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Ten tips to survive a property downturn

It’s the news that every homeowner has been fearing – house prices are definitely falling.

Halifax says prices fell 2.5 per cent in February and Nationwide has reported that prices have moved lower every one of the last five months. With mortgage lenders withdrawing deals left, right and centre, there could also be plenty more bad news to come.

But there is no need to panic. Falling house prices bring opportunities for buyers. There is also plenty that sellers can do to ease the pain. Here are ten tips to help you ride out the property downturn

House prices predictions for 2008 – a region-by-region breakdown

The housing market finally seems to have turned. Analysts have been predicting a slowdown since interest rates first went up in August 2006, yet the boom continued in many areas. Annual house price growth has been running in double digits for much of the year but all of that is now changing.

Prices fell by 0.8 per cent last month according to Nationwide – the largest monthly fall since 1995 – and the annual rate of growth has slowed from 9.7 per cent in October to 6.9 per cent. There are signs that the market is also cooling in London, which has been one of the strongest regions this year. Property values in parts of London have surged more than 30 per cent since January according to Knight Frank, an estate agency, but prices in some areas are now falling as the credit crunch and five quarter-point interest rate rises take their toll.

Dare you fix your home loan for 25 years?

Mortgages that fix your rate for 25 years or more are in the spotlight after Alistair Darling, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, said he wants to encourage more people to take out these long-term loans.

Are you feeling the pain yet?

I don't know about you, but I am definitely feeling the impact of the recent interest rate rises. While not suprised, I did groan when I heard that the Bank of England had voted to pass on another quarter point increase last Thursday - the fifth since last August. That means another £49 on my monthly mortgage payments. On its own, that doesn't seem too bad but my husband and I are now paying around £240 a month more than we were this time 12 months ago, which is nearly £3,000 a year. Add to that the increases in other bills that we've had (the most recent being from Powergen which wants to double our monthly direct debit for our gas and electricity) and the fact that the weekly food bill is definitely creeping upwards, and things are getting tighter.

Are you a victim of a mortgage blunder?

THOUSANDS of Abbey borrowers who may have unwittingly had their mortgage terms extended by up to 15 years have been warned they are running out of time to seek compensation.

Prepare for mortgage rates of 8%

I wrote an article that appeared on the front page of the Money section last Sunday which warned that if interest rates hit 6%, which an increasing number of economists believe will happen, borrowers on their lender's standard variable (SVR) will be paying interest of around 8% - the highest level for nearly a decade.

Thankfully only around 2.5million of the 11million households with mortgages are paying SVR as most are on cheaper fixed or discounted deals. However, 2.5million is still a significant number, and if you are one of these people you should really be looking to remortgage.

New high for mortgage lending, again

Despite three interest rate hikes since last August and a highly-inflated property market the UK appears to be still very much in favour of giving business to mortgage lenders – indeed the nationwide pastime of borrowing has reached a new high, yet again.

Does the threat of another interest rate rise worry you?

Economists seem to think an interest rate rise next month is now an odds-on certainty. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that consumer price inflation rose by more than expected last month to 3.1 per cent, its highest level for a decade. The Bank of England must now write to the chancellor to explain why inflation is so far above its 2 per cent target and borrowers are being warned to brace themselves for higher mortgage payments.

How long would you fix your mortgage for?

Nationwide has just launched a mortgage with a rate that is fixed for 25 years. This is not the first 25-year fix - other lenders offering such deals include Kent Reliance, Newcastle and Cheshire building societies. However, it is the first major lender to offer such a deal. But would you be interested in fixing your mortgage rate for such a long time?

Claim back money on your mortgage

Mortgage lenders have been given a rap over the knuckles over mortgage 'exit fees' - the charge they levy on you when your mortgage deals comes to an end.  The City Watchdog ordered them to refund thousands of borrowers who faced an unexpected bill for hundreds of pounds when their short-term home loan deals came to an end.

But the lenders said that they couldn't automatically refund all the money, and that borrowers would have to apply for a refund.  Have you asked your bank to repay you yet?

If so, let us know. 

Why your mortgage will be cheaper by Christmas

Anyone with a variable-rate mortgage or a cheap fixed-rate deal about to expire is probably feeling a little nervous right now. Interest rates have shot up by 0.75 percentage points to 5.25 per cent in the last six months and speculation is rife that borrowing costs could rise to as high as 6 per cent in the next few months.

