Tim, Andy and their wife’s had a very enjoyable evening attending the Radio Pembrokeshire Local Hero Awards on Thursday 25^th February. 1 STOP Financial Services sponsored the Volunteer of the Year and were delighted to spend the evening with the winner Jenni Blair.

 It was very humbling to be at the presentations where local people of all ages were presented with the following awards:

Contribution to the Community Award with Chevron, Pembroke Refinery

• Youth Group of the Year with McDonalds
• Outstanding Bravery Award with The Tenby Observer
• Young Achiever of the Year with Milford Haven Port Authority
• Good Neighbour Award with The Giltar Hotel, Tenby
• Volunteer of the Year with 1 Stop Financial Services, Haverfordwest
• Young Carer of the Year with West Wales Properties
• Adult Carer of the Year with Harris Brothers Tyres
• Contribution to Charity Award with Murco
• Adult Achiever of the Year with South Hook LNG
• Dad of the Year with Folly Farm
• Mum of the Year with Folly Farm

The evening was hosted by Ben & Gareth from Radio Pembrokehire who both done a fantastic job of keeping the evening flowing.

1 STOP Financial Services are very pleased to be associated with the awards and support the local hero’s in our community, for the hard work and dedication they provide.

According to Nationwide House Price Index for November 2009, house prices increased by 0.5% – the same rate as in October.

The Lender also reports that year-on-year house price inflation has increased from 2.0% to 2.7%, and states that the Labour market has so far held up better than expected this year.

Commenting on the figures Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, said:

“The monthly rate of house price inflation for November is at a seasonally adjusted 0.5%, leaving the average price of a typical property 2.7% higher than a year earlier. At £162,764, the average house price is at a similar level to where it was in early 2006.

The 3 month on 3 month rate of change – generally a smoother indicator of the near term trend – dropped to 2.8% from 3.5% in October and 3.8% in September. This suggests that house prices are now rising at a more moderate pace than in the spring and summer months, when they experienced a very strong bounce from the early 2009 lows.

“The outlook for the housing market remains crucially dependent on labour market conditions, and here recent developments have been somewhat more encouraging than might have been expected.

With the UK experiencing its longest and deepest recession since WWII, most economists expected unemployment to increase very sharply in 2009, perhaps breaching the psychologically important three million mark by the end of the year.

While unemployment has indeed increased noticeably, the rise has not been as rapid and pronounced as previously feared. Based on the latest labour market figures from September, it now looks unlikely that the jobless total will reach three million before the year is up.”

According to the Halifax House Price Index, house prices have gone up for the third consecutive month.

The Index shows that house prices rose by 1.6% in September. Over the last 3 months (Quarter 3) they have risen by 2.8%, the first quarterly rise for two years (2007 Quarter 3) and the biggest since 2007 Quarter 1 (2.9%).

It is the third consecutive month house prices have gone up, giving an annual change of -7.4%, up from a low of -17.7% in April.

Martin Ellis, housing economist, said: “The combination of increased demand and a low level of properties available for sale has pushed up house prices in recent months. The marked improvement in affordability due to the reduction in both property prices and interest rates since mid 2007 has been a key factor in stimulating higher demand.”

“Continuing increases in unemployment and low earnings growth are likely to constrain the rise in demand. There are also some signs that the improvement in market conditions is encouraging more people to put their properties up for sale. This development could loosen market conditions by alleviating the current shortage of supply and curb the pace of house price growth evident in recent months.”

Nationwide House price index has shown that House prices rose by 0.9% in September, this is the fifth monthly rise in a row.  According to the index price growth is down just –2.7% compared to last year, but down -13.5% since the market peaked in October 2007.

Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, said: “The 3 month on 3 month rate of change, generally a smoother indicator of the near term trend, rose from 3.3% in August to 3.8% in September, the highest level since August 2004.

He added: “At £161,816, the average price of a typical UK property was essentially unchanged from a year earlier, representing the first time since March 2008 that the year-on-year rate of change has not been negative. Over the first nine months of 2009, the seasonally adjusted index of house prices has risen by 4.1%.”

“One reason to remain cautious about the outlook for house prices is that turnover in the market is still well below normal levels. The housing turnover rate – measuring the percentage of the private sector housing stock changing hands on an annualised basis – fell to only 3% at the end of 2008. Although the turnover rate has since recovered to nearly 4%, there is still quite some way to go before turnover reaches the pre-downturn level of between 7% and 8%.

Michael White, chief executive of online mortgage advisers Email Mortgages.com, said: “To talk of an average UK house price is always something of a red herring given the UK is very much a regional housing market – some homeowners, for example, those in the London commuter belt, will have seen their property bounce back strongly since the large falls of last year, while others have only seen a slight house price recovery.  One must expect that the recent house price increases, if they are to be maintained at all, will only be in very small increments and this will be the pattern for the foreseeable future.”

White said “the real issue for the UK housing market continues to be the low level of mortgage lending by the banks; a recent Bank of England Credit Conditions Survey for quarter three outlines what anyone working in the mortgage market has known for some time, that lenders have not increased lending to businesses or individuals as previously promised, instead lending has been cut.  Given the small number of lenders currently active in the market it is therefore unsurprising that many potential house purchases are not going ahead because of the difficulty accessing mortgage finance; a particularly acute problem for first-time buyers.”

According to Rightmove’s September House Price Index, the average asking prices for property is rising and the market is seeing its lowest stock levels for 18 months, with 10 properties coming off the market for every 8 coming on.
The onset of the Autumn moving season sees new sellers asking an average 0.6% more for their properties. Rightmove has also recorded the lowest average stock levels per branch for 18 months, with 29% more properties coming off the market than coming to the market. The lack of choice in popular areas and high deposit requirements are combining to deter existing home owners from taking advantage of more buoyant market conditions to trade up.

Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove, comments: “There’s an Autumn window for new sellers where a sensible asking price combined with this better market could get you traded up into your next home before Christmas. Some would-be sellers may be concerned by the limited choice of suitable property currently available, and will have to decide whether to take a chance on finding something fresh to the market after they have found a buyer.

This increases the risk and stress of moving, but with choice getting increasingly limited in popular areas they need to have a buyer lined up to improve their chances of securing their next home”.

The brisker market continues to erode stock levels as sold or withdrawn property is removed from the, market. One agent’s summary of trading conditions in August was: “Sales awesome, new listings dreadful”.

New seller numbers are averaging around 23,000 a week, giving a run rate of around 1.2 million a year. Historic figures from Rightmove show that potential buyers have previously enjoyed a choice from around 2 million properties a year. With 151,591 properties measured as coming off the market this month, it is easy to see why property scarcity in popular areas is underpinning price levels.