All things green and a catch-up on the housing market

PROPERTY portal On the Market’s buyers and seller sentiment report reveals that a garden is top of the wishlist for would-be buyers, followed by parking and a double garage.

For those selling their home it is a reminder to ensure that gardens and yards look their best.

That means no plastic grass and plenty of real flowers and foliage, along with somewhere to sit and enjoy the great outdoors. Take a look at Instagram and Pinterest for ideas or tune in to TV’s Love Your Garden on catchup, which features Yorkshire’s own Alan Titchmarsh, who is always full of great ideas.

Talking of all things green and pleasant, Nationwide Building Society is increasing support for its mortgage holders who want to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.

It is reducing the interest rate on its Green Additional Borrowing offer to zero per cent.

This will launch on June 1 and will enable up to 5,000 households with a Nationwide mortgage to borrow £5,000-£15,000 up to a maximum of 90 per cent Loan-toValue across the two or five-year product term.

A spokesperson says: “With the UK’s 29 million homes producing some 16 per cent of the country’s emissions and a commitment to reach the net zero target by 2050, Nationwide’s approach aims to contribute towards that goal through retrofitting properties.”

Henry Jordan, director of home at Nationwide Building Society, said: “Residential properties are one of the biggest causes of emissions and there is a need for more to be done by government and business to encourage households to act.

“A key barrier to making homes more energy efficient is not only the upfront costs associated with retrofitting, but also the payback period of making such changes.

“It’s clear to us that only meaningful incentives will help shift behaviour.

“Creating a greener society is a shared goal and we need to make it as easy as possible for households to play their part.”

The Nationwide also reports that house prices rose by 0.5 per cent in April after seven consecutivemonthsoffalls.

The Bank of England’s mortgage approvals for house purchases, an indicator of future borrowing, are also rising, although they remain below the monthly average for last year.

Jason Tebb, CEO of property portal On the Market, says: “A period of relative normality and stability will be extremely welcome after all the ups and downs of the past few months. “People move for different reasons and are steadily getting on with the business of moving.

“Despite the recent upheaval, soaring inflation, the rising cost of living and higher mortgage rates, things are settling down and instead of peaks and troughs, the market has transformed into something more consistent.

“It would be fair to say that it has rebalanced and looks as though it’s set for ‘business as usual’ going forwards.”

Over at Knight Frank, head of UK residential research, Tom

Bill, says that the UK housing market is once again becoming a political football.

“The recent local election contests showed that housing will be an emotive battleground ahead of the next General Election, which is likely to take place in 2024.

“Tackling what are largely economic problems with politicallymotivated solutions doesn’t have a great track record.

“This can produce unintended consequences, which is evident today in the lettings market.”