But will rates really go that high? And if they do, how long will they stay that high?

Where are house prices heading in 2007?

It’s crystal ball time again: when the experts put their necks on the line by predicting what’s going to happen to house prices next year.

The growing frustration of a first time buyer

My continued experience, of what must actually now be a national sport – as in hunting for one’s first property, is becoming as interesting as it is irritating/demoralising.

The housing camel...

The Bank of England increased the cost of borrowing to 5 per cent today but opinion is divided on whether this will subdue the runaway housing market.

The quarter point increase in August had little effect with average prices rising by almost 2.5 per cent since then. So will today's move be the straw that breaks the housing camel's back or will it be a drop in the debt ocean?

Homeowners - you lucky people, well sort of

Homeowners with mortgages linked to the base rate obviously have reason for concern this week.
If, as has been widely predicted, the Bank of England decides to up rates by a quarter-point, those already stretching themselves in terms of their monthly mortgage payments will feel the pinch.

An eye for an eye?

Banks and building societies charge us through the nose if we mistakenly go into the red. But what happens if they make a mistake? Should we charge them in return? After all, it doesn't actually cost a bank £35 to write a letter telling you that your balance has dipped below the agreed overdraft level (unless they are actually paying a computer operator £34.69 for the time it takes to press print and then simply adding the cost of a first class stamp). They profit from our mistakes.  Should we profit from theirs?

This question was raised last week when one high street bank emptied thousands of its customers' banks accounts by mistake.

What goes up must come down?

Three hundred years ago, Sir Isaac Newton famously proved that what goes up must come down. Unfortunately for first-time buyers, house prices have never shown much regard to the law of gravity. Over the last three years the value of the average home has surged by 50 per cent despite repeated “expert” warnings that prices couldn’t possibly go any higher.

Virtually every week for the last two years, I have received e-mails from various economists saying that accelerating house price inflation was “unsustainable” yet prices have continued their relentless march higher.

If it seems too good to be true, it probably is...

What is it about estate agents that make them so cavalier in their relationship to accuracy? The latest wheeze I have discovered during my eight-month long search for a property is the misleading use of websites.

Rate rise to trigger house price crash?

Worries over inflation and a resurgent housing market have forced the Bank of England to raise the cost of borrowing to 4.75 per cent, the first increase in two years. Interest rates are now 1.25 percentage points higher than three years ago. Analysts said the rate rise would reduce the demand for mortgages, taking some of the heat out of the housing market. The Bank hinted that rates could move higher still, leading some economist to predict a potential crash in the property market. Ed Stansfield, of Capital Economics, said: "If rates go up another two or three times we might see a substantial house price correction."

Homebuyers beware: Why your purchase could fall through if you borrow with RBS

Instructing a valuation is hardly an arduous process: there is a form to fill in, which is then sent to a surveyor. The surveyor is then obliged to carry out the survey within four working days. In theory, then, it can all be complete within a week. So why did it take the Royal Bank of Scotland three weeks from the date that I paid my £255 valuation fee to contact the surveyor?

Hips operation is real bungle

Fans of the 1980s children’s TV show Rainbow will be pleased to hear that the main characters have reformed. Unfortunately, however, Bungle, Zippy and George are not appearing in a TV studio to entertain the nation’s under fives, instead they appear to be running the country.

Taking the role of Bungle is Yvette Cooper, the minister for (not enough) housing and (woeful) planning. Yesterday this arch Blairite trumped Gordon Brown’s humiliating Sipps u-turn by announcing that Home Condition Reports (HCRs), the survey element of home information packs (Hips), would no longer be compulsory from the planned introduction date of June next year.

House price conundrum

Another day goes by and another set of conflicting reports on the housing market appears. Firstly, Nationwide says that prices inched up just 0.3 per cent in June, the third successive month of subdued growth. Then the Bank of England reports that mortgage lending surged through the £1 trillion barrier for the first time in May suggesting a still bullish property market. So what is happening?

