callé

thanks Jumping Doris.
Yes I do plan to start out near family in Stoke on Trent, but that will be renting anyway. Of course my dream would be to be able to buy in Devon as I am from Plymouth. But it seems everyone agrees the south is too high priced. . The most important thing though is just being home in England so as you say maybe we will be able to find something in a different area. I dont really mind that at all. my only concern would be not in a drug infested area as I have teens.
Maybe some more areas will start looking at the idea from the lake district. Sounds fair to me! And it would not bother us to find something that needs a little work. My husband can plaster, tile, repipe, and just about anything else. And I'm a good watcher!
Thanks for your reply and good luck to you as well.

jumping doris

I really like Stoke on Trent. We have spent a lot of time on the canals both in the city and in the surrounding area. I'm not an expert on UK property but like most homeowners ,I watch property prices and there are always reports in newspapers about which areas are up and comming. I would think Stoke, like most cities has its expensive areas but I would have thought you might still pick up a bargain. Re drugs: I have teenagers and it is a worry. My area is "middle class" but it still has drugs. The main thing is the schools and police here acknowledge there is a potential problem and so there is a lot of drugs education and the police make random checks with the sniffer dogs. As a result drugs are not as big a problem as they could be. In some schools and areas they refuse to admit that they might have a problem and don't do as much and then they tend to actually have a bigger problem. The worst thing for teens here in UK is drink. Have you looked at the school league tables for your area? That will tell you a lot about the school and can also give you a fairly good idea of the type of area the school is in.

callé

Hi. No I dont think I have looked at the school league tables. not sure what you mean. I have gone to a few school websites to try to find out a few things about the schools individualy. That has really only showed the curriculum for instance and not anything about the area.
Thats really good that your area seems to be involved in recognising the drug problem and doing something to try to curtail it. And yes I have been reading about the drink problem. Maybe since it's getting some more attention now, they will get a little stricter on teens drinking.
I hope you are right about being able to pick up a bargain on the housing market. We will certainly be looking for one.!

jumping doris

The League tables are comparisons of all schools and their performance in the SATs. They are usually grouped by Education Authority so you might look under Stoke or staffordshire. As a very general rule of thumb the schools at the top of the league tables are more desirable and sadly property tends to be more expensive near that school but they are often in nicer areas. I'll probably be slaughtered for saying this but what the hell....the schools at the bottom of the tables generally are in less desirable areas. try this link
www.dfes.gov.uk/performancetables

odaat

stealth tax alert .... !

Council tax bombshell
By Ross Lydall, Local Government Correspondent, Evening Sandard
2 February 2005

Thousands of council tax payers are today threatened with huge rises in their bills.

New research reveals the tax could soar by £300 or more in 60 areas in London and the South-East.

Residents whose homes have risen fastest in value since 1991 will be most at risk when the "banding" system used to calculate bills goes through a major overhaul this year.

At present, councils calculate payments on the basis of how much a home was worth in 1991. But the Government has ordered a reassessment to bring the system into line with changes in the housing market in the last 14 years.

Figures revealed today by the Liberal Democrats suggest the South-East will be hardest hit. They found that areas such as Kingston and Teddington in south-west London, Witham in Essex and Whitstable in Kent have seen house price rises well above the national average.

Estate agents believe some properties could jump two or even three bands, which could add in excess of £600 to annual levies.

Merlot

Start of the house price cool down?

M

TTRTR

You all need to get ahead of the game when it comes to selling your houses

see that others are saying about you here

good job that I sold last year

odaat

Not just a case of getting ahead of the game - more like getting the proverbial neck to stop protruding so far and risk a savage loss as a result of thinking "denial" is a river in Egypt !!!


odaat

spottydog

Land Registry firgures for October to December 2004 are out today and can be checked at www.landreg.gov.uk.

These figures contain all properties registered during the period rather than just those with a mortgage.

odaat

In summary ....

HOUSE prices across England and Wales fell 2.7 per cent in the final quarter of last year, according to official figures today that give the first formal confirmation of the property downturn.

The official Land Registry data, seen as the most comprehensive and reliable gauge of market conditions, suggest that the slide in house prices in the closing months of last year was somewhat deeper than survey evidence suggested.

