A thread for **general** housing/property/DIY news and discussion

[KievLoverTwo]

It often strikes me that there's no appropriate place to share things I read on a daily basis; I don't have a problem that needs fixing, or it's a political issue and I don't want to start arguments, or it's something that only 1% of readers will be interested in reading so it'll fall off the front page in quick-sharp time.

So, I'm going pop the various odds and sods in here, as and when I feel like it. Feel free to join in with your news.

Try to avoid bun fights if you can :)

(TL;DR means 'too, long, didn't read' - a brief summary to save time)

That’s cute. I’ll join in and I won’t start any bun fights. NOT ON THIS THREAD.

Construction materials costs are finally going down.

https://www.constructionenquirer.com/2023/12/06/materials-prices-plummet-as-housing-demand-slumps/

TL;DR

A combination of greater price competition among suppliers and falling raw material costs contributed to another decrease in input prices across construction.

'The overall rate of decline was the steepest since July 2009, with survey respondents reporting falling prices paid for a range of materials especially steel and timber.'

Councils and bankruptcies:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/dec/06/english-town-halls-face-unprecedented-rise-in-bankruptcies-council-leaders-warn

English town halls face unprecedented rise in bankruptcies, council leaders warn
Grim forecast comes after Nottingham city council became fourth authority in the past 12 months to declare insolvency

Patrick Butler Social policy editor
Wed 6 Dec 2023 06.00 GMTThe financial crisis engulfing English local authorities will trigger an unprecedented increase in town hall bankruptcies in the coming months, local government leaders have warned, as they prepare to increase council tax bills and impose a fresh round of cuts to services.
The grim forecast, endorsed by council leaders of all political colours, comes days after Labour-run Nottingham city council issued a Section 114 notice to become the fourth authority in the past 12 months – and the eighth in six years – to declare effective insolvency.

Nearly one in five council bosses believe it is “fairly or very likely” that they will go bust in the next 15 months as funding fails to keep pace with inflationary costs and exploding demand for child protection, adult social care and homelessness services, according to a Local Government Association (LGA) survey.

LUBES UP ARM

Yes, yes you will indeed behave yourself in this one! :p

Blimey Kiev you’ve spent too long on that farm!

Tell me about it. I've been woken up by farm noise every day thus far this week.

However, I think you might have forgotten I offered to arm wrestle you a few months ago. Hence the lube. I haven't QUITE gone fully postal just yet.

Class action lawsuit of 150 plus homeowners versus Lloyds Banking Group goes to High Court re: shared appreciation mortgages.

https://www.ftadviser.com/mortgages/2021/09/06/lloyds-taken-to-court-over-mortgages-tied-to-property-values/

'Because rising house prices have pushed up the values of these properties more than four-fold over the decades, some homeowners now owe the bank hundreds of thousands of pounds more than their original loan, according to a report by FTAdviser's sister paper the Financial Times.'

Phew yes I see what you meant now

As shared by XVGN in another thread:

High-end property repossessions rise as Covid purchases go ‘horribly wrong’

TL;DR: there's been a vast increase in homes for sale on Rightmove rather than the usual routes (estate agents making discreet phone calls, for example) of a value of more than 5 million pounds. XVGN also quite rightly pointed out that if these homes continue selling via the Rightmove portal, it's really going to push up the average house price amount once the sales complete (which gives the impression that all houses prices, generally, are rising).

It use to be the case that these houses were advertised as POA ('price on application') but that's now seemingly gone away.

I spent quite a bit of time trawling all the counties in England last night and didn't set an upper limit. It was interesting browsing. I saved half a dozen I saw had been reduced, and my Property Log Chrome extension shows me that these half a dozen properties have been reduced between around 200k and 2 million pounds. That's all in the public domain now, whereas this sort of thing only used to happen behind closed doors, that I am aware of anyway.

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/high-end-property-repossessions-rise-162306782.html?guccounter=2&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubXVtc25ldC5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAD-PzyaQ_kBv25tAQk7zyXGS3GVIKz_BdxBWmOLc0o0n9zmPFYahYWtZ1sJv3JROAxQ9lwwZ_7oxkVy2NTW8LV79qWMjbnIgk8eb1AK08m7ciLpMbtxbECBAL10hvuiKWkNp9JM3iedr0Eqs7ZoNuvLVKC14Be8vAXE7NadJntAw

Oh thank fuck for that

I thought it would be nice to start this thread off with a positive one!

A huge sigh of relief for many people.

Doing a renovation?

@Twiglets1 trying to 😂

Cost has been a big factor, this will be kinder on the pursestrings.

That’s good 👍

IKEA to launch budget smart home security and leak sensors:

’IKEA haven't yet confirmed UK pricing for the smart sensors either, but if the US pricing of $10 each is anything to go by, there are set to be incredibly affordable, and likely available for under £10.’

https://www.idealhome.co.uk/house-manual/smart-home/ikea-home-sensors

Gigabit broadband rollout in Wales reaches thousands more homes and businesses than planned, and under budget. 39k properties.

https://www.gov.wales/tens-thousands-homes-and-businesses-can-access-gigabit-capable-speeds-rollout-full-fibre-broadband

Gigabit broadband reaches 80% of UK homes; targets 99% by 2030.

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2023/12/gigabit-broadband-coverage-reaches-80-percent-of-uk-homes.html

I thought Rightmove's average house price info was based on the land registry data not on what's advertised via their portal?

It is based on the average asking price when listed. Not even the price it might get reduced down to or finally get sold STC at. They don’t use any Land Registry data in any form. None of the indices do. The Land Registry’s own index is problematic in itself as well, because what they release gets seasonally adjusted (read: fudged with).

Locally we have also seen a lot of "prime" properties that would be normally sold off market being advertised
I suspect a lot are downsizers grappling with increased heating/other costs

I think you are right. I have seen a lot of 3000 sq ft plus sized homes going for an awful lot less than I would have ever thought possible. In the last week I have seen an 800k house (6500 sq ft, half a stately home by the look of it) and a custom built 1.2m home (probably 4000 sq ft) both being sold by modern method of auction (buyer pays all the fees).

Extraordinary times. Nice work, Russia.

Trial being run: heating residential hot water by siting company's computer servers next to hot water tanks.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-surrey-67590284

Interesting protype in America. Wireless light switches that could halve wiring costs, this time without the burden of needing batteries.

www.electronicsforu.com/news/new-wireless-light-switch-set-to-halve-house-wiring-expenses

Leasehold reform could cost the taxpayer 31 billion in compensation.

Association complains that home owners will be left without adequate support. Has Gove thought this through? Or is it another phantom policy they never had any intention of implementing?

www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2023/12/freeholders-fight-back-in-bid-to-save-ground-rents

Has anyone else noticed how far ‘+3 miles’ area gets you on Rightmove when searching for a property? It’s always been a bit of a mickey take, but now it seems like more of a magical mystery tour…
Perhaps it’s just our area, the southern most area of south east though?
Obviously hoping casting the net out of area, catches them an unexpected sale.