STRONG END TO YEAR FOR HOUSING MARKET

21^st December 2010                                                                                                                                                                         ND003

A local firm of property specialists is reporting a strong end to 2010 and predicting the housing market will continue to recover over the coming year
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Shropshire-based Nock Deighton has seen a steady volume of house sales during November and December, as confidence grows amongst both buyers and sellers across the region.

The firm sold more than £3.6million worth of property during November alone, with houses across various price ranges – and in both urban and rural areas – attracting substantial interest. Even more niche properties have sold, as buyers start to see the green-shoots of recovery and push on with their plans.

Michael Evans, Managing Director of Nock Deighton, commented: “We were anticipating something of a lull in demand in the run-up to Christmas, but we’ve actually just seen one of our best sales periods of the year.

“I’d urge an element of caution over national media generalisations and ‘scare stories’ about the current state of the housing market. Shropshire property prices continue to remain strong compared to the UK average, and parts of our region are still amongst the most sought-after areas to live. Many of our recent buyers are from London and the Home Counties, and haven’t let the market uncertainty put them off from seeking a better quality of life here.”

Michael concluded: “Looking forward to 2011, it will certainly be another challenging year, with government cuts and increases in VAT on the agenda. But if sellers are realistic with their prices and properties are actively marketed by estate agents and lettings agents, Shropshire will continue to be a prime location, and we predict house prices will continue to recover at a speed above the national rate of inflation.”

Formed in 1831, Nock Deighton is one of the Midlands’ most well-established and respected firms of estate agents, lettings agents, chartered surveyors and auctioneers. The company stands at the forefront of the modern property sector by embracing up-to-the-minute technology and industry best practice, and has a firm focus on achieving the very best results through a full range of specialist property-related services and dedicated staff. For further information on Nock Deighton’s professional services, contact Nock Deighton’s Shrewsbury office on 01743 241251 or visit http://www.nockdeighton.co.uk/  

Shropshire country homes selling well

Thursday 16th December 2010, 11:29AM GMT.

Severn Brow, which was on the market for £1.35 million

Shropshire’s reputation as one of the most beautiful counties in Britain is helping to soften its exposure to the nation’s property slowdown.

That is the view of a leading county estate agent, which has revealed that Shropshire homes at the top end of the price bracket are still selling well – particularly those properties in rural locations.
Nock Deighton, which has offices in Telford, Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth and Ludlow, has just completed the sale of Severn Brow, on the outskirts of Bridgnorth, which was on the market for £1.35 million.
It has been sold to an unnamed local family after what the agents described as “a significant number of inquiries from a range of buyers”.
The detached home, with seven bedrooms, was built in 1950.
Property information website mouseprice.com reveals that its value had more than doubled since the house was last sold eight years ago, when it was valued at £580,000.
Two other homes on the rural fringes of Bridgnorth, Meadow House and Oldbury Cottage, have also sold.
The properties, which were both said to be in need of modernisation, were on the market for £750,000 and £400,000 respectively.
Nock Deighton director Michael Nettleton said: “Despite some indifferent news stories regarding the state of the housing market, we continue to buck the trend.
“It just goes to show that good quality homes at realistic guide prices will always be in demand.”
He added: “In our experience, the property market is not as bad as many would have us believe.

Read more: http://www.shropshirestar.com/money/property/2010/12/16/shropshire-country-homes-selling-well/#ixzz18MiQK14U

INJURED TROOPS REAP REWARD OF ANNUAL EVENT

A Midlands property specialist’s annual charity gala has raised nearly £700 to support armed services personnel injured on the front line.

Shropshire-based Nock Deighton’s ‘Beaujolais’ event at the Coach and Horses in Shrewsbury saw £685 donated to Help for Heroes, the national charity that provides practical assistance to British troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

More than 40 guests, including representatives from national banks, local solicitors, surveyors and estate agents, enjoyed a three-course meal, prize raffle and charity auction, along with the grand unveiling of a new Beaujolais wine. The firm’s annual gathering dates back more than 25 years, during which time it has raised money for a number of charities, including Children in Need, the Poppy Appeal, and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC).

“This year’s event was one of our most enjoyable yet, but even more importantly, it managed to raise a significant sum of money for such a worthy cause,” David Perrin, Director for Nock Deighton, said. “This is the second year that we’ve raised money for Help for Heroes and we’d like to thank everyone for their generosity. We look forward to seeing their money make a real difference to wounded soldiers.”

