Property Natter: The first cut is the deepest… for all of us

At last! Well, they say small is beautiful and, if you’re in the property sector right now, you’d better believe it!

The Bank of England’s decision to cut base rates by just 0.25% to 5%, may not look like much, but it sends a signal, loud and clear.
Industry commentators were unanimous in their relieved reaction to the news.

‘Shot in the arm’, ‘positive news’, ‘important message’ and ‘inject new energy’ were just some of the phrases used by industry experts.
It is all about confidence and stability. The first rate cut since March 2020 signals a shift in expectation which means the property sector will undoubtedly benefit from the release of the pent-up demand which has been building for years.

Don’t take my word for it. Here’s Nick Hale, CEO of Movera: “After months of anticipation, the Bank of England’s base rate cut today, albeit small, is to be warmly welcomed. “Hopefully, this news should give the market a much-needed shot in the arm as potential housebuyers may now have the confidence to take the plunge. 
“The market will no doubt be breathing a huge sigh of relief along with those borrowers on tracker mortgages and standard variable rates.”

Councils to get target practice

And the good news continued this week. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner announced that the new Labour government would be returning to mandatory housing targets for local authorities and a total revamp of planning rules with the proposed Planning and Infrastructure Bill.

The aim of the Bill is to upscale house building and make the reformed planning system an ‘enabler for growth.’

Simon Gerrard, MD of Martyn Gerrard Estate Agent said he was ‘encouraged’ by the move.

“Labour has done well to identify some of the major blockages that have prevented housebuilding. Specifically, local planning authorities have time and again proved the most stubborn of these blockages. Under the previous government, they were allowed to drop housebuilding targets, and the requirement introduced to build ‘beautiful’ homes only further enabled them to block development at every turn for purely subjective reasons,” he said.

Good point. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, dontcha know?

Digital breakthrough for RLBA

And the positive vibe continued this week for the Residential Log Book Association when Bristol City Council became the first users of the First Homes Logbook – built by the RLBA to support the government scheme for first time buyers.

The initiative is the government’s first use of digital property logbooks and aims to give First Home Scheme buyers a logbook that connects to their local authority, their mortgage lender and the RLBA reporting systems.

RLBA’s Simon Lumb said: “The First Homes initiative is an important first collaboration between MHCLG, Local Authorities and the Logbook community.  But it has much wider implications. The platform the RLBA has created can be used by Local Authorities to support all Help to Buy programmes including Shared Ownership.”

And Bristol City Council’s Julie Curtis was equally enthusiastic.

“Two features of the RLBA initiative were key for us.  We have a statutory duty to protect the integrity of the First Homes scheme over the lifetime of the properties as they pass from owner to owner.  So, the ability to monitor the programme  via the Logbooks, over time is crucial.  Secondly, the early flagging of when a property is put on the rental market or being sold is important to ensure that future ownership stays with local, deserving applicants,” she said.

The power of digital data - offering us all a glimpse into the future.

Orphaned funds charity boost

Congratulations to the Propertymark Trust who announced this week that they’ve pulled off a bit of a coup allowing estate agents to donate orphaned funds to support charitable causes – a move made possible through the support and technical integration of leading CRM suppliers.

After six years, rather than allowing orphaned funds to sit dormant, estate agents can now donate them to the Propertymark Trust, thanks to new features implemented by CRM suppliers.

Heather Staff from Street.co.uk expressed their commitment to this initiative: “At Street, we’re committed to leveraging technology and automation to drive meaningful change within our industry. 

“That’s why we’ve recently introduced a new feature that empowers our agents to effortlessly identify orphaned dormant funds and donate unallocated money to The Propertymark Trust’s incredible efforts - so everyone can easily make a tangible impact, without impacting their bottom line.”

More power to everyone’s elbows.

Until next time,

N

If you’ve got a story you’d like me to Natter about, drop me a line at press@estateagenttoday.co.uk