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According to a report issued by Halifax Insurance, Northampton has been voted as Britain’s bling capital. In a survey of the nation’s jewellery boxes, Halifax found that the average Northampton resident wears £469 worth of bling every day. On the heels of Northampton in the bling stakes is Glasgow where the locals are usually wearing £468 worth of jewels.

Prior to this survey, Northampton was typically known for its shoemaking industry. Northampton is still considered the place to go for prestige shoes. Among the current leading names in the industry is Church’s English Shoes, based in St James, which employs around 400 people. Shoes from Church’s were even used in the Da Vinci Code movie. This is a family run business established in 1873 and is majority owned by Prada.

There are a number of well priced and relatively affordable homes in the Northampton area. A large 2 bedroom home could be purchased for under £200,000.

Latest statistics revealed by the NHBC show that there were 37,839 applications aimed at starting new homes in the three months from January to March 2008 - a 30 per cent decrease on the same three month period a year ago. From that total, 29,137 related to private sector activity (i.e. excluding housing associations), illustrating a 34 per cent decrease on the same period in 2007. Thus there is a significant decrease in the number of applications from home builders to start building new homes.

Imtiaz Farookhi, NHBC Chief Executive, says: “The figures for the first quarter of this year clearly reflect a toughening market. The biggest decreases in new home starts were seen in Northern Ireland and the North East, where figures showed a year-on year decrease of 65 and 60 per cent respectively for the quarter.”

The total number of completions have also been on the decrease since January 2008. HNBC statistics for the first quarter of the year show a fall of 14% in number of completions when compared to the data from last year.

The current property market is at an all time low. House prices keep falling and a number of people in the UK are looking to rent instead of buying. There are definite benefits to renting versus buying a property. The top five reasons why renting might be a preferrable option to owning are outlined below:

1. Unless you plan to live in the house for more than 5 years, you run the risk of losing money. Five years of renting can be significantly cheaper than buying a property.
2. Renters can live in neighbourhoods they might not have been able afford to buy.
3. Renting allows you a peace of mind in terms of your budget as if the roof is leaking or the heater is broken, that is the landlord’s problem and not yours.
4. As a renter you can sample life in a luxury apartment with porterage, or live in a Victorian home in the suburbs or even move to a seaside town outside the city.
5. Renting allows you the freedom of packing up and going-all you need to do is give your 30 days notice.

When you rent, you can pick up and move almost whenever you want, with very little penalty but when you own, selling a home can take a very long time. You lose flexibility when you “put down your roots” and that can be one of the main factors why renting is seen as a better option to owning your home.

According to Liam Bailey, Head of Residential Research at Knight Frank, prices for housing in prime central London housing market remained unchanged in April with a barely noticeable growth rate of 0.1%. The overarching trend over the last few months is one of continuing slowdown, with a modest inflation rate of 0.8%; the lowest rate of growth since February 2005.

According to research carried out by Knight Frank, prime property prices have risen by 17.3% over the last year. The ratio of achieved price to asking price has fallen markedly over the last 12 months with an average of 96% of original sale price being achieved in April, in April 2007 the figure was 102%.

A year ago vendors could expect to see their property move through the market in just over a month, now the sales can take up to two and a half months. Houses in Central London area are not as easy to sell as they were 12 months ago.

According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, there were 27,100 repossessions in the UK in 2007. This year the figure is predicted to rise steeply to 45,000 repossessions this year. That will be the highest number of repossessions since 1995, when the market was recovering from the slump of the early Nineties.

Mortgage lenders predict that house repossessions will rise by 75% this year. It is feared that the numbers of families who will lose their homes will soar from 17,000 last year to 30,000.In the fourth quarter of last year, the number of repossessions averaged about 23,000. This was an increase by 7% on the fourth quarter of 2006 and 27% higher than the fourth quarter of 2005. The repossession numbers are a good indication of how homeowners are coping with the credit crunch.

The good news for homeowners is that fewer homes are repossessed than the number of orders made because not all orders are enforced.

