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The 10 most affordable costal towns

There are thousands of towns dotted along Britain's coastline, from picturesque fishing ports to fading Victorian resorts. There is often a costly premium placed on homes with a sea view and some of the most exclusive postcodes in the country, such as Sandbanks, in Dorset, are on the water. However, there are still seaside towns where you can buy a home without breaking the bank. Here are Times Money's ten most affordable coastal towns.

The 10 regions where house sales are picking up quickest

Two housing surveys this month showed conflicting signs of the market’s health – Halifax said that house prices fell by 0.5 per cent in June, while Nationwide said that prices rose by 0.9 per cent in the same month.

While experts remain divided over whether the market has bottomed out yet, there is little doubt that housing sales are picking up, even if it is from a low base. Completed sales in May were at their highest since October 2008, according to recent figures from HM Revenue & Customs.

Stephen Watson, of Agency Express, the UK’s largest "For sale" board company, said: “Confidence is definitely returning and we have seen a step-change in the number of properties being sold right across the UK.

“But we are not out of the woods yet. The number of properties sold in June is still significantly behind the monthly average we saw in 2007 and it is likely to take a another couple of years for a full recovery to take place.”

Here are the ten places in the UK with the most “Sold” boards outside properties in June – showing the percentage increase from May.

The top ten buy-to-let hotspots

 

Buy-to-let landlords have been hard hit by the property crash, along with private homeowners. But one small silver lining in the generally gloomy outlook is that, with property prices coming down faster than rental values, yields are actually rising for many purchasers of rental property.

With the help of PropertyEarth.net, Times Money has compiled a list of the ten towns or boroughs with the highest yields for buy-to-let investors.They are spread right aross the country, from Scotland to Shropshire and from Newcastle to Neath, in Wales.

London house prices- find out how your borough has fared

Property prices in London have fallen by almost 21 per cent over the last year, according to the latest Halifax house price index, declining at a faster rate than the the rest of the UK, which recorded an average 17.7 per cent drop. The average home in London cost £237,408 in the first quarter of 2009, compared with £300,142 in the first quarter of 2008.

But not all boroughs have suffered equally, with some areas in London witnessing a rise in house prices between April 2008 and April 2009, as figures from rightmove.co.uk, the property website, show below.

The 10 most expensive repossessed properties

In a sign that the recession is now hitting the ultra wealthy, estate agents have reported a rise in the number of repossessed mansions for sale.

The number of repossessions is expected to hit 75,000 this year, and some of these are already at the highest end of the market as formerly wealthy homeowners lose their bonuses and jobs.

Here we list five expensive repossessions sold recently - and five currently for sale.

The top 10 locations for holiday homes in the UK

The number of people buying second homes increased by 2.6 per cent last year, according to Savills, despite the recession and housing crash.

The number of second homes in England has now reached a record high of 245,000. Whilst this may be a welcome boost to the housing market, residents of picturesque villages in Cornwall or Hampshire may be dismayed by the increasing number of second home buyers, who are often criticised for contributing more to rising house prices than to their community.

Here are the ten places in England with the largest percentage of holiday homes.

House price falls: A region-by-region breakdown

 

 

House prices have fallen by an average of 17.7 per cent over the last year, taking prices down to levels not seen for five years, according to the Halifax. The average home now costs £154,716, down from a peak of more than £200,000 in September 2007. However, the national average figures masked widespread regional variations.

Here is a list of the percentage decline from the first quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of 2009 for each region in the UK.

The 10 places where asking prices are falling the most

 

The latest figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) prompted a flood of stories this week suggesting that a house price recovery is not far off.

RICS said that the number of new buyer inquiries rose for the fifth consecutive month in March and at the fastest pace since September 2003. The increase in demand led to a rise in sales, raising hopes for an end to falling house prices.

The 10 towns where house prices are still rising

 

Many parts of the UK have started to see asking prices increase this month in comparison to February, according to Rightmove.co.uk, the property search website. But is this a sign of housing market recovery – or are sellers merely pricing unrealistically? We tracked down estate agents in the 10 locations where prices increased the most to establish the truth.

Win £25: How over-valued are asking prices?

    

Each Saturday as part of Times Money's expanded consumer affairs section, we publish your questions and invite other readers to suggest solutions. 

This week Lawrence Brown wrote to us. He says: "I have an inheritence of £200,000 that becomes available to me this year, on my 25th birthday. I want to use the money to get on the housing ladder in London. With property prices low now seems like a good time to buy, but I would hate to go for it and then watch house prices fall farther.

Should I hold on to my money for a few more months? And if I do buy now, how much below the asking price can I get away with offering as a cash buyer in this climate? Any thoughts would be gratefully received." 

