What's more exciting, the solar eclipse or the budget?
If you didn’t know the budget came out this week, then you must have been living in a cave with no electricity (and probably won’t be reading this blog either!)
The main thing to note in relation to property is the help to buy ISA which offers a 25% return on funds invested up to £12,000. The obvious fear is the inflation of house prices that will ensue. As a potential first time buyer, dragging themselves from flat to flat, competing against cash-buyer investors – it becomes very apparent that it’s a tough world out there if you want to find a home.
Estate Agents are all too aware that a first time buyer such as myself, will become gazumped by a cash purchaser in a lot of different areas. In theory, this help to buy scheme sounds great, greater deposit, means a greater mortgage, and more leverage when putting in an offer – but what I really want to know, is how much of a difference will this £3,000 make in practice?
When discussing this round the dinner table, it becomes apparent, that the incentive, is not the £3000, the incentive is the phenomenal returns on savings, which for people currently battling high rents, is a real help. Low interest rates imposed by the MPC mean that savers are realising very low returns, however this is one way of aligning savings with the extortionate property growth experienced in recent years.
An article in the Telegraph points to the rental market in London at present, and how competitive “ordinary Londoners” are becoming in their haste to find a home., with a record 40 minutes from marketing a property, to being let… with the tenant not even visiting the property prior to paying the £10,000 deposit. In terms of markets – this is a very exciting time to be involved in buy-to-let… however as a tenant or a home buyer, it can prove a little challenging at times – which is nice to be recognised.
As for the other parts of the budget – cheaper pints, so that savers can drown their sorrows, or have the dutch courage to do something different with their savings. Research into aggressive seagulls should appeal to anyone holidaying in the UK this year, as they can enjoy their pasty, ice cream or stick of rock without an unexpected attack…
Lets be really honest here – the budget never makes a huge difference to any one particular individual overnight, except for the politicians writing the budget and the competing parties in the run up to the elections. For those who found themselves in most parts of London today, the budget was the equivalent to the eclipse – a lot of excitement, but very little really happened.
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