David Blanchflower, a senior Bank of England official, predicted that house prices could fall up to 30% if interest rates were not cut. He estimates that British houses could fall by a third unless interest rates are cut fast. Blanchflower said urgent action needs to be taken to keep Britain from following the U.S. into a what he saw as a recession.

“We need to take action to loosen policy sooner rather than later,” Blanchflower said. “I do feel that the slower rates fall, the further they will eventually have to go down to boost the economy.”

He went on to say that he was not sure that such a drop will definitely occur but there are possibilities. Estate agents polled by Hometrack said that prices are 0.9 per cent lower than a year ago. The worst affected areas are in Wales, West Midlands and even Greater London.

If you are living in a busy city, you might be getting tired of the smog, the pollution, and the lack of picturesque scenerey (or just some some trees and flowers!). You might be looking for a more quiet, peaceful, beautiful city. What you might really be looking for is a ‘green’ city.

According to the website www.energysavingsecrets.co.uk, the top 10 Green Cities in the UK are:

1. Brighton and Hove
2. Edinburgh
3. Bristol
4. Plymouth
5. Leeds
6. Cardiff
7. Sheffield
8. Newcastle
9. Bradford
10. London

Their survey was based on factors such as the quality of life (education, health, employment), it’s ‘green’ contribution (recycling facilities, air quality) and it’s environmental policy (sustainability and commitment of their green initiatives). Thus if you buy a house in Brighton, not only will you be living in a very pretty town by the sea, but you will have the honour of saying you are living in the top green city in the UK.

The recently released RICS survey has confirmed the widely reported fall in house prices in March. The survey reported that 78.5% of surveyors have noticed a decline in the house prices. However a lack of new supply has played a part in preventing an even more significant house price fall.

A number of potential buyers are either looking to move from their current homes or becoming more careful about their budgets due to uncertain economic conditions.

Since the official interest rate cuts are not being carried on to the high street there is little chance that demand will increase in the near future.

It is clear that price falls are being driven by the inability of many to secure or obtain a loan rather than an influx of supply into the market.

For people living in pricy areas such as Kensington, Muswell Hill and Wimbledon, this represents quite a serious problem. If they want to sell their houses now, they could risk losing money.

According to the Office of Fair Trading, an estate agent must say he has an offer unless it is true. The OFT suggests prospective buyers may even ask for evidence if they have doubts. This can be rather difficult in practice, particularly if you wish to remain on good terms with the agent.

You may want to know whether you can make the seller or estate agent take the house off the property market, or stop advertising, after you have had your offer accepted. The answer is no. You cannot make a seller or estate agent take the property off the market, or stop advertising just because you do not want to lose your dream home. You probably fear being ‘gazumped’. But the agent is serving the interests of the seller, trying to secure the best price for the latter.

Can an estate agent seek a deposit? Yes, in England, Wales & Northern Ireland, but he shouldn’t hold a deposit or any other money unless covered by adequate insurance. And all money should be held in a separate building society account or bank, as stipulated in the Estate Agents (Accounts) Regulations. Importantly, receipts for deposits should be provided.

Leading UK publication, The Times, revealed in a news report that overseas property firms, comprising Abu Dhabi’s Aldar, were looking to cast the slide rule over Britain’s quoted property sector.

Hopes are reviving that as the credit squeeze continues to firm up its grip, the share prices of some of the big businesses with low-levels of long-term borrowings and well-let portfolios, will at last begin appearing fair value or even cheap.

Meanwhile, as commercial property firms get ready to face up to another month of debt markets remaining more or less closed to business, investors will be watching more keenly than ever on the health and strength of their balance sheets as well as development pipelines. Fears of further sudden and sharp falls in the share prices of many London-centric office developers are however, now looking a distinct possibility.

Research done by MWB Business Exchange, the serviced office firm, reveals that banks are growingly taking short-term leases on London offices rather than opting to commit to new long-term large lets. This has stoked fears that they were looking at job cuts. Those apprehensions were confirmed by latest research from commercial property agency Atis Real revealing that banks accounted for mere 8 per cent of new City office lettings recorded during the first quarter of 2008 compared with their long-term proportion of 40 per cent.