PORTSMOUTH RESIDENTIAL MARKET REPORT – FEBRUARY 2020

Welcome to the February market report, where we cover the following topics.

Portsmouth Homeowners £1,047,060,300 Windfall Since 2014

In the latest, and most recently published, set of UK mortgage data (for the month of November 2019) 18,470 pound-for-pound re-mortgages were made (i.e. the borrower went from one rate to another with no additional borrowing).

Looking at statistics from the Bank of England for the UK as a whole, even with the data mentioned above, British property owners have increased the equity in their homes by just over £270 billion since 2010 compared with a £275 billion withdrawal during the 2000s. This reveals that the last decade (the 2010’s) is the first since records began in which Brits have increased their equity. This is partly due to the fact that the number of housing transactions crumpled during the Credit Crunch, and many homeowners chose to reduce their mortgages, rather than continually increasing them – even if their property started going up in value after 2013.

However, since the 1970’s, the British have seen their homes as cash cows and cash machines, with many homeowners re-mortgaging at the end of their mortgage’s introductory term (usually after the initial two, three or five years) to avoid being passed on to their mortgage lender’s more expensive standard variable rate.

Portsmouth Landlord’s £32.5m Tax Bill

I am asking Penny Mordaunt and Stephen Morgan the Conservative and Labour (respectively) MP’s for Portsmouth North and Portsmouth South to remind the Chancellor Sajid Javid and Prime Minster Boris Johnson to use their persuasive skills to highlight and take a more holistic approach and attitude to the private rented sector and tackle issues which affect a Portsmouth landlords’ capability and capacity to strategically run an effective buy-to-let business.