HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR HOMEOWNERS

Nationwide ensured it was a Happy New Year for homeowners with research which showed that UK house prices actually increased during the past year.
Data issued by the mortgage lender revealed that the average UK house price rose by 1% over the course of 2011.
Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, said: “Against a backdrop of anaemic economic growth and a deteriorating labour market, UK house prices were surprisingly resilient in 2011.”
According to Nationwide, nine out of ten UK regions recorded house price rises in 2011, including the south west, where there was a 0.6% increase.
Adam Offer, managing director of leading south west estate agents Besley Hill, welcomed the trend.
“These figures show that the property market outperformed the stock market during the past twelve months and suggest that bricks and mortar will continue to be a sound investment in 2012,“ said Mr Offer.

PERIOD COTTAGE HAS A LOT TO OFFER

This two-bedroom stone-fronted period cottage, 17 Lewington Road, Fishponds, is to be sold by auction by Besley Hill on 8 February with a guide price of £80,000 to £110,000.
Situated in a popular location just off Staplehill Road, the property retains original character but requires general refurbishment and modernisation.
“This home is an ideal choice for DIY enthusiasts, speculators, buy-to-let investors and professionals,” said Mark Symonds, senior branch manager of Besley Hill Estate Agents’ Fishponds office.
Comprising dining room, living room, kitchen, two bedrooms and bathroom, the house has the benefit of a Valiant combination gas-fired boiler and some Upvc double-glazed windows.
There is also a 25ft enclosed rear garden with wide beds with established shrubs and plants and cobblestone pathway.
The property is one of the lots on offer at Besley Hill’s auction sale on 8 February at The Pavilion Lounge of BAWA, 589 Southmead Road, Filton, Bristol, BS34 7RG, starting at 7.00pm.
For further details of 17 Lewington Road, including an open house viewing from 10.00am to 11.00am on Saturday, 7 January, contact Mark Symonds, Besley Hill Estate Agents, 764 Fishponds Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3UA, tel 0117 9653162, email fishponds@besleyhill.co.uk, or the auctioneer’s office, tel 0117 9701551, website www.besleyhillsurveyit.co.uk

AMY'S WINNING DRAWING IS ON ESTATE AGENTS' CHRISTMAS CARD

A festive drawing by a pupil at St Mary's CofE Primary School, Thornbury, has been chosen to appear on a local estate agents' office Christmas card.
Seven-year-old Amy Lyons was the overall winner of a children's Christmas art competition organised by Besley Hill Town & Country Homes, of High Street, Thornbury.
There were three age categories - four to eight, nine to thirteen and fourteen to seventeen - with the winner of each category winning an Amazon kindle.
Entrants were required to submit one picture or painting with a festive theme, the only stipulation being that it had a house or property in it.
"Ultimately, we were looking for a design that could be used on our office Christmas card with the best entries being displayed in our window in the run-up to Christmas," said branch manager Andrew How.
"Amy's drawing was chosen from dozens of entries and made into our Christmas card for 2011. The cards were produced in double quick time by our printer, Horders, and sent out to all our customers and friends."
Photo shows Andrew How with Amy holding her winning drawing and the Besley Hill Christmas card.

LIFELINE FOR FIRST-TIME BUYERS

The Chancellor, George Osborne, announced in his autumn statement that the government plans to install a new system to provide funding which will help first-time buyers of new-build homes get onto the property ladder.

Under the mortgage indemnity scheme, the government said that it can use the low interest rates it had secured in order to help young families who wanted to buy, but were far from being able to afford the high level of deposit that banks require. It said that young couples will be able to secure a mortgage worth 95 per cent of the value of their homes.

The scheme will be run specifically for first-time buyers on new-build homes, with the government estimating that it will be able to work with those looking to make their first step onto the property ladder in order to provide 100,000 new homes across the UK, making a dent in the shortage of homes available.

While disappointed that the scheme, which comes into effect in the spring, will only apply to new-build homes, Adam Offer, managing director of leading West estate agents, Besley Hill, said the initiative was good news to those seeking to secure a deposit for their first mortgage for this type of property.

“It is essential that more first-time buyers are able get on the property ladder in order to stimulate the housing market and anything that improves the prospects for this sector of the market has to be welcomed,” said Mr Offer.

IS THIS THE LOWEST PRICED HOUSE IN BRISTOL?

