FAMILY HOME WITH STUNNING EXTENSION

On the market for £240,000 with the Fishponds office of Besley Hill Estate Agents, 16 Lambrook Road, Fishponds, is a superior 1930s-style three-bedroom semi-detached house with a stunning rear extension forming a beautiful modern open plan kitchen/breakfast room. The 18' 4" x 7' 2" (5.59m x 2.18m) kitchen is fitted with a high quality range of newly finished white high gloss wall, floor and drawer storage cupboards with rolled edged timber grain effect working surfaces and integrated dish washer and washing machine. Other features include floor to ceiling height pull out larder storage unit, single drainer sink unit with mixer taps over, two Velux roof windows, space for range cooker, under cupboard lighting, tiled floor and underfloor heating, splash back tiling, space for upright fridge/freezer, stainless steel effect wall sockets and switches, concealed ceiling spotlighting, UPVC double glazed window to rear with a lovely outlook onto the rear garden and multi-paned internal door into the hall. The adjoining breakfast room, measuring 10' 2" x 9' 0" (3.1m x 2.74m), also has a tiled floor with underfloor heating, together with Velux roof window, UPVC double glazed sliding patio doors opening onto the rear garden, two wall light points and concealed ceiling spotlighting. There is a 14' 1" x 12' 4" (4.29m x 3.76m) lounge with a UPVC double glazed bay window with leaded glazed details, radiator, feature fireplace with a built- in cast iron wood burring stove upon a stone-laid hearth with a built-in natural wood timber beam/mantle above, leading into a dining room (12' 2" x 11' 5" (3.71m x 3.48m)) with feature fireplace opening with a built-over timber beam mantle suitable for open fire use, decorative multi-pane door into the hall and radiator. Bedroom 1 is fitted with two built--in wardrobes and has a UPVC double glazed bay window with leaded glazed details; bedroom 2 has two built-in double wardrobes (one containing a combination gas-fired boiler for domestic hot water and central heating) and UPVC double glazed window to the rear with a lovely open outlook onto the rear garden; and bedroom 3 has a feature polished wood display ledge and UPVC double glazed and leaded window to the front. The bathroom is luxuriously appointed with a newly applied white suite of timber panelled bath, low level w.c., wash basin, tiled floor and matching wall tiling, ceiling spotlights/ceiling extractor, shower screen, fitted mixer shower attachment over the bath, heated towel rail and UPVC double glazed and frosted window to the rear. Outside, the property benefits from an attractive front garden which has been maintained to a good standard with a variety of plants and young shrubs. The larger rear garden is ideal for a growing family, offering well tended lawns, established wide borders and a decorative gravelled surface to one side within timber log edging. There is also a paved patio surface and pathway leading to the side of the property and stepping stones to an attractively fenced section of garden/hard standing space suitable for one vehicle alongside a timber shed. A rear unmade lane exists to the rear of the property boundary. At the head of the rear garden on the former site of the original garage the current owners have obtained full planning permission for the development of a double garage (subject to the necessary building regulations approval). This attractive family home, which is presented to a high standard throughout, is located in a desirable position within convenient walking distance of Fishponds’ shops, services and schools. For further details and an appointment to view, contact Besley Hill Estate Agents, 764 Fishponds Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3UA, tel 0117 965 3162, website www.besleyhill.co.uk, email fishponds@besleyhill.co.uk

VICTORIAN PROPERTY WITH LOTS OF PERIOD FEATURES

Situated in a highly popular area of Fishoponds, 26 Thingwall Park is a Victorian 4/5 bedroom home described by the agents, Besley Hill, as “full of character” and “offering charm and space”. The property comprises three separate receptions, conservatory and kitchen on the ground floor, along with three bedrooms, bathroom and study/fifth bedroom on the first floor and shower area and master bedroom on the second floor. There is also a good size rear garden. Boasting lots of original features, this attractive, spacious mid terrace house has gas central heating and is suitable for families or professionals. Entered via a period panelled door and vestibule with decorative period cornice and period panelled door with leaded stained glass feature windows, the hallway has a staircase with stripped back wooden balustrades and spindles, and period decorative cornice. The lounge (15' 1" x 12' 11" (4.6m x 3.94m)) has a recess sash bay window to the front, decorative period cornice and Victorian-style open fireplace with ornate tiled surround and wood mantle above while the dining room (12' 6" x 12' 2" (3.81m x 3.71m)) has a natural stripped wood floor, fitted radiator, and coal effect period fireplace with ornate tiled sides and wood mantle surround. There are double doors to the conservatory, which has glazed double doors leading onto the garden and ornate wood support into the ceiling, and there is a third reception room with sash window to the side, fitted radiator and parquet flooring. The kitchen has a good range of base units with working surfaces incorporating a one and a quarter bowl sink, gas point for cooker, plumbing for automatic washing machine and wall mounted boiler. Off the first floor landing are three bedrooms, all with sash windows and fitted radiators; a study/fifth bedroom with sash window to the front; and a bathroom with modern refitted white suite with panelled bath with chrome effect fitted taps, low level w.c., pedestal wash basin with mosaic tiled splash back and mirror, and heated chrome effect towel rail.

