Property with Potential weekly round up

Welcome to this week’s edition of our property news round up. Next week we will be covering all things budget, but this week we will be looking at a host of stories including a new Nationwide mortgage and what buyers will be looking at post-pandemic, so let’s get stuck in. And don’t forget we love to hear from you, so please leave your thoughts in the comments below.

What Will Buyers Want Post-Pandemic?

What changes will we see in the housing market post pandemic? Craig Fuller of Stacks Property Search believes that some elements of our Covid lives will remain imprinted and will change buyer behaviour for at least the next decade. People will continue to update their homes to suit a lockdown lifestyle, and will factor these elements into their priority lists when buying.

He says, “Working from home is the biggest shift, the idea that we will return to the old days of a non-negotiable 9–5, five days a week, seems unlikely. Anyone whose work revolves around a desk is likely to view properties with a firm eye on where a home-based desk will be”.

Properties with gardens will also be more popular as the pandemic has relit the ignition on outdoor space whether it be for growing veg or entertaining.

But, it goes without saying that excellent Broadband or 5G now features as an absolute non-negotiable priority for all home buyers.

What do you think the major changes will be?

The key to keeping town centres alive? Balancing commercial and residential

Property investment specialists Fabrik Invest have spoken out about the importance of balancing residential development in city centres with commercial premises in the post-pandemic world. City centres have been hit incredibly hard not only by successive lockdowns but also by the reduced footfall resulting from a far higher incidence of home working throughout the pandemic. According to Fabrik Invest, this puts an onus on developers and investors to take an active role in keeping urban centres alive.

“Our town and city centres were already struggling when the pandemic struck, with one in 12 shops closing in the five years to 2018. Yet town centres do so much to help communities connect. That’s something that has become infinitely more valuable as a result of the prolonged isolation of the pandemic. Developers have plenty of scope to help nurture our towns’ and cities’ growth and this needs to be a key focus moving forward.”

By March 2020, just 29% of high street addresses were retailers. Squeezed salaries and the shift to online shopping have been two of the key reasons behind this, both of which have been significantly exacerbated by the pandemic. The closure of offices and the shift to students studying online has intensified the problem, due to the huge drop in the number of those passing through town and city centres. For retail units, footfall is everything.

People’s changing preferences have also had an impact on town centres in recent years. While the pandemic has served to push people towards country living, that followed a boom in demand for city centre homes, which is likely to pick up once more as the vaccine roll-out continues and we look forward to a post-pandemic return to relatively normal life.

Want a healthier 2021? Add your own wellness suite to your home

So whilst this may not be for every property owner in the UK, more and more people are adding wellness suites to their homes.

Leading the UK market in its wellness endeavour is Klafs at Guncast, a partnership that sees the very best German design engineering partner with a luxury swimming pool specialist to deliver wellness suites to British clients — and it’s becoming more and more popular by the day.

Gilles Darmon, Director of Klafs at Guncast explains; “The health benefits of regular sauna use has made it a popular activity for over 2000 years, with the tradition thought to date back to 2,000 BC when it became prevalent across Northern Europe. It’s reported that 1 in 3 Finns still use them, and in the United States, there are thought to be over a million saunas. Klafs have been designing the highest quality saunas and wellness suites for almost a century, and UK clients are finally beginning to see the value of regular use.

“The past year has had many people striving for the ability to switch off, relax and really focus on both their physical and mental wellbeing — this has resulted in more people looking for regular access to the fantastic benefits a sauna can provide, but within their own home.”

Hands up who’d like their very own swimming pool and sauna?

Nationwide reduces mortgage rates and introduces new 60% LTV product

The Society is also launching a new 60% LTV mortgage with a £1,499 fee for house purchase, first-time buyers and existing customers moving home with a rate of 1.14%.

Rates on the society’s existing customer moving home and further advance ranges will continue to be aligned to the lowest rates Nationwide offers new customers. This range will see reductions of up to 0.15%.

Full details of all rates included in these latest changes can be found here.

Henry Jordan, Nationwide’s Director of Mortgages, said, “As the country’s second largest mortgage lender, it’s important we demonstrate to all types of borrower that Nationwide continues to offer a wide range of mortgages with some of the most competitive rates on the market. That is why we’re making these latest reductions across a variety of LTVs as well as extending our £1,499 fee product to now make it available to first-time buyers and house purchase.”

The rate reductions include:

• House Purchase: reductions of up to 0.20% on selected two and five-year fixed rates. This includes the five-year fixed rate at 60% LTV with a £999 fee reduced by 0.05% from 1.39% to 1.34%.
• First-time buyers: rates reduced by up to 0.10% on selected two and five-year fixed rates. This includes the two-year fixed rate at 90% LTV with a £999 fee reduced by 0.05% from 3.24% to 3.19%.
• Remortgage: selected two and five-year fixed rates reduced by up to 0.05%. This includes the five-year fixed rate at 60% LTV with a £999 fee reduced by 0.05% from 1.39% to 1.34%.
• Shared equity: five-year fixed rate at 75% LTV with no fee reduced by 0.05% from 2.29% to 2.24%.

Property of the week: The Fields Manor, Newport

Do you fancy a property that has been the star of tv and movies? Then this one is for you.

This property is Grade II listed and has been extensively renovated to create a stunning family home. It has all the mod cons including a double-garage with electric doors and a useful annexe that could easily be a gym, office or artists studio — ideal for working from home.

This property has it all including six large bedrooms, a wine cellar and a cinema room.

It’s on the market with Mr & Mrs Clarke.