A selection of the best responses will be published in Times Money on Saturday March 14, with the star answer receiving £25 of vouchers. 

Friday linkage: the latest property market and house price reports

- It’s back to 2004, as the housing market collapse cancels out five years of growth according to Nationwide (on the other side of the pond, they're back down to 2003 levels). But figures hide the rise of the cash buyer. Check out this graphic which gives an interesting snapshot of what's happening to house prices nationwide.

- So when will house prices hit the bottom? Here a panel of experts  give their opinions on the state of the market. Are those green shoots we can see?

- Generation Rent: is home ownership falling out of favour? Anne Ashworth looks at how young would-be buyers without cash to climb on to the property ladder are forced to rent property from older, cash-rich people who have become landlords

- Here's an interesting post on the intrinsic value of property 'Is there any value in valuing housing?' from the Brickonomics blog

- According to property search engine Globrix, 5,467 properties were cut in price in January by an average of £17,827

- And this just in from The Telegraph: Nearly 4 million home owners are already in negative equity, researchers say

Video analysis: house prices fall 18% - it's bargain time for cash buyers

House prices fall 18% - the report in full

Video analysis: Northern Rock's return to the mortgage market

Need to Know - top business stories, daily business videos, and interactive heatmap

The 10 places where house prices are likely to fall the most

 

Some parts of the UK still have a long way to go before house prices bottom out, according to property experts. National figures mask widespread regional variations – some towns may already be on the road to recovery, whilst others will continue falling throughout 2009. 

Here are the ten places where property experts predict prices will plummet the most - with a price fall prediction from Henry Pryor of housingexpert.net.

e-Poll: Should the Government ban 100 per cent mortgages?

Gordon Brown courted controversy this weekend when he said that the Government would like to ban 100 per cent mortgages. These type of home loans are considered reckless by some as they do not require the borrower to save for a deposit. However, others argue that competitive 100 per cent mortgages are needed to help reduce the costs of borrowers already in negative equity. What do you think of these  loans? Watch our video above and then vote in the e-Poll and leave your comments below.

 

Online Surveys & Market Research

The top 20 British property profiles on Twitter

Twitter is a great way to keep up with property blogs, news and the buzz. Here's a round-up of Twitter's best British property profiles - let us know if we've missed your favourites:

Mortgage calculator: when is it worth paying early repayment charges?

Mortgage early repayment charges can sound expensive, but sometimes it's worth paying the penalties and move to a new deal with a lower rate. Switching could lower your monthly mortgage payments and so offset  the early repayment charge. This online mortgage calculator, made for us by London & Country Mortgages, will work out the interest rate you would need to be paying in order to make remortgaging beneficial.

NEW: Can't decide whether to rent or buy? Check out our new mortgage calculator

Click here to shop around for the best mortgage deals

e-Poll: How much further will house prices fall?

This morning came the surprising news that house prices (well asking prices) edged up in January. Rightmove, the estate agent website, said that prices increased 1.2 per cent last month, although Miles Shipside, the company's commercial director, seemed almost a little embarrassed by this revelation, commenting that it was "false optimism". He said that estate agents were bidding up asking prices to attract new properties because of a lack of supply.

But coming after Halifax reported that house prices rose in January, are we now at the bottom of the market? Have your say by voting in our e-Poll and commenting below.

Online Surveys & Market Research

The 10 towns where house prices will bounce back first

NEW: Can't decide whether to rent or buy? Check out our new mortgage calculator

There's nothing like a graph to tell a story, and this one created by the clever boffins at Times Labs using Nationwide figures, shows the dizzying highs and lows of property values since 1973. But where will the line go next?

Property websites recorded a surge of activity in the first few weeks of this year, estate agents had a busier January than previous months and Halifax even reported a small rise in house prices. Some experts were quick to point out that these rises came from record lows, and  house prices are still expected to fall by 10 per cent this year. However, others suggest that this could be evidence of pent-up demand.

So which areas are attracting the most attention from would-be buyers? Here are the top 10 most searched for postcodes on Rightmove, the UK's largest property website, in the first two weeks of January.

It is worth remembering that Rightmove measures asking rather than sales prices. On that basis it puts the average UK house price at £213,570. Halifax, by comparison, measures sale prices and puts the average figure in January at £163,966.

The 10 places where it is cheaper to buy than rent

 

NEW: Can't decide whether to rent or buy? Check out our new mortgage calculator

House prices may have fallen by 16 per cent over the past twelve months, but it is still cheaper for first-time buyers to rent a home rather than buy one in most parts of Britain, according to research from Propertyfinder.com.