Property Natter - Fancy that! First time buyers drive recovery

As Tennyson once observed…’.In the Spring, a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of love…’.but not really. At the moment the fancy of young men and women is more likely to turn to that new-build estate behind Sainsbury’s.

Well it must be true, because the latest Rightmove House Price Index told us this week that first-time buyers are back in business.

Despite the cost-of-living crisis and inflation stubbornly refusing to loosen its grip, first time buyer properties hit a record price of £224,963.

Nevertheless, mortgages are still easing southward while rents are sky high. Buying is still the preferred option for those who can negotiate the barriers to borrowing and the eye-watering deposits.

According to Rightmove, sales agreed numbers have returned to more or less the pre-pandemic levels of March 2019 and it’s the first time buyers who are leading the way.

And the good news is that there is still some wooing going on. But that honour now appears to fall to sellers who are listening to the advice of their agents, pricing cautiously and endeavouring to tempt Spring buyers. There is recovery out there but the going is heavy and progress is steady without being dramatic – a far cry from the disaster predictions that came flooding in at the back end of 2022.

Nevertheless, first-timers are going to extraordinary lengths to make that huge leap on to the property ladder. UK Finance are reporting that the number of new homes purchased by FTBs with a mortgage term above 35 years has more than doubled. These types of mortgages accounted for 18% of all new homes purchased in February 2023 compared to just 8% a year earlier. Yes, you read it right – 35 years?

Just to put that in context, the average house price in 1988 was under £30,000. My….how times change. Dear knows what they’ll be in 2058.

And now for something completely different…

This dropped into our Press inbox this week. Of course, our younger readers may have difficulty remembering the classic Monty Python ‘Four Yorkshiremen’ sketch.

It featured four individuals of a certain age, reminiscing on how tough times were in their youth as they sip Chateau de Chassilier. Apparently, they ‘used to lick road clean wi’ tongue!’

Well Propertymark are doing their own version with four legal experts.

Rather than sat in white suits on wicker chairs, each legal expert, renowned in the property field will be sat in front of a stadium of property professionals with some incredibly obscure case studies to tell at Propertymark One’s Conference in Wembley on 27 June 2023.

Not only will those attending get to hear some rather unusual real life case studies but will also receive a very real and eye-opening interpretation of how these play out and tie into what agents could or have seen in their day-to-day jobs.

Hosted by the infamous Chris Watkin, the legal panel will consist of experts with knowledge of property law from across the UK including Scotland based Rory Cowan, Partner at Bannatyne, Kirkwood, France & Co, England based Alex Jeffery, Partner & Head of Litigation at Bright Solicitors, Jersey based Jeff O'Boyle, Partner & Head of Property at Bedell Cristin and Tessa Shepperson, English and Welsh landlord and private rented sector expert who is Managing Director of Landlord Law Services.

Jason Lee, Propertymark’s Commercial Relationships and Events Manager said: “Monty Python lover or not, our legal panel is set to provide the most engaging and educational discussion for all agents.

“We know that agents can find themselves in a whirlwind of confusing scenarios, and what our experts aim to provide during this session is not only a close look at the types of obscure situations they’ve seen, but the appropriate law-abiding action taken which can be used across a range of situations agents could encounter.

“Our Propertymark One Conference is the only place this year that agents will be able to be surrounded by this many renowned experts in one place, so we would encourage agents to absorb the knowledge by marking it in the calendar and attending.”

Book tickets and find out more here: https://www.propertymark.co.uk/careers-learning/conferences/propertymark-one.html