On the second floor there is a landing with Velux window; a shower area with corner cubicle with electric shower and wall mounted sink; and a master bedroom (15' 1" x 11' 10" (4.6m x 3.61m)) with two skylights to the rear, one skylight to the front, exposed brickwork feature and built-in storage cupboard. Outside, the rear garden is mainly laid to lawn with timber shed and mature planting and borders. For further details and an appointment to view 26 Thingwall Park, which is priced at £275,000, contact Besley Hill Estate Agents, 764 Fishponds Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3UA, tel 0117 965 3162, website www.besleyhill.co.uk, email fishponds@besleyhill.co.uk

CHOICE OF PROPERTIES AT NEXT BESLEY HILL AUCTION

Five contrasting properties will be sold to the highest bidders at Besley Hill’s next auction, to be held at the BAWA Pavilion Lounge, Southmead Road, Filton, on Thursday, 20 September. First under the hammer, with a guide price of £70,000, suitable for a developer/investor, will be 17 Glen Park, Eastville, a period mid-terraced two-bedroom house in need of refurbishment. Knoll View, Wotton Road, Wotton-Under-Edge, which has a guide price of £90,000-£100,000, is a two-bedroom 18th Century coach house in need of renovation with a large garage/workshop and studio, and front garden with parking. An attractive 1950s three-bedroom detached house requiring renovation, 60 Charnhill Drive, Mangotsfield, has a guide price of £225,000-£250,000. A modern kitchen and bathroom, central heating, double glazing, good decorations and gardens are features of a purpose-built flat, 6 Stourden Close, Frenchay (guide price £60,000-£80,000). The final lot, Gloucester House, Gloucester Street, Avonmouth, guide price £150,000-£175,000, a self-contained 3,900 sq ft approx commercial building and yard with secure boundary, has potential for refurbishment/development. For further details view the auction catalogue online at www.besleyhillsurveyit.co.uk or contact the auctioneer’s office at 10 Badminton Road, Downend, Bristol BS16 6BQ, tel 0117 970 1551, email info@besleyhillsurveyit.co.uk

UK HOUSE PRICES REBOUND IN AUGUST

The price of a typical UK house increased by 1.3% in August, according to the latest Nationwide House Price Index. Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said: “UK house prices rose by 1.3% in August, the largest monthly increase since January 2010, reversing the declines recorded in the previous two months. Given the difficult economic backdrop, the extent of the rebound in August is a little surprising. However, we should never read too much into one month’s data, especially since monthly price changes have been impacted by a number of one-off factors this year, such as the ending of the stamp duty holiday for first time buyers. These are factors that cannot be controlled by the usual process of seasonal adjustment. Nevertheless, the fact that the annual pace of house price decline moderated to -0.7% in August from -2.6% the previous month provides evidence that conditions remain fairly stable. This may be explained by the surprising resilience evident in the UK labour market, with further increases in employment in recent months, even though the UK economy has remained in recession.” How much have the housing and mortgage markets changed since the financial crisis? Mr Gardner commented: “L P Hartley famously said that ‘the past is a foreign country, they do things differently there’. In many respects these sentiments apply to the UK housing market, with a marked difference between current conditions and those prevailing between 2005 and 2007. Perhaps the most dramatic change is in the level of activity. For example, the average number of mortgage approvals is currently running at around 50,000 per month, around half the level prevailing over the 2005-2007 period. Interestingly, the share of mortgages taken up by first time buyers has actually increased slightly to 39% of the total, up from the 37% prevailing in the pre-crisis period. The more cautious approach of borrowers and lenders is evident in the increase in the average deposit from 10% to 20%. Affordability has improved on a number of metrics. Interest rates on both fixed and variable rate mortgages have declined. Together with a modest decline in house prices and a steady rise in average earnings, the monthly repayments for a typical first time buyer with a 20% deposit have declined to around 29% of take home pay, down from 40% before the crisis. In practice the decline is slightly more pronounced than this. Borrowers, especially first time buyers, have been increasing the term of their mortgage in recent years. The average term for first time buyers is currently 28 years, up from 25 years over the 2005 to 2007 period. While this increases the total amount repaid over the term of the loan, it lowers the monthly repayments.” Will we return to the pre-crisis pattern? Mr Gardner said: “The evolution of housing market conditions in future is likely to be closely tied to the trajectory of the wider economy. The number of housing transactions should pick up as the UK recovery gathers pace in the years ahead, though this is likely to be a gradual process. Policy measures aimed at supporting the availability of credit and lowering the cost of borrowing, such as NewBuy and the Funding for Lending scheme, should help to provide support. However, much will depend on developments in the labour market. Increased job security, lower unemployment and stronger earnings growth will be needed to generate a sustained upturn in activity. Though uncertain, a modest further improvement in affordability is likely. Interest rates will not remain at current lows forever, but rate hikes still appear some way off. Further asset purchases by the Bank of England should also help to keep down longer-term interest rates. In addition, house prices are expected to remain fairly stable over the next two years, while incomes are likely to continue to rise gradually, which will also help to support affordability.“

