Month: November 2017

Increase in Interest Rates to cost Letchworth Home Owners £306.20 a year

  Letchworth homeowners will be among those affected by the latest rise in the Bank of England interest rates. The first increase in 10 years; they have just been raised from 0.25 percent to 0.5 per cent. This uplift comes as inflation hits a 51-month high of 2.9 per cent whilst the national unemployment rate is at an all-time low of 4.3 per cent. Interestingly, the Governor of the Bank of England has indicated that the interest rate is likely to increase again over the next couple of years, but Mr Carney said mortgages and savings would not be affected in the short term. However, look at all the big banks and just about all of them have increased their standard variable mortgage rate.. The average Letchworth mortgage is £122,482 I have to ask by how much Letchworth homeowners (on variable rate or tracker mortgages) will see their repayments increase? In the SG6 postcode there are 4,133 homeowners with a

read more Increase in Interest Rates to cost Letchworth Home Owners £306.20 a year

The Letchworth House Price Index: 170.35

  I had the most interesting conversation the other day with a local Letchworth accountant, who asked me about my articles on the Letchworth property market. It was quite humbling to be given praise by such a professional, when he commented enthusiastically on the articles I write. He was particularly interested with the graphs, facts and figures contained within them – so much so he recommended his clients read them, as most of them were either Letchworth homeowners, Letchworth landlords and a lot of the time – both.  However, one question that kept me on my toes was, “With so many House-Price-Indices, how do you know which one to use and how can you calculate what is exactly happening in Letchworth?” To start with, there are indeed a great number of these Indices, including the Land Registry, Office of National Stats, Halifax, Nationwide and LSL to name but a few. The issue occurs when these different house price indices give

read more The Letchworth House Price Index: 170.35

One in 19 rental properties in the Letchworth area will be illegal in 2018

As the winter months draw in and the temperature starts to drop, keeping one’s home warm is vital. Yet, with the price of gas and electricity rising quicker than a Saturn V rocket and gas, oil and electricity taking on average 4.4% of a typical Brit’s pay packet (and for those Brit’s with the lowest 10% of incomes, that rockets to an eye watering 9.7%), whether you are a tenant or homeowner, keeping your energy costs as low as possible is vital for the household budget and the environment as a whole. For the last 10 years, every private rental property must have an Energy-Performance-Certificate (EPC) rating.  The property is given an energy rating, very similar to those on washing machines and fridges with the rainbow coloured graph, of between A to G (A being the most efficient and G the worst). New legislation comes in to force next spring (2018) for English and Welsh private landlords making it illegal

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Letchworth Homeowners Are Only Moving Every 15.5 Years (part 2)

In the credit crunch of 2008/9 the rate of home moving plunged to its lowest level ever. In 2009 the rate at which a typical house would change hands slumped to only once every 19 years. The biggest reason being that confidence was low and many homeowners didn’t want to sell their home as Letchworth property prices plunged after the onset of the financial crisis in 2008. However, since 2009, the rate of home moving has increased (see the table and graph below), meaning today: The average period of time between home moves in Letchworth is now 15.5 years. This is an increase of 22.25 per cent between the credit crunch fallout year of 2009 and today, but still it is a 34.19 per cent drop in moves by homeowners, compared to 15 years ago (The Noughties). Average Length of Time (In Years) between Home Moves in Letchworth and the North Hertfordshire District Council Area 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

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