UK-LandRegistry Weblog

mkeen61267 — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:31:10 +0000

The government plans to increase the cost of buying a home by raising Land Registry fees in England and Wales.

Under yesterday’s proposals, fees for homes up to £50,000 would rise £10 to £50; a £150,000 property would be £50 higher at £200; and £1m-plus places would soar £220 to £920.

The housing slump has seen the Registry fall £148million into the red, the first annual loss in its 147-year history.

Searches and copies of documents would also cost more from July 6.

Sorry for the no posts

mkeen61267 — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:27:45 +0000

Hi to anybody that has been reading this!

I am sorry that there have been no posts for ages but a lot has been happening behind the scenes which i shall reveal when the blog gets up and running again next week.

Halifax reports increase in affordability

mkeen61267 — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:26:57 +0000

House prices fell by 2.2% in October, according to the latest Halifax House Price Index.

House prices in October were 13.7% lower on an annual basis. The UK average price has returned to the level in October 2005 (£168,031).

House price to earnings ratio – a key affordability measure – is improving significantly. The house price to average earnings ratio has fallen by 16% from a peak of 5.84 in July 2007 to 4.92 in August 2008. This is the first time that the ratio has been below 5.0 for four and a half years (4.99 in February 2004). Halifax expects a further improvement in the ratio as prices continue to soften. The long-term average is 4.0.

The UK average house price is 22% higher than five years ago. The average price stood at £138,208 in October 2003; nearly £30,000 lower than today.

Housing market activity shows signs of stabilising. The number of mortgages approved to finance house purchase was broadly unchanged in September for a third successive month, at a seasonally adjusted 33,000 compared to 32,000 in August. Approvals in 2008 Quarter 3, however, were 25% lower than in 2008 Quarter 2.

Martin Ellis, chief economist, said: “House prices declined by 2.2% in October. Housing market conditions remain challenging in the face of the significant pressures on householders’ incomes and the reduction in the availability of mortgage finance since last summer.

“But housing affordability is improving significantly. The house price to average earnings ratio has fallen below 5.0 for the first time for four and a half years. We expect a further improvement in the ratio over the coming months.”

Land Registry reports 8% fall in UK house prices

mkeen61267 — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:06:13 +0000

The Land Registry has revealed annual house prices in England and Wales have fallen 8%, while it posted a monthly fall of 2.2% in September.

This takes the average property to £168,814, according to the Land Registry.

The biggest monthly fall was noted in Wales, where house prices declined by 5.5% last month.

However, London proved the most resilient as prices were down by 6.1% over the year, taking the average property price to £328,927.

Meanwhile, Hartlepool experienced a 4.7% increase over the year, taking the average property to £115,018.

Furthermore, the Land Registry said the number of property sales fell to 58,000 between April and July, compared with 111,000 for the same period in 2007.

The data is regarded as the most reliable house price indicator as it is based on completed property transactions.

According to Howard Archer, chief UK economist at Global Insight, it seems highly likely that house prices have further to fall, particularly as the fundamentals continue to be largely stacked against the housing market.

Reports over the last week are mixed as to how much property prices will fall with economic forecasting agency, Capital Economics, predicting that house prices will fall 35% by next autumn, from their peak of last summer.

Meanwhile, Knight Frank estate agents said house prices in the UK will fall 30% from their high of summer 2007 and fall to levels seen in September 2003.

Yesterday, however, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has predicted that house prices will fall in value by 25% from their peak. The organisation believes that house prices will not recover to the levels they peaked at in 2007 until 2013.

U.K. house prices fell 4.6 percent in August

mkeen61267 — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:28:25 +0000

U.K. house prices fell 4.6 percent in August from a year earlier, the most since at least 2000, the Land Registry said today.

From July, the average home value declined 1.9 percent, the registry, which records all property transactions in England and Wales, said in a report in London today. Both readings are the biggest since the Land Registry’s records started in April 2000, the report said.

The declines leave the average cost of a home at 174,493 pounds

Dutch house prices rise in 3rd quarter of 2008

mkeen61267 — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 11:17:04 +0000

House prices in September fell 1.4% compared with August, according to new Dutch land registry office figures released on Friday, reports the Telegraaf.

However over the third quarter as a whole, prices were up 2.4% compared with the preceding three-month period. The average cost of a house rose by just over €6,000 to €259,480.

The association of estate agents (NVM) announced yesterday that house prices had fallen for the first time in 18 years in the third quarter.

Solicitor accused of forging land registry documents

mkeen61267 — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 11:09:10 +0000

A Northern Ireland solicitor has denied involvement in a £100,000 fraud in which a 94-year-old woman was allegedly cheated out of her home by her son and daughter-in-law.

Co Down solicitor Ann Ervine is accused of falsely claiming to have witnessed pensioner Annie Martin sign over her Saintfield home to her son George Ignatius Martin and daughter-in-law Mary Martin.

During an arraignment at Belfast Crown Court last week, Ervine (51), of Alpine Road Newtownards, pleaded not guilty to forgery and using false Land Registry forms with intent.

She was joined in the dock by husband and wife George Ignatius Martin and Mary Martin, both of Downpatrick Street, Saintfield, who both pleaded not guilty to obtaining property by deception, forgery and using false land registry forms with intent.

Legal teams for the Martins said they are ready to stand trial. A defence barrister for Ervine, who distanced herself in the dock from the Martins, said however a number of issues need to be addressed before she is ready to stand trial, including the disclosure of the victim’s medical records.

A previous court hearing heard that in 1997 Mary Martin’s name was added to Land Registry documents for Annie Martin’s land, which Annie Martin owned with her son.

The court was then told that in 2002 the property was transferred from the three names to the names of George and Mary Martin.

It is the prosecution case that this was done without Annie Martin’s consent.

Ervine’s barrister has argued that there is no evidence to suggest that she signed the land registry forms intending to prejudice the victim Annie Martin.

He told an earlier hearing: “There is no evidence whatsoever to suggest there is intent. Even if there was recklessness that is not enough.

“There has to be clear intention, if someone submitting a document and if that document may not be correct, they still have to have intent that they know it will result in a prejudice or inducement to someone else to do something.”

He added that the charges relate to forms of documents solicitors deal with every day and said: “What would happen if every solicitor was investigated in relation to something like this?”

All three defendants have been released on their own bail to stand trial on a date yet to be fixed.