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Despite the current gloom in the housing market, house seller have put their asking prices up.
In a recent survey www.RightMove.co.uk found that 9 out of 10 possible sellers believe that now is not a good time to sell. However this has not stopped people putting their houses on the market at higher prices, despite reports in the media that house prices may fall even more.
Miles Shipside from RightMove says “In spite of 25,000 out of 28,000 potential homemovers in the Rightmove Survey stating it was a bad time to sell, sellers appear to have ignored their fellow homemovers’ assessment of market conditions and put prices up.
While sellers have been more conservative in their New Year bullishness than last year, they may regret not pricing more aggressively to capitalise on the spring surge in buyer interest.
Sales are being achieved at around 25% below peak prices, yet new sellers coming to market are starting out asking an average of only 10% less.
Serious sellers need to set their initial asking price more realistically to get one up on the competition and take advantage of increasing numbers of bargain-hunters who have set their own price floor ahead of the return of mainstream purchasers.”
“New sellers are 45% down compared to February last year. In spite of these being ideal trading-up conditions, discretionary sellers are being deterred by uncertainty over mortgage finance and employment, while pending repossessions were delayed by an informal Christmas amnesty.
Repossessions are still concentrated in relatively few areas of the country, though unfortunately record numbers are rumoured to be in the pipeline with some auction houses scheduling several ‘pile them high’ auctions
The availability of good quality property at distressed sale prices is likely to present a wider choice for owner-occupiers as opposed to just investors.”
I keep saying it..its a good time to buy. Go an grab a bargain and come talk to me about a mortgage
Michael
01276 670777
The Bank of England has reduced interest rates to a record low of 1% from 1.5%.
Back in October last year, the Bank of England rate was 5%.
Great news for house buyers, especially with tracker mortgages, but of course bad news for savers.
Of course this is the 5th interest rate cut in five months and I believe this will help to stimulate the housing market.
Already I have seen some loosening in the market and some banks are willing to listen and offer mortgages.
The media/press continue to churn out the bad news, which is not helping, but we as independent mortgage brokers are making headway and getting mortgages for our clients, today, this week, YES THIS WEEK.
I’m not saying its easy, but we are constantly in contact, on a daily basis with banks and building societies checking on the latest deals around.
It may suprise you to know that certain banks and building societies put out offers for just a couple of days, before withdrawing them after selling the multiple that they wanted… Thats where we come in and win as independents, because we hunt out the latest deals.
I do feel sorry for the savers, but with interest rates lower, those on tracker mortgages especially, have benefitted by having reduced mortgages, meaning these mortgage holders will have more money to spend in the local and national economy, which is good for us all.
So with all the savings you have made on your mortgage, go spend some in the local restaurants and shops and do your bit, but don’t spend it all, save some, put it into Gold, prices still going up and you can invest in a gold bar for less that £80….
If you would like to change your mortgage to a tracker or fixed rate, give me a call 01276 670777
Michael
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In a previous life I was a DJ.
I have decided to put on a disco in aid of the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice on Saturday 2009 at the Pine Ridge Golf Club in Camberley.
You can find all the details here, but I also made a couple of videos with my brother Sean, where we discuss the Auction, Raffle, who is coming and some of the songs we might play on the night
PART 1
Part 2
was a
We’re big fans of the Gurkhas here at Michael Usher Mortgage services and we have many clients who are Nepalese and have settled here in the Uk after serving in our armed forces.
So this is good news from the Associated press
Prince Harry made honorary Gurkha
Prince Harry has been made an honorary Gurkha by the fearsome Nepalese warriors he served with in Afghanistan, a Gurkha fighter said.
The renowned soldiers paid the royal officer the ultimate tribute by presenting him with a Kukri – their dreaded combat knife – as a token of their esteem.
Lance Corporal Bhim Garbuja, 25, from the 1st Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR) served under Harry in Helmand Province earlier this year and described him as a favourite among the troops.
They even cooked the young royal super hot goat curries with meat sourced from the Afghan army as a treat.
The Prince of Wales, Colonel in Chief of the RGR, flew into Brunei to meet Lnc Cpl Garbuja and his Battalion colleagues stationed in the Sultanate as part of his tour of the Far East with the Duchess of Cornwall.
Speaking about presenting the Prince with a Kukri the Nepalese soldier said: “We felt he deserved it, he is a good officer and we worked under his command.”.
Harry, 24, an officer in Household Cavalry Regiment, went to Helmand Province in December last year to work as a Forward Air Controller, serving at Garmsir in southern Helmand and Musa Qaleh. But his four-month deployment was cut short after 10 weeks, when a news blackout broke down at the end of February.
Captain Surya Gurung from the 1st Battalion summed up the importance of the gift to the young royal, he said: “We don’t normally give it as a present to people.
“Those who we give it to, it’s because they have earned it themselves. They gave it to the Prince because of his support, friendship and work with us. For us it’s not necessarily because he is a Prince, it was because he was so liked by the soldiers. He contributed to the camp and raised the morale of the boys.
“He should consider himself hereafter a Gurkha. I see him as a Gurkha officer because he was there in that particular time of operations in the front line – that really mattered.”
Joanna Lumley and Me-The Truth
I have always fancied Joanna Lumley, well what hot blooded Male wouldn’t.
A former glamour model and of course famous actress, famous first of all for her part in the “New Avengers” television series from the 70′s.
But apart from fancying her, I also have something in common with her..THE TRUTH… She has the interest of the Gurkhas in her heart and I have many Nepalese clients, who are mostly ex Gurkhas who want to settle in this country after serving in battle zones around the world, protecting our interests.
I don’t want to get into the politics of whether we should be in some of those places we are at the moment, but the point is, we should try and support the ex-gurkha soldiers, especially those who served our country in the past.
There is a on-going campaign for these ex-soldiers and you can find out more details here www.gurkhajustice.org.uk They are not looking for handouts, but they are looking for signatures.
Please visit their site and sign up… and here is the lovely Joanna who has made a brief video showing on YouTube.com