The United Kingdom (UK) has seen its share of hard times in the real estate market due to the impact of the global financial crisis and more recent Eurozone debt crisis, but new reports indicate the tide may be turning. Halifax reports that buying may now be cheaper than renting in the UK, and leading online property sellers are reporting record numbers of visitors. Property portal Rightmove reported a 27% increase in property searches since January 2012. The news has spurred growing interest in posting new homes for sale online for this new wave of savvy homebuyers. For more on this continue reading the following article from Property Wire.
Interest in new houses soared during January according to house builder Barratt Homes with the company reporting that it has had the busiest start to the new year for five years.
The company has traced the pickup in activity to record online property searches on the Barratt Homes website during January. This interest has now been reflected in a surge of visits to local sites and a sharp increase in reservations of new homes. Some local sites are now selling at twice the national average.
Rightmove, the leading property portal, has also confirmed this trend and said that there was a 27% increase in online property searches at the start of the year.
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‘We believe that one of the key factors is that savvy customers have worked out it’s now cheaper to buy than rent. We simply can’t believe how busy we are especially at a time when all you hear in the news is doom and gloom. It just feels like the people of Burton have decided to get on with their lives,’ said Lisa Preston, males Manager for Barratt West Midlands.
‘In recent years many people have had to put their lives on hold but it seems that they are not prepared to wait any longer. Home buyers have also woken up to the fact that with interest rates low and house prices still some way below their peak, buying is more affordable now than many believe,’ she explained.
‘Research done by companies, such as Halifax also reveals that buying can actually be cheaper than renting. Our job now is to get building and then help customers buy the homes they need and we have many schemes that do just that,’ she added.
Meanwhile David Wilson East Midlands has announced that it will be launching six new sites across Leicestershire in Hinckley, Burbage, Quorn, Castle Donington and two in Ashby de la Zouch over the next 12 months, creating 1,514 jobs in helping to build and sell the new homes.
The house builder says that it predominately employs local sub-contractors and tradesmen so local businesses and people will benefit directly from the new jobs.
‘The Prime Minister has said again and again that one of the best ways to boost economic growth and get people working is through building more homes,’ said Philip Lacey, sales director at David Wilson East Midlands.
‘The plans we are announcing today show exactly how that theory works in practice. We expect to launch six new sites in Leicestershire over the next year. These will provide 757 desperately needed new homes for local people at a time when there is a chronic shortage of housing,’ he explained.
‘In addition to the local construction jobs created in building the new homes, the local people who move into the new housing will also spend their wages locally. This translates into a significant boost for local retailers at a time when concerns remain about the national financial picture. It’s exactly what this area needs,’ he added.
Lacey pointed out that the launch of the government’s NewBuy scheme, which heralds the return of 95% mortgages means that first time buyers and existing home owners, who were previously unable to make their move on the property ladder, could now buy a new home with a deposit of just £5,000.
This article was republished with permission from Property Wire.
