the average price of a UK home in January 2006.  Commenting on the figures, Martin Ellis, chief economist at the Halifax, said the price fall in the three months to September was very similar to that in the previous quarter, suggesting that the trend rate of decline may be beginning to stabilise. 

However, he added that conditions will still remain challenging in the market due to the reduction in the availability of home loans. 

http://www.mortgageintroducer.com When asked which one aspect of a property's location is the most important factor for us when considering a potential home's location, the results revealed that at heart we all dream of a country cottage, with one in four (23%) respondents listing 'proximity to the countryside' as the most important factor.  Second in the location hierarchy was proximity to work amongst 17% of respondents, followed by proximity to transports links amongst 15%, and proximity to restaurants and coffee bars with 13% of respondents. Ranked in fifth place was a location close to a school, with 12% choosing this option.  When it comes to adding value to a property, proximity to the countryside again hit the top spot at over £35,000, followed by proximity to the town or city centre (£20,760), proximity to work (£20,024), proximity to shops and local amenities (£17,543) close to a good school (£16,104) and proximity to transportation links (£13,661.) Proximity to the town or city centre was the most important location factor for one in ten people (9%.)  The Halifax research also revealed that age and regional area also play an important part in the location stakes and how much the ideal location adds to a property's value. Proximity to work was the most important location factor for the younger generation aged between 18 and 34. This was the most important consideration amongst almost one quarter (22%) of 18 to 24 year olds and a third (32%) of 25 to 34 year olds. The over 45 year olds considered this to be a home's close proximity to the countryside and those aged between 35 and 44 years old preferred the home to be near a good school (27%.) On a regional basis, a quarter of respondents in the West Midlands (25%) cited a close proximity to work. Almost a quarter of Scots (22%) prefer to be close to shops and local amenities, whereas Londoners are more interested in proximity to transport links (24%.) All other regional areas ranked a home's proximity to the countryside as the top consideration, but this was particularly important to those from Wales (42%) and East Anglia (37%.)  People from Wales believed that the ideal location was worth the highest premium at £40,345, followed by East Midlands at £35,510. The premium was the lowest amongst those from the South West (£10,281), Scotland (£13,452) and East Anglia (£15,858.) The average premium across all regions was £22,818. Gordon Edwards, managing director for Halifax Estate Agents, comments: "Location and lifestyle factors are essential in the home buying decision process. Although other factors such as budget, property specification and availability play an important part, most people begin their search for a home by looking at geographic location first. Once they have decided on an area in which they want to live other factors then come into play.  "It is important to look into these factors when marketing your property. A few quick and easy pieces of research can help promote your home to prospective buyers. If, for example, your home is near a good school try to find out as much information about it as you can - your local education authority will be able to provide you with information."

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk The Land Registry said the annual rate of growth has been falling for 12 months to hit its lowest level since its series began in 2001. Properties lost a further 1.9 per cent of their value during August, the biggest monthly fall ever recorded by the group, to leave the average house costing £174,493. House prices are now falling in all areas of England and Wales on an annual basis. The East is leading the slump, with homes in the region losing 6.7% of their value during the past year, followed by the South West at 6.5% and the East Midlands at 5.9%. Prices in London have dropped by 3.2% during the past year, which the Land Registry said was the first annual fall for the capital it had recorded since this series began.  But even in the North West and Wales, which have seen the smallest drops, prices have still fallen by 2.5% and 2.6% respectively on an annual basis.  The East also saw the biggest price falls on a monthly basis, with prices diving by 3.9% during August. The North West and Wales were the only regions to escape falls in August, with prices in these regions rising by 1.2% and 0.8% respectively, while in the West Midlands prices eased by just 0.1%.  Sales volumes are continuing to run at nearly half of last year's level as would-be buyers either delay moving to see how much further house prices fall, or struggle to raise the mortgage they need to complete a deal. Just 58,763 homes changed hands between March and June, the latest period for which figures are available, 46% fewer than for the same months of 2007.  The number of properties sold for more than £1 million also dived by 48% year-on-year to just 386, down from 738.  Today's figures come days after the British Bankers' Association said net mortgage lending, which strips out redemptions and repayments, dived to just £2.1 billion during August, less than half of July's £4.8 billion, while mortgage approvals for house purchase slumped to a new record low.  Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at Global Insight, said: "Clearly, there is no let up in the major downward pressure on house activity and prices stemming from the damaging mix of stretched buyer affordability and very tight lending conditions.  "Widespread expectations that house prices will continue to fall markedly for some considerable time to come is also having a serious negative impact, as is heightened concern over the economic outlook and job prospects."

Source: http://www.fool.co.uk Homebuyers, especially first-time buyers, have spent a long time feeling powerless in the property market.First it was a challenge to save a deposit due to house price inflation, then there was the tricky business of making an offer as the asking price was exactly what the seller expected to get. After that came gazumping, where a seller accepts an offer but then later accepts a higher one from someone else. It's been going on across the country in the last few years and many first-time buyers have lost thousands of pounds in solicitors' fees. The balance of power has shifted and the buyer - particularly the first-time buyer - is now not priced out of the marketl. According to The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the gap between asking and selling prices is widening, with houses selling at an average of 9% below the asking price. Sellers in the North are being forced to accept 12.5% off their advertised price. A massive 82% of chartered surveyors reported that the gap had widened in the last two months between asking and selling prices in the region So how much should you offer below the asking price of a property? It is possible to get more localised information by looking at the records of other sales in your area. Hometrack is a property company that provides statistics on the market as a whole, as well as specific data relating to certain postcodes and even properties.  More information you can gain the better it is invaluable when it comes to making an offer. But, as with any negotiation, it all depends on how much you want a property and how much the seller needs to sell. Say you make an offer on a property that is more than the asking price and that offer is accepted. Your seller is in a chain and is holding up the sale, possibly through no fault of their own. In the meantime average property prices in your area are falling, perhaps significantly. Are you justified in gazundering, where you tell the seller further down the line that you are reducing the offer they initially accepted? They may have declined other offers or taken the property off the market and have no choice but to accept your lower offer in order to stop their chain collapsing. According to a recent Fool.co.uk survey of 1,240 people, 58% of Fools think gazundering is unethical yet, if pushed, 94% would still force the price of a house down at the last minute. At the end of the day, whether or not you agree with the practice of gazundering, it is not illegal - and it is certainly coming back into fashion.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk For the first time in 10 years the Bank of England's figures for housing equity withdrawal are negative, meaning people have been reducing their debt on their homes rather than taking cash out. Between April and June, instead of withdrawing money borrowers increased the equity they held in their homes by £2.8bn. This inflow of money is likely to have been driven by rising mortgage costs and falling house prices.  Equity withdrawals have been falling from a peak in the last quarter of 2003, when in the three months between October and December homeowners increased their borrowing by a massive £17.2bn.At the start of that quarter the Bank of England base rate stood at just 3.5% and borrowers were being offered loans below 4% and house prices increased.  The picture has changed since then, and in the first three months of this year the withdrawal figure had fallen to £5.2bn as mortgage costs increased and borrowers grew concerned about house prices. At that point, money from housing withdrawals represented 2.3% of post-tax income, a figure which fell to -1.2% in the second quarter. Howard Archer, chief UK economist at Global Insight, said the fall in withdrawals meant homeowners would be reining in their spending.  "Negative housing equity withdrawal adds to the mounting pressure on consumer spending already coming from modest disposable income growth, rising utility bills, elevated food prices, tighter lending conditions, higher mortgage rates, increased debt levels, and tighter and - now - rising unemployment," he said."This reinforces the belief that we are in for an extended period of serious consumer retrenchment."