RICS says housing market shows ‘early signs’ of growth...

Whilst overall growth remained slow, The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reported in April that interest by potential buyers of new homes in England and Wales rose in March.

At the same time, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) reported that UK house sales in February were 10% higher than the corresponding month in 2012.

This interest has been attributed to the ‘Help to Buy‘ initiative announced in the recent Budget and an improvement in mortgage availability due to the Government’s ‘Funding for Lending’ scheme. The former offering a 20% equity share for new-build buyers who can raise an initial 5% deposit and the latter giving lenders – both banks and other mortgage providers – access to cheap funds, on the proviso that they then pass this rate reduction on in loans and mortgages to small businesses and home buyers.

RICS reported that sales per surveyor reached a three-year high in March; however, more members reported a fall in house prices generally, rather than a rise in the first quarter of the year.

Peter Bolton King, of RICS, was quoted as saying: “A buoyant, healthy property market is central to economic recovery and, whilst these are still very much early signs, it is encouraging that sales are beginning to pick up.”

These were all encouraging signs for the housing market; particularly with mortgage rates sitting at historical lows. However, concern was raised at the level of charges being made for them; with one market commentator estimating that average fees for mortgage approvals has risen by 8% since January, with an average of £1,522 being reported in April.

As a final caveat, the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) cautioned that first-time buyers should very carefully research, not only the location of any intended house purchase, but also the options available to them to finance the home on the most advantageous terms.

Inflation remains static...

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) remained at 2.8% in March; however, this is the highest level it has reached since May 2012.

They stated that whilst car insurance premiums, digital cameras, DVDs, and books, saw an increase in price in the month, these were offset by lower petrol and diesel fuel costs. Here petrol prices only rose by 2.2p a litre, whereas last year saw an increase of 3.3p a litre. Likewise, diesel prices rose by 1.9p a litre against a rise of 2.6p a year earlier.

Other factors were a slower increase in the price of furniture and a fall of 0.5% in the price of tobacco and alcoholic drinks.

Their report did, however, add that they saw a reduction in producer prices, with factory gate inflation rising by only 2%, which is the lowest level since July last year. This was mainly due to the largest annual fall in crude oil prices over that same period.

Meanwhile, the Bank of England stated that they believed UK inflation will go higher than 3% before the end of this year, due to a global increase in food prices and an anticipated increase in the domestic cost of gas and electricity.

They added that their forecasts saw inflation remaining above the officially targeted 2% until at least 2016.

It has now been above this level since 2009. With the CPI sitting at 2.8%, consumers’ spending power continues to be diminished, as the growth in average earnings is only 1.3%, which continues to dampen consumer demand.

Looking forward, there is hope that inflationary pressures will ease, as Brent Crude oil dipped below $100 a barrel this month. This is reflected in a reduction of about 2.5p in the price of a litre of unleaded petrol and supermarkets have reignited a price war at the pumps to try to attract motorists to their stores.


Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE.

Markets: (Data compiled by The Outsourced Marketing Department)

Most global equity markets remained on a watching brief in April with little movement. The FTSE100 saw a modest gain of 0.29% to finish the month on 6,430.1, just 2.37% below its long-term trend, whilst the wider FTSE250 closed April on 13,949.9, up 0.19%, and the AIM market at 706.22 to record its second month of decline.

The Dow Jones fared slightly better finishing at 14,839.8, to register a 1.79% gain, and the Nasdaq followed suit with a gain of 1.88% to close at 3,328.79.

Encouraged by the formation of a new coalition government in Italy, the Eurostoxx50 finished April well at 2,712.00 for a gain of 3.35% on the month.

Meanwhile, the Japanese market saw continuing buying interest, with possible carry trade activity, due to the massive boost to the money supply from central bank activity. The Nikkei leapt by 11.8% to close out the month
on 13,860.86. The index has now risen by 33.3% since the end of last year.

On the foreign exchanges, UK sterling appreciated slightly against the greenback to close on $1.55, up 1.9%, whilst it lost ground a little against the Euro, down 0.84% at €1.18.

The Euro also appreciated against the US$ by 3.13%, finishing April at $1.32.

