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)

Good. Quite right too.

309,000 will be homeless this Christmas, 3,000 sleeping rough (from a separate FT article, a rise of 26%):

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/dec/14/extra-40000-people-in-england-homeless-this-christmas-says-charity

Homelessness at Xmas time has risen by 14%.

Oh dear

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/inflation-fight-not-yet-over-123843572.html

Oh dear

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/inflation-fight-not-yet-over-123843572.html

These were their predictions a month ago.

At this point, is there really any point in listening to them at all?

@Fifiesta I’m from your area and I’m getting this too! I’ve always done 3 miles and 3 miles in now going much further out.

Has the boundary changed?

Once in a blue moon, some authority or another changes boundaries. I think it has something to do with voting, maybe.

London: high value property sales at highest level for right years. Countryside high value sales fall.

www.theguardian.com/news/2023/dec/15/high-end-house-sales-are-up-in-london-with-175-fetching-10m

Estate agents, already pretty low on the scale, can take comfort in their level of untrustworthiness not getting worse since last year, unlike politicians:

https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/guides-tips/breaking-news/2023/12/estate-agents-remain-among-least-trusted-professions?source=othernews

Full index here:

www.ipsos.com/en-uk/ipsos-trust-in-professions-veracity-index-2023

Curious as to why anybody would ever buy such a stupid product, esp in London where property prices will inevitably go up? Am I missing something here?

From what I have briefly read about it in the past, they were mostly taken out by people who weren't necessarily full of youth and vigour and who didn't fully understand the implications of such a mortgage. Some of them were given bad advice by lenders, or even misled.

I also don't think house prices sky rocketed in the 80s/90s, so they probably wouldn't have ever thought their house prices would rise by anywhere near the sort of numbers we see today.

Don't quote me though. I have only read one or two articles on this, several months ago.

Ofgem ask for feedback from everyone, including consumers by 17th January:

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/energy-price-cap-additional-debt-costs-review-consultation

TL;DR:

They are proposing to add debt consumers are unable to pay to the price cap to recoup the money:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67725424

The rise equals approximately £16 per year per household between April 2024 and March 2025; households have already paid £82 to ensure people who were served by the 30-odd energy companies who went bust in 2021 were not cut off.

However, despite the £16 per household figure stated in the article, my brief scan of their 109 page consultation paper suggests that they don't expect the situation to get any better; I think this is something we are likely to see be repeated time and time again in the future. I don't have time to read all 109 pages, but my immediate thought is: if people know their bad debt will just get absorbed by all consumers in the future, will there be an increase in people refusing to pay their bills because there are no consequences for not doing so?

There are almost 2k comments on the BBC article; clearly, people have strong feelings on the subject.

Pre-payment meter customers won't be charged extra.

Full consultation paper:

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2023-12/Energy%20price%20cap%20-%20Additional%20debt%20costs%20review%20consultation.pdf

Boiler manufacturers cannot meet government’s ‘unrealistic’ targets, incur fines, cost likely to hit consumers (gas boiler purchases) from January, at a cost of £90-125 per unit.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/cost-of-living/thousands-uk-households-slapped-120-28299215

https://www.boilercentral.com/news/boiler-tax-rising-cost-of-home-heating/

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas.

Here are Rightmove's 10 most viewed properties of 2023:

www.rightmove.co.uk/news/articles/dream-properties/most-viewed-homes-2023/

Michael Gove says there will definitely be a first time buyer incentive before polling day.

'One option is reportedly a scheme to provide government support for much longer fixed-term mortgages, such as those on offer in the US, to reduce the funds first-time buyers will need for a deposit.'

My opinion is that this is a meaningless statement. It's likely to pan out that they will strongarm mortgage lenders into handing out 45 to 50 year long mortgages, which will cost buyers an absolute fortune, and that's probably all. It's just more smoke and mirrors.

If you are a FTB I certainly wouldn't hold your breath expecting them to introduce a measure which will legitimately make your house purchase cheaper.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/dec/26/tories-to-promise-help-for-first-time-buyers-in-effort-to-lure-voters-say-reports

Hope you had a nice Christmas @KievLoverTwo

I don't trust Gove more than I could throw him. They will introduce new measures to try to buy the FTB vote but it probably won't be helpful long term.

