Review: Regulation
Summer is over yet optimism is in the air by
Nigel Stockton, financial services director,
Countrywide
T ere is a palpable sense of optimism in the air follow- ing the second quarter of this year. Some 68,200 prospective homeowners were helped with mortgages in quarter 2 this year, according to the latest Council of Mortgage Lenders fi gures. First-time buyers make up
this fi gure which is the larg- est quarterly total for fi ve and a half years with more than 25,000 loans advanced to fi rst timers in June, a 30% rise on June 2012.
First step As we all know getting fi rst- time buyers on the market is the key to unlocking the chain and favourable lending conditions available through Funding for Lending and the fi rst part of the Help to Buy Scheme have helped them get on the property ladder which is key to boosting the property market. Surveyors have predicted
that London house prices could increase by 40% over the next fi ve years versus 4.2% per annum in the rest of the coun- try.
T is optimistic air is also
good news for surveyors – well for those that are working in the profession. As I predicted in this very
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article three months ago there is a demand led shortage of surveyors in some areas now. While RICS say there are
enough surveyors, they need to look at availability across the country and those that re- main active and not qualifi ed into retirement. And as I’ve also said previ-
ously, and as predicted, this shortage of surveyors has led to chronic shortage of sur- veyor resources in some areas whilst in most areas supply is good. T is shortage will con- tinue for some time as there is no quick easy fi x. However, all the core sur-
veying fi rms, including Countrywide Surveying Ser- vices, are now embarked on major recruitment drives to introduce new talent to the profession, resource is being prioritised and work allocated in a more targeted way than ever. What it will mean is that
there will continue to be ap- preciable delays - oſt en leading to off ers delayed and in the hot areas where sealed bids and gazumping are now returning to the market this will lead to frustration and angst from brokers.
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Easy come, easy go It was all too easily predicted. T e surveying market sized itself to work within a £150bn gross mortgage market and resource was allocated accord- ingly. A £160bn market leads to a 10% shortfall in resources; add 10% to that fi gure in 2014
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and things will get worse be- fore they get better. T e impact of fast track sur-
veying qualifi cations needs progressing immediately and any RICS quick fi x guru should be looking there fi rst. While long-term industry bodies should get the key par- ties from within the industry together to develop long-term solutions that will protect the future of the surveying profes- sion.
You raise me up I thought it interesting that Savillls showed the number of transactions rising in the property market. We at Coun- trywide have also seen that and this is welcome albeit at lower than the traditional lev- els of the past. What we have also seen is an increase in buy- ers but not an appreciable in- crease in stock. T ese price increases are
underpinned by the chronic shortage of housing stock and by shortage I mean there are not enough of the right types of houses that buyers want to buy in the area they want to live in. T e commuter belt is experiencing the ripple eff ects from hot Central London de- mand, probably underpinned by the green belt limiting house building.
Green Day We all need to look at planning and the extent of the green belt if we are to dramatically increase supply of housing. T ese are complex political is-
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sues and not easily fi xed. T e fact that the house builders are increasing their output is not going to happen quickly enough for any appreciable diff erence to be made to these fundamentals and house pric- es are underpinned by supply and demand.
Only an expert I am now a little concerned that the demand side impetus that is Help to Buy could be restricted to the new homes market only and an increas- ing number of so called “ex- perts” are saying not to ex- tend it further in January 2014. T is would be an error as far as I am concerned. T e economy is showing signs of growth because the housing market is moving forward at last. A healthy housing sector is crucial to the UK economy as consumers need a positive housing market to feel con- fi dent about spending. We need both elements of Help to Buy for new homes and second homes to be in place for this positive trend to continue. Fortunately, so do the Con-
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servative Party for an election in 2015 and communities secretary Eric Pickles recently said that government initia- tives are creating a “sustain- able” boost in UK housing, and confi rmed that reserva- tions for new-build homes under the Help To Buy eq- uity loan scheme had reached 10,000. So I don’t expect us to be derailed now. Good.
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