Higher earners enjoy modest house price gains reports Moneynet.

Slight increase in March property values for higher income homeowners, reports Moneynet.

•Overall average property value was £205,518
•The average value of a property for a First Time Buyer (FTB) was £195,282
•Users looking to re-mortgage valued their property at an average of £249,322

PROPERTY values for workers in the higher rate tax bracket crept up last month (March 2005) according to Moneynet’s latest monthly mortgage data (see table below).

The overall UK average property value of higher earners – those in the higher rate (40% plus) tax bracket – climbed to £205,518, up from February’s £204,656 according to Moneynet (www.moneynet.co.uk) research.

“The slight rise in values in