Hello! How far do you reckon you could throw him?

Xmas was nice thanks. The farm halted building works for two days, so it's just from today we have to endure the angle grinder and jack hammers again. Two days with no noise was blissful.

Today's influx of 'list for boxing day, everyone looks' properties are sadly disappointing; only one possible contender.

How was your Xmas?

I disagree with any government policy that serves to stimulate the market and get people into higher levels of debt. Whatever is announced, I doubt it will be enticing enough for most folks.

But the press release machine never rests.

No distance haha.

My Christmas was good but fairly quiet, just us and a couple of adult children. I'm having a great day today as everyone has left or gone out so it's just me and the leftover chocolates and nibbles. Excellent!

I have no faith in any political party these days which feels a bit sad. My adult children are excited by the idea of a Labour government but I'm not convinced they would be much better. I've got cynical in my old age.

Sorry Rightmove isn't more interesting, maybe more will come on in January or Spring or... soon

Wind farms: Greenpeace label the government's planning tweaks as 'futile', imply the changes are too risky for investors. Not a single application has been made since the 'lift' in September.

It's rubbish to read that our energy bills could be almost £200 PA cheaper.

www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/27/zero-onshore-wind-plans-submitted-in-england-since-de-facto-ban-was-lifted

Citizens advice help 250,000 people with energy debts in 2023 :(

It looks like that figure for the same issue was circa 90,000 people in 2019.

'The number of people unable to top up their energy prepayment meters, at 34,000, was almost double the last two years combined, with December’s total still be to added.'

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/dec/28/record-numbers-in-uk-seeking-help-with-energy-bills-and-food-costs-citizens-advice

Finally, a positive story! Derby council builds four new homes that create more energy than they use:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-derbyshire-67827857

Just as an additional fyi but not worthy of a post, I read the other day that the cost of taking a home from an EPC G to an EPC C is now around 39k. Ouch.

Government scraps some charges at recycling centres:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/charges-for-disposing-of-diy-waste-at-recycling-centres-scrapped

However, it would be best to check what your local area is doing. Examples:

In Oxfordshire, you have to book: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-67861183

The first five items, or one plasterboard sheet, are free - any more waste is chargeable, as is waste generated by commercial contractors.

And in Eastleigh, frequency of visits is limited: https://www.eastleighnews.co.uk/2024/01/diy-waste-charges-scrapped-at-recycling-centre/

Residents can drop off up to two 50-litre rubble bags or one bulky item (like a sink or toilet pedestal) for free at any HWRC in Hampshire, except New Alresford due to size limitations.

This allowance applies within a maximum of four visits over four weeks.

Final stats of 2023 sales (week 48) from last year from the UK Property Market Stats show. You can download the full slide set here:

https://christopherwatkin.wetransfer.com/downloads/00c5b00e558ba2766f206add78d1de6e20231205163416/352608

Or watch the video here:

1

What I have pulled out of it (without watching it, I can no longer be bothered, so I've just looked at the numbers) is this:

Accumulative listings in 2019 (the last 'normal' year): 1,543,058
Accumulative net sales in 2019: 866,512 (56% of accumulated listings number)

Accumulative listings in 2023: 1,521,759
Accumulative net sales in 2023: 774,170 (50.8%)

BEWARE

This stats show is run by someone who ghost writes for the property industry with regular contributions from experienced EAs, CEOs of EA chains, etc.

I have been informed in recent months by someone saying they are an industry professional on Mumsnet that the data shown is missing as much as 30-40% of actual house sales; I guess a lot of cash buyers don't hit the TwentyEA software, or people are selling to friends, family, people via word of mouth, etc? Idk - they didn't reply to my response.

I haven't been able to substantiate their claim; not disputing them, just can't find details. Happy to hear more from anyone who can direct me to other data sources.

Force fitting prepayment meters in homes with debt can resume:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67910944

Except for under the following circumstances:

When customers are over 75, unless someone younger also lives in the home

In households with children under the age of two

If anyone lives there with a terminal illness or certain conditions which would get worse in a cold home

Ofgem is proposing lifting the energy price cap by £16 for a household with typical gas and electricity usage between April and March 2025, to cover unpaid debt levels among energy customers which has risen to £2.9bn.

Looks like this price drop was short lived then :(

tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/construction-pmi