the industry.” “On the other hand, there are reasons to
PM David Cameron at the launch at Barratt development in
Lewisham, SE London. “The key thing is that people will no longer
need huge deposits of up to 20 per cent. “In practice that means that you could buy one of our new homes at Delta, in Deptford, for example with a deposit of £9,475, or in West London, you could buy a new one-bedroom home at Osiers, in Wandsworth with a deposit of just £14,400. “This is a game-changing moment for
creditworthy buyers who have been understandably frustrated for years about not owning a home of their own.”
BUILDERS Barclays Head of Mortgages Andy Gray said the NewBuy Guarantee will: “boost housing market confidence and support the flow of new housing”. Moray McDonald, Mortgages Director
HAPPY BANKERS AND “We want to hit the ground running with
NewBuy and there is a real level of commitment among housebuilders, lenders and Government to make it work for the country’s homebuyers,” he said.
for NatWest expressed the hope that increased demand from the scheme: “will help lift the economy via the construction of additional homes”. Andrew Baddeley-Chappell, Head of
Mortgage Strategy and Policy at Nationwide, said that NewBuy will: “boost the supply of properties and provide affordable mortgages to those with more modest deposits, including first time buyers”. Chief executive at Taylor Wimpey, Pete
Redfern, said the NewBuy Guarantee will: “go a long way in helping a wide range of buyers who have had to put their dreams of getting on or moving up the property ladder on hold”. Bovis Homes chief
executive David Ritchie agreed, saying the need for aspiring homeowners to get much larger deposits together had: “undoubtedly been a significant factor in slowing down the market”.
18 APRIL 2012 PROPERTYdrum AGENCY REACTION
Cautious: Jon Neale, residential research director at Jones Lang LaSalle said, “The NewBuy Guarantee scheme is very welcome news for the house building industry. With only a little over 100,000 new homes constructed in England over each of the past few years, we are building at the lowest rate since the Second World War.” “Our own research suggests that many
house builders believe that the NewBuy Guarantee will be instrumental in reviving
Strong families and stable communities are built from good
homes. That’s why I want us to build more homes and I want more people to have the chance to own their own home. DAVID CAMERON PRIME MINISTER
be cautious. Firstly, most major house builders continue to indicate that they intend to grow their business by increasing margins rather than volumes, so there is unlikely to be a surge in build levels, irrespective of the success of this scheme. Many developers have moved towards developing larger family-sized houses on sites recently acquired, and that remains their business plan and the basis for the high levels of profit reported recently. “They have been left with more
peripheral sites in urban locations, often with planning consent for flats, purchased before the housing downturn. These are not viable in the current climate, and there could be concerns if NewBuy Guarantee is solely used for such sites, particularly if there are no longer-term plan to expand land acquisition and development activity.” “However, the interest rates on offer, at
circa five per cent in the majority of cases, are still higher than the wider market. According to the Bank of England, the typical rate for a two-year fixed mortgage at 75 per cent loan-to-value was 3.24 per cent in December. This compares with 4.29 per cent to 5.69 per cent for a two-year package under HomeBuy.” “Thirdly, it remains to be seen how
selective lenders will be in selecting customers. If they are very conservative on the multiples of income they will lend against, or credit history or employment status, the scheme may not be as much a success as the industry hopes.”
Cautious: Grenville Turner, Chief Executive of Countrywide, the UK’s largest property services Group, said: “We strongly support the NewBuy mortgage
A new estate built by David Wilson Homes.
indemnity scheme and believe it is a huge break-through for the new build sector. Most importantly, we believe that NewBuy addresses the biggest issue affecting house transactions – deposit affordability. NewBuy is not exclusive to first time buyers – the £500,000 threshold for eligibility is generous and will help a number of first time buyers and homeowners wanting to trade up. Homeowners trapped by rising standard variable rates now have an alternative method to fund their move. That said; we’ve yet to see how many of the lenders signed up to NewBuy will support part exchange, which plays a crucial role in
Photo: Bethany Clarke/PA Wire
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68