Is there a house on the market in Bristol at a lower price than 21 Sylvan Way at Sea Mills?
If so, Mark Symonds, senior branch manager at Besley Hill Estate Agents’ Fishponds office, would like to know about it.
For this three-bedroom semi-detached local authority house is to be offered at Besley Hill’s auction sale on Thursday 1 December with a guide price of only £70,000-£90,000.
“I would be surprised if there is a house on the market in the city for less than this,” said Mark. “It is only being auctioned with such a low guide price because the vendor wants a quick sale for family reasons.”
Built to a Dorlonco steel frame non-traditional design, this home has been improved by the present owner and requires a further programme of modernisation and improvement.
“The property will appeal particularly to cash buyer builders, speculators and specialist contractors,” said Mark Symonds.
Situated close to The Portway, 21 Sylvan Way offers easy access to the city centre and the motorway network, with local shops and services available locally in Shirehampton.
Besley Hill auctioneer Nigel Freston said: "21 Sylvan Way forms part of the southernmost section of the original Garden Suburb within a designated Conservation Area. It was one of the first phase of Dorlonco houses built between 1920 and 1922. Number 21 was first occupied on the 9 August 1920. The Community Forest Path, a 46-mile recreational route around Bristol, passes along the north east side of Three Acre Covert before crossing Sylvan Way."
The spacious, well-proportioned accommodation of the house comprises a hall, lounge, dining room, kitchen/breakfast room, rear lean to/conservatory, three bedrooms and a shower room (former bathroom).
The shower room incorporates a luxury suite of white shower enclosure with a built-in Dolphin shower unit above, low-level W.C. and pedestal wash basin.
The kitchen/breakfast room is fitted with a range of wall and floor storage cupboards and has a single drainer stainless steel sink unit and vinyl floor covering.
A further benefit is a generous rear garden with numerous paved patio surfaces, an ornamental pond, two greenhouses and two timber sheds/outbuildings.
The house is one of ten lots included in Besley Hill's 1 December auction sale, which is to be held at The Pavilion Lounge of BAWA, 589 Southmead Road, Filton, Bristol, BS34 7RG.
For further details of 21 Sylvan Way, contact Mark Symonds, Besley Hill Estate Agents, 764 Fishponds Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3UA, tel 0117 9653162, email fishponds@besleyhill.co.uk, or the auctioneer’s office, tel 0117 9701551, website www.besleyhillsurveyit.co.uk

BUY-TO-LET MORTGAGES BOOMING

Buy-to-let mortgages are shooting up with the number of new loans increasing by 16% in the third quarter of 2011, official figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) show.
The data also reveals that the value of mortgages in this sector went up by 19%.
“We have access to the whole buy-to-let market for mortgages and this trend is in line with the deals negotiated for investors by the Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB) representatives at our 15 offices throughout Bristol and Gloucestershire,” said Adam Offer, managing director of Besley Hill Estate Agents.
“We can confirm that landlords are reacting to high levels of tenant demand by using their own cash and short-term borrowing to purchase and renovate property, and then remortgaging using buy-to-let finance.”
In the three months to September, a total of 34,500 buy-to-let loans were advanced, up from 29,700 in the preceding quarter. The value of lending totalled £3.8bn, up from £3.2bn.
On both measures, buy-to-let lending was at its highest level since the final quarter of 2008.
Of the buy-to-let loans, 18,580 were for buy-to-let purchases – accounting for almost 12% of all house purchase loans.
As at the end of September, there were 1,378,700 buy-to-let loans outstanding, worth £157bn, up from 1,296,700 loans worth £150bn 12 months earlier.

UK HOUSE PRICES UP 1.2%

House prices in the UK increased by 1.2% in October compared with the previous month, reports the Halifax, part of the Lloyds Banking Group.
The lender said that the housing market had remained “highly resilient” despite weakness and a deteriorating outlook for the UK economy.
Martin Ellis, Halifax’s housing economist, said: “The housing market has proved highly resilient in recent months, despite the weak economic recovery and the deterioration in the outlook for both the UK and global economies.
“The prospect of exceptionally low official interest rates over the foreseeable future is likely to continue to support the market in the face of a very difficult economic climate.
“Both prices and activity levels are expected to remain close the current levels over the coming few months.”
The housing market also saw an increase in activity last month as more surveyors reported that newly agreed sales were on the rise, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Completed sales rose to an average of 15 at each branch of surveyors over the past three months - the strongest level since April. New buyer enquiries - a good indicator of demand - edged up as well.
At the same time, the Countrywide group’s quarterly research into the private rental sector shows that tenant demand shot up by 10.8% in the third quarter of this year, compared with the same period last year, and by 11.9% from the second quarter of this year.
“More people are entering the buy-to-let market as a result of this increased tenant demand and the comparably high rate of return from this kind of investment,” said Adam Offer, managing director of leading west estate agents, Besley Hill.
“Prices here have stabilised due to lack of supply and increased demand from buyers.”