The good news was that the oil price dipped by nearly 7% in the month, with the Brent Crude benchmark closing on $102.37, having dipped below the psychologically important $100 level at one point earlier in the month. Gold had an active month, with a major dip in the price to near $1,350 earlier in the month, but rallying to close at $1,471.35, registering a net 8% fall in the month.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE.

Triple-dip recession avoided by the UK economy

Whilst the figures, released this month from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), reflected a flat economy, they were better than many expected. The ONS also commented that there were no extraordinary contributing factors, such as the Olympics, to flatter these figures.

They added that the first quarter figure of 2013 had risen by 0.6% compared with the same period in 2012; this is its strongest performance since Q4 of 2011.

The service sector led the increase in productivity, with retail, hotels and restaurants performing well. The energy sector also contributed positively, with increased North Sea oil and gas production. Overall this sector saw growth of 0.6%.

Telecommunications and transport also contributed positively with growth of 1.4%.

On the negative side, construction, with a dip of 2.5%, and manufacturing also saw a decline in output to slightly dent the overall figures.

Given the negative comments made recently by the International Monetary Fund and a downgrading of the UK’s AAA credit rating by another of the agencies, George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said of the ONS announcement: “Today’s figures are an encouraging sign the economy is healing. Despite a tough economic backdrop, we are making progress. The deficit is down by a third, businesses have created over a million and a quarter new jobs, and interest rates are at record lows.

“We all know there are no easy answers to problems built up over many years, and I can’t promise the road ahead will always be smooth, but by continuing to confront our problems head on, Britain is recovering and we are building an economy fit for the future.”

As a caveat, UK economic output remains 2.6% below its pre-financial crisis level.

How to remortgage...

If you are looking to expand your home, then you might need to finance it. One of the ways in which you could do this, is by considering remortgaging your home.

To remortgage your home you will need to take into consideration how much you are paying on your existing mortgage, and how much you will need to borrow to extend your house.

It is important at this stage to get a rough idea of how much the monthly repayments could be and add these to your monthly mortgage payments, to make sure that you can afford the increased costs of living in your home.

You will also need to consider any fees which might be involved when remortgaging your property, these figures will also need to be taken into account. The best thing to do at this stage would be to contact an Independent Financial Advisor, as they can access mortgages from across the market place.

Other reasons why you might also consider applying for a remortgage is so that you can to release some of the value build up in your property for other spending, or paying off debts.

By remortgaging you could find a cheaper deal and keep the payments the same so that you can be mortgage free sooner. You could also extend the term of your mortgage,  to reduce your monthly payments, but be careful as this could end up costing you more in the long run.

If you are looking at applying for a remortgage, or would just like some Independent advice, then why not give one of our team of IFA’s a call.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE.

Adding extra space or an extension? You will need to make some considerations...

Enable Independent know that by extending your home by either adding and extension developing a roof space is a great way to add extra space and it could increase the value of your home.

Here are a few things you will need to take into consideration:

• If you are planning an extension you will need to get expert planning advice, as these change quite regularly, and will need to be followed.

• Make sure you check out your builder’s credentials, there are various websites such as www.ratedbuilders.com and Which also supply a list of good builders. Recommendations from friends and family can be useful too. The National Federation of Builders (NFB) will be able to give you a list of registered builders in your area.

• Remember do not only consider price, and try to get at least three quotations.

• Knowing what to add is also an important consideration, additional bathrooms are very desirable, a larger kitchen and in some urban areas a garage can add real value. The best thing to do would be to ask a couple of estate agents their advice before developing your property.

• Loft conversions are also a very popular way of extending your home, but these will probably also need planning permission.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE.

Grand Designs LIve...

If you are looking for home inspiration this weekend, then why not visit Grand Designs live, at the Excell Centre in London from the 4th until the 12th of May.

As well as offering aspirational home ideas, the show is packed with live shows and ideas on how to build a home, and lovely items to fill it with.

Located in the heart of Grand Build, Ask An Expert sponsored by VELUX offers a unique service designed to answer all of your project and self-build questions.

This year Grand Designs has teamed up with the National Self Build Association (NaSBA) and the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to bring you the first ever National Self Build Week (NSBW) that will be launched at Grand Designs Live London.