Belinda Hutchinson Smith, of Help for Heroes’ Shropshire Committee, revealed:  “Although the money raised from the event goes into Help for Heroes’ national funding pot, it will aid our ongoing work with the Royal Irish Rangers regiment, which is based in Tern Hill.”

Since launching back in 2007, Help for Heroes has raised more than £70million to help troops injured on the front line. As well as backing a series of major capital projects, such as funding the construction and refurbishment of rehabilitation and medical facilities across the UK, the charity also spends cash on providing more practical, small-scale support for individual servicemen and women.

Belinda explained: “Sometimes troops have to be air-lifted home for treatment still wearing their combat kit. We can provide them with a simple pack containing clean t-shirts, clothes and a few other odds and ends, like CDs or magazines, to give them that little bit of dignity and encouragement at the start of their road to recovery.”

Formed in 1831, Nock Deighton is one of the Midlands’ most well-established and respected firms of estate agents, lettings agents, chartered surveyors and auctioneers. The company stands at the forefront of the modern property sector by embracing up-to-the-minute technology and industry best practice, and has a firm focus on achieving the very best results through a full range of specialist property-related services and dedicated staff. For further information on Nock Deighton’s professional services contact Nock Deighton, Shrewsbury on 01743-241251 or visit http://www.nockdeighton.co.uk/  

House prices actually rise in November

House prices increased to the highest in more than two years in November as the market showed signs of reaching a peak, research company Acadametrics Ltd. said in an estimate released today.

The average price of a home in England and Wales climbed for a seventh month, gaining 0.2 percent to 224,758 pounds ($354,200), the groups said in an e-mailed report today. Values rose 5.9 percent from a year earlier and are now at the highest since June 2008.

Acadametrics’s estimate of increases in recent months has contrasted with data from mortgage lenders including Lloyds Banking Group Plc’s Halifax division, which said yesterday that prices fell 0.1 percent. With banks unlikely to loosen lending criteria in the medium term and a possible increase in interest rates to combat inflation next year, housing market values may soon come under pressure, the report said.

The Acadametrics report showed the number of transactions dropped 4.6 percent from October. That’s a decline of 5.3 percent from a year earlier.
Values in London rose 0.5 percent to 383,243 pounds in October, the month with the latest available regional data, while the biggest price drop was in East Anglia, where values fell 0.6 percent.

‘Flat Market’
“Overall, 2010 has seen a flat market, but one with some significant regional and local variations of which buyers and sellers need to be aware,” Acadametrics Chairman Peter Williams said in the report. “Going forward, we expect to see a similar pattern in 2011.”

Acadametrics combines initial housing transaction data from the U.K. Land Registry and results from other price measures to produce an estimate for the most recent month for its index. That number is then revised in following months.

The Bank of England yesterday kept its emergency stimulus program unchanged after recent data suggested the economy may be strong enough to weather the government’s spending cuts, undermining the case for more aid. Policy makers held their bond-purchase plan at 200 billion pounds and their main interest rate at a record low of 0.5 percent.

Location Location Location!

Property Experts Nock Deighton are pleased to announce the successful sales of three of the most exiting properties in the Bridgnorth area.

Severn Brow is perhaps one of Shropshire’s finest homes. On the market for £1.35m, the property enjoyed a significant number of enquiries from a range of buyers. A local family were the eventual successful purchasers who were ecstatic to be in by Christmas.

Two further properties to come on the market were Oldbury Cottage and Meadow House. Both of which were ‘properties in need of work’ that experienced some competitive bidding. Once the new owners have made their mark, they will both undoubtedly be some of the finest homes for some miles around.

Company Director Michael Nettleton says; ‘Despite some indifferent news stories regarding the state of the housing market, we continue to buck the trend. It just goes to show that good quality homes at realistic guide prices will always be in demand.’

House Price Indicies; useful but not definitive.

FTA In Depth: Putting a price on the housing market

• Story by: Donia O'Loughlin
• Magazine: FTAdviser
• Published Wednesday , December 08, 2010

The UK's obsession with property has spurned a plethora of house prices indices, each claiming to be a definitive account of the nation's housing market.

But with each giving widely differing pictures of the state of the housing market, consumer groups are questioning their validity.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) appears to agree.

It is investigating what it called the "coherence and comparability" of house price indices after a number of people confessed being confused by the data.

Industry professionals are dismissive of the OFT's investigation. They claim the mixed picture is due to the different kinds of methodology used and that the data does not conflict because different indices track different elements of the housing market.

The five main indices in the market include LSL Acadametrics house price index, Rightmove, Nationwide and the Communities and Local Government (CLG).

