NOVA NEWS EDITORIAL - JULY 2023

With further pressure applied to the housing market by the Bank of England raising interest rates by another 0.5% in June house owners, landlords, and tenants will all be feeling the heat. It is all very well the Prime Minister and Chancellor saying we must sit tight and ride out the storm, many families are really struggling and prices in the shops continue to rise as well.

Whilst visiting different properties coming onto the market for sale over the weeks it has become noticeable that many vendors are deciding to move to lesser-priced, smaller homes. Families are trying to go mortgage free, cut mortgage costs or find a new home which is smaller and cheaper to run. Surprisingly I don’t hear many say they want to move to a more energy efficient property which in itself would save money for the family. Thankfully one thing that will have come down by the time you read this article is the price cap on gas and electricity, a small benefit in the coming three months of summer when usage is lower, but hopefully there will be no increase in prices when the next cap comes round in October as demand begins to rise.

There is still a steady flow of homes coming onto the market and houses are selling so all is not doom and gloom but quality of presentation and price are becoming more relevant now than in the heady times of a highly active market. Let us hope that we see an end to interest rate rises within the next couple of months and bring a little stability to the mortgage market.

I am continuing to get a significant number of jobs for Land Registry plans and many are going down the first registration route where family members have occupied a property for many years. If your property is not registered, you will require a conveyancing solicitor to undertake the registration process on your behalf. An outlined compliant plan of your property will have to be prepared, that is where my expertise comes into the equation. A boundary inspection is usually something that I will also undertake during this process to ensure that these are correctly identified for yourself and adjoining neighbours.
Details of all the professional services which I offer are in my advert alongside this article.

by Andrew Mason
Property Consultant