The figures, along with other data this morning hinting that the strength of consumer demand may be waning, will reinforce the City’s belief that interest rates will remain on hold again this week.

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee begins its two-day rate-setting meeting tomorrow amid widespread predictions from analysts that it will stay its hand.

The Land Registry’s numbers are based on average prices for all housing transactions completed during each quarter. This means that they give a more detailed and in-depth picture of housing market activity but are produced only after considerable delay.

This morning’s figures point to widespread and significant falls in prices across England and Wales, as well as to a slump in transactions as the property market came off the boil in the second half of last year.

The 2.7 per cent average decline in prices between the third and fourth quarters reported today was driven by falls in the value of homes in seven out of ten regions.

The turnaround in the market was emphasised by the change from a 6.7 per cent price gain estimated for the previous three month period.

Only Wales, where prices saw a further quarterly rise of 1 per cent, bucked the negative trend, while prices in East Anglia and the East Midlands stagnated.

The sharpest quarterly falls in average prices came in London, where they fell by 3.7 per cent, in the South East, with a drop of 2.6 per cent, and in the North West, with a decline of 2.8 per cent.

The deterioration in market conditions was also highlighted by a drop of a more than quarter in the number of houses changing hands logged by the Registry.

Across England and Wales the volume of transactions fell from 309,101 in the third quarter to 229,7245 in the following three months. Transactions dropped by more than a fifth in every region and in London they plunged by 29.4 per cent.

The gap between the Registry data and slightly more positive survey evidence is probably explained by differences in the mix of houses included, the timing of transactions and the averaging of the Registry’s numbers.

The averaging process may give more weight to big drops in high-value homes in certain regions, where surveys such as those from the Halifax and Nationwide Building Society contain more sophisticated adjustments to try to give a clearer picture of overall trends.

The Registry figures, since they record completions, reflect house moves that began some months ago, where surveys offer a more timely barometer of activity.

The most recent Nationwide and Halifax surveys reported that prices rose in January. Along with a rise in mortgage approvals, these boosted hopes that the market’s slide may be easing.

If the LR stats continue to follow a downward trend - the spring bounce could well be a very awkward "flop" - keep your readies in the bank, 2006 could well be a time for feasting on cheap prop sales - buyers will have their day at last

psb182

[QUOTE=odaat]In summary ....

HOUSE prices across England and Wales fell 2.7 per cent in the final quarter of last year, according to official figures today that give the first formal confirmation of the property downturn.

The official Land Registry data, seen as the most comprehensive and reliable gauge of market conditions, suggest that the slide in house prices in the closing months of last year was somewhat deeper than survey evidence suggested.

The figures, along with other data this morning hinting that the strength of consumer demand may be waning, will reinforce the City’s belief that interest rates will remain on hold again this week.

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee begins its two-day rate-setting meeting tomorrow amid widespread predictions from analysts that it will stay its hand.

The Land Registry’s numbers are based on average prices for all housing transactions completed during each quarter. This means that they give a more detailed and in-depth picture of housing market activity but are produced only after considerable delay.

This morning’s figures point to widespread and significant falls in prices across England and Wales, as well as to a slump in transactions as the property market came off the boil in the second half of last year.

The 2.7 per cent average decline in prices between the third and fourth quarters reported today was driven by falls in the value of homes in seven out of ten regions.




where do you see that???

odaat

[QUOTE=psb182] By Gary Duncan, Economics Editor
Timesonline business section

ThePocket

Quote from the Sunday Herald, 18th Jan 2004 ....

A British PM might not, but Scotland’s First Minister just might. Jack McConnell is wide open to new ideas on reversing the population decline. He has good reason to be worried. In the 2001 census Scotland’s population was 5,062,011, a fall of 2% since 1981, and it is expected to fall below five million by 2010. McConnell has latched on to Hunter’s ideas to bring economic and political migrants into Scotland to solve the growing crisis in the working population. He already has his officials engaged in serious negotiations with the Home Office (which controls immigration policy in the UK) to find ways of attracting skilled immigrants to Scotland.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/3667271.stm