Stuart Law, chief executive at Assetz, said: "It is important to remember that the monthly indices use different sources of data and represent the different stages of the buying process such as asking prices, mortgage approvals and sold prices."

For example Rightmove tracks asking prices for properties, whereas Halifax and Nationwide only look at their own mortgage completions so use smaller samples, while the Land Registry looks at completions.

Pick and mix

Richard Sexton, business development director at E.surv, claimed the the indicies catered to different elements of the house-buying public.

Mr Sexton added: "People need to decide what they are interested in and then pick their index."

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, added that there was demand for house price indices and providers were keen to provide the information but that the results were sometimes inappropriately applied with erroneous results.

Mr Ellis said: "At times it can be confusing for consumers. "Perhaps some providers need to make their methodology clearer and the media should also highlight the methodology to emphasise to consumers how this data was reached."

Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), said the housing market was not a single market and that indices sometimes treated it as such.

He said: "Consumers need to look at the locality for individual sales such as a borough in London or an individual street.

"The headline growth rates are often quite misleading and this adds to the confusion.

"If you live in a ‘bad’ area or a ‘good’ area, the headline figures will not be relevant to you. Even regional statistics cover a broad area. There will always be that issue with regional data."

Go local

Instead of focusing on indices, Mr Law urged consumers to look at what is happening locally. This, he said, would give house-buyers a more accurate reflection of waht was going on.

He said: "Each area is localised and researching what is happening to house prices where you are trying to buy or sell is the best indicator as to what prices are being achieved."

Mr Sexton and Mr Law agred that the LSL/Acadametrics index was the most accurate out of all the indices.

Mr Sexton said: "Essentially it is an index of indices and therefore should smooth out errors that may distort others over the short term."

Mr Law added: "We have found this to be very accurate indeed and is often little revised over following months from the initial estimated announcement.

"We believe it uses the best and largest sample of housing transaction data in the UK."

Mr Rubinsohn classed the Land Registry index as more authoritative than the others.

He said: "It gives more observations than the others as it includes sales and transaction levels but it only covers England and Wales and lags behind the rest of the market by a few months.

"The methodology reports sales but only resales – it doesn’t report on the new build market. It has its faults but in my opinion it is the best indicator.

"Although I think this one has more merits, it doesn't mean that others are obsolete."

One index, one standard?

Mr Law believes there should be an industry standard for the property market and claimed that LSL Acadametrics index provides the best model for this. This was largely due to the immediate data based upon most of the mortgage offers in the UK and the large sample sizes used.

Mr Sexton and Mr Ellis disagree.

Mr Sexton said: "My opinion is that the best measure is the change in the completed sales price for a given sale, including all transactions i.e. those supported by mortgage plus cash purchases.

"To be useful, an index needs to answer in a broad, perhaps regional average, sort of way how much a property is worth in today's market if it was bought a year ago answer this."

Mr Ellis added: "If you put the housing indices together in the right order from mortgage applications to completions, they surprisingly show the same things/patterns.

"It's important for a consumer not to put too much value on a particular index if you are just looking at a monthly basis but you need to look at a longer three-month trend that gives a better indicator."

NAEA Predictions

‘Postcode power’ in 2011 property market

The NAEA has revealed its predictions for the UK property market over the next 12 months.
NAEA chief executive Peter Bolton King predicted the rise of ‘postcode power’ as premium areas emerge from the slump at a faster rate than others.
Any recovery, he warned, will be strongly dependent on the major lenders making mortgage finance more available. Bank of England decisions on interest rates will also have a major effect on the market. The monthly wait for the MPC’s decision on interest rates will be a nervous time for both existing and potential borrowers.
However, Mr Bolton King said that, while the housing market faces a tough year, he was confident that no widespread drop in house prices would occur.
He said: “The housing market remains in a state of fragile recovery as the year ends. Frankly, however, this recovery is threatened by the stubborn refusal of major lenders to loosen their self-serving restrictions on mortgage lending.
“A historically low rate of interest has benefited those people who already have a mortgage, but it is likely that over the next 12 months it will rise. That will place more pressure on existing borrowers but also remove mortgages from the reach of even those house buyers with large deposits.
“The danger is that a backlog of pent-up demand for property emerges. That means the market will suffer from lack of demand in the short term and potentially be distorted by a rush of demand when these people can finally get onto the ladder.”
He added: “We do not believe that there will a widespread fall in house prices over the next 12 months. There will be ups and downs, but I’m confident that we won’t see a plunge.
“What we will see is the emergence of ‘postcode power’ – as demand for property in some areas fuels a healthy market while other, less desirable areas, are in danger of being left behind.”