HOUSE PRICES RISE THREE TIMES AS MUCH AS INCOMES OVER DECADE

The cost of buying your own home in England increased by more than three times the rate of an average salary over the past ten years. National Housing Federation research found that in 2001 the average price of a home was £121,769, and the average salary was £16,557. In the space of ten years, the price of a home has rocketed to £236,518 – an increase of 94% - whereas wages have risen just 29% to £21,330. Saving for a mortgage has also got a lot harder with the amount of deposit needed to get a mortgage rising by 386%. In 2001 the deposit for a typical 90% mortgage (available in 2001) was £12,177, about nine months salary. By 2011 the amount banks were willing to lend was less, and so the deposit needed for a typical 75% mortgage leapt to £59,129, almost three years salary. In 2001 the ratio between average house price and salary was 7.4, but by 2011 that had risen further to 11.1. Regional variations show even greater gaps. David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said these figures show that it is getting increasingly harder for people to buy a home of their own in the current climate. “With the gap between income and house prices growing ever wider, people can often feel like they have to win the lottery to be able to buy in their local area,” said Mr Orr. “A shortage of homes means the price to buy them is being pushed ever higher by the market, and out of reach of hard working families. Unless we start building more homes people can truly afford to match the demand, this will only get worse.” Adam Offer, managing director of leading Bristol and Gloucestershire estate agents Besley Hill, said: “The housing market is actually a lot better than is widely reported, The main problem is that there are not enough properties coming onto the market. At the moment there are a lot of people who have been in rented accommodation for a while. They’ve been waiting to buy in the hope that house prices would drop lower than they have. But the reality is that, in this area, the majority of prices have remained fairly stable. Figures from the Land Registry show that for the south west prices have actually gone up by 1.2 per cent in the last 12 months, and first time buyers are few and far between. Mortgages are available, but deposits have to be big to take advantage of the best rates. There are some high loan-to-value deals out there, but it’s whether you can afford the repayments. Some people are getting more inventive with the ways they find the money. For example, parents are taking equity out of their own homes so that their children can get on the housing ladder. Some are also using inheritance from their grandparents, and others are taking advantage of the Government’s new build scheme. I think this scheme was quite ill-conceived, though, because a lot of new builds are priced far too high and then are hard to sell.”

HOUSE SALES ARE UP THIS YEAR

Besley Hill, Bristol and Gloucestershire’s biggest independent estate agents, with 15 offices throughout the region, are enjoying rising house sales. “We have seen a 25% increase in sales on the year to date, so it’s looking much better than last year,” said managing director Adam Offer. This improving picture is confirmed by figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), which show that, despite the recession, home sales so far this year are up from 2011. Completed property sales in the first half of the year were 11% up on the same period last year, the data from HMRC reveal. Sales rose by 7,000 in June to 83,000, taking the total across the UK for the first six months of the year to 431,000, an increase on the 387,000 recorded in the first half of 2011. Last week, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said its members' total lending, to both house buyers and those just switching lenders, for the first half of the year, was 7% higher than in the same period last year. “One factor boosting sales and borrowing in the first half was the reintroduction of stamp duty for first-time buyers on homes worth up to £250,000,” said Adam Offer. “Some buyers pushed through their purchases in the early months of the year, to beat the reintroduction of the tax on 24 March.”

ESTATE AGENTS' BIKE RAFFLE PRIZE

Every year, Besley Hill Estate Agents at Downend donate a bike as a raffle prize for the St Augustine of Canterbury Primary School Summer Event. The school and parish have been running different summer events for over 40 years and this year’s fete is being held on Saturday, June 30, within the grounds of the school in Boscombe Crescent, Downend. “Everyone is welcome to come and join in a really fun family day out," says Sue Mulrenan, one of the parents organising the event. Picture shows Sue and David Vincent, director of Besley Hill Estate Agents’ Downend office, with the bike to be won in the raffle.