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16 May 2013
At scottfraser Investments we have our finger firmly on the pulse of the Oxford investment market.
Our Investment Search and Acquisition Service is tailored to the needs of landlords who lack the time, experience or desire to commit to researching the market and undertaking the necessary legwork for viewing properties.
John Gebbels, Property Investment Manager, brings a decade of experience both in Oxford and Central London, and specialises in sourcing and securing prime buy-to-let property.
Slow start to NewBuy scheme
21 May 2012
Just five homes have been sold between six of the UK’s biggest house builders under the Government’s flagship NewBuy scheme. However, house builders remain upbeat, saying that 400 sales are in the pipeline.
The scheme was launched two months ago and allows first-time buyers and home movers to buy a new-build home with a 95% mortgage which is jointly underwritten by taxpayers and developers. The indemnity protects the developer of the home should it have to be repossessed and sold at a loss, but does not protect the purchaser against negative equity.
The sales figures are from Canaccord Genuity, which contacted the top ten UK house builders to find out about their progress.
Out of ten, six responded, revealing that so far, just five NewBuy sales have completed.
Conaccord Genuity analyst Alastair Steward said: “Having maintained a uniformly upbeat assessment of the scheme in their public statements, it appears there is mounting frustration among the builders.”
However, the Home Builders Federation said yesterday that 400 people have so far reserved new homes through the NewBuy scheme since launch nine weeks ago. It said: “With the home-buying process taking some weeks, these figures reveal a remarkable start for a scheme on introduced on March 12 and expected to deliver tens of thousands of sales over the next three years.”
Santander is the latest lender to have launched into the NewBuy arena.
Its 95% mortgage products will be available through brokers on the panels of just four builders – Barratt Homes, Berkeley, Bovis Homes and Persimmon.
All come with a free standard mortgage valuation plus £250 cashback, and products include three- and five-year fixes at 5.49% and a seven-year fix at 5.99% – the only fix longer than five years on the market for first-time buyers.
There is a £99 booking fee with all the products.
However, there remains a big question mark as to how the NewBuy scheme is faring. Barratt last week said that 1,600 potential purchasers were registering their interest each week, but that only 70 of its homes have so far been reserved using the NewBuy scheme.
Santander’s launch into NewBuy also follows hot on the heels of its decision to tighten up the criteria for buyers of new homes outside the scheme.
Until last Friday, it required a 20% from first-time buyers purchasing a new-build flat. This has now been raised to 25%. For first-time buyers looking to buy a new-build house, the previous deposit requirement of 10% has been raised to 15%.
Natasha Brar
Sales Consultant - Oxfordshire Residential Sales, Land & New Homes
01865 759500 / natasha@scottfraser.co.uk
Source: http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/
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