Camping versus homebuying

I have always hated camping. I did it under duress once a couple of years ago, but couldn't warm to it - probably because I couldn't get warm at all. While there are those that eulogise about life under canvas, I have always been a big fan of sturdy brick walls and good slates overhead. But recently I have been reconsidering my position. While  trying to climb on to the housing ladder, I have watched with incredulity as house prices climb relentlessly. Halifax said today that house prices rose by 0.1 percentage points last month. This may come as a disappointment to homeowners who have watched the value of their homes soar by 9 per cent over the last year, but it is nothing compared to the disappointment felt by buyers trying to purchase a property.

Moving pains

They say that along with divorce and bereavement moving house is one of the most stressful things to go through, and up until last week I didn't agree - my house move was going swimmingly. But oh, how it has started to unravel and as I am writing this I fear that the house my fiancee and I are hoping to buy is about to fall through.

How we can help with your first home

If you are looking for a toehold on the property market and want advice on mortgages, house prices or just where to buy don’t miss our special web seminar for first-time buyers.

The housing market conundrum

The house price conundrum continues. According to Rightmove's latest index, prices have risen 1.1% this month and it is prime properties in London and the South that are pushing the market upwards, while aspiring buyers cannot afford to get on to the property ladder. But I'm not sure I agree.

Fight the hike in mortgage fees

The Sunday Times needs your help to stop mortgage lenders slapping excessive exit fees on borrowers who switch their mortgage or pay it off early.

Lenders have been sneakily increasing these fees to boost their profits. The average exit fee has more than doubled from £115 in 2003 to £239 today.

A bad day for estate agents…

A BBC documentary last night exposed the sharp and sometimes illegal practices of a number of estate agents in London. But it wasn't just small independent operators that came under the spotlight, even Foxtons, the capital's largest estate agent, was shown to be systematically dishonest with branch managers and staff brazenly decieving buyers, sellers and landlords.

Wake up and ditch the coffee

Want to increase the price of your home and take years off your mortgage? Well, all you have to do is persuade your neighbours never to have children and stop drinking coffee.

Job done, flat sold, and £6,000 saved

Over the last five months, I have been blogging about my experience of selling my flat without an estate agent. In the last week, the sale completed

What is going on with house prices? Part 2

A few more straws in the wind today on the state of the housing market, although whether they assist in offering a clearer picture may depend on which part of the country you live in.

Because two estate agents based in London have published figures showing that in some areas, house prices in the capital rose by a soaraway 6 per cent month-on-month figure in January.

What exactly is going on with house prices?

After a series of surveys saying the property market has recovered strongly in the last few months the Halifax announces that prices fell in January.

So what on earth is going on?

Compare and save

Times Online has today launched an independent product comparison service listing the best-buy deals on mortgages, savings accounts, loans and credit cards

To fix or not to fix, that is the question...

Hopes of a fall in mortgage rates were dashed last week when the Bank of England kept the cost of borrowing unchanged at 4.5 per cent. So where now for interest rates?

Warning on equity release

The consumer group, Which?, has accused some mortgage lenders of “irresponsible advertising” over equity release schemes in a report published today

The end of the road for buy-to-let?

Buy-to-let investors could be forgiven for feeling confused. Two reports released over the past few days give conflicting views of the state of the market

HIP or hype?

Are HIPs hip? It will take more than a catchy acronym to convince homeowners that Home Information Packs, the weighty tomes that will add up to £1,000 to the cost of selling a property, are a good idea. But despite "industry whingeing" about the implementation of HIPs, there is a general feeling that they might just be worth it

House prices and the eccentric land lady

Sunday Times reader Jamie Freedland is not a happy man. Mr Freedland's blood boiled this weekend when he read the latest column from Rosie Millard on her experiences as a landlady

Are you well-endowed?

A reader has written in saying he has successfully claimed compensation for mis-selling on his mortgage endowment policy

Mortgages laid bare

In this property obsessed isle of ours a mortgage is an inescapable financial commitment. But half of us take our financial apathy to extremes by simply relying on our lender's standard variable rate. Cue the consumer champions at the Financial Services Authority, who have launched a new website called www.mortgageslaidbare.info.

In cahoots with Abbey

Everyone wants a slice of the lucrative mortgage market, it seems. Abbey's internet arm, cahoot, is to launch a mortgage range. Oddly, given its history as an online bank, cahoot's mortgages will only be available over the telephone. Less clicks 'n mortar (as the brave new world of online mortgages was branded at the height of the tech boom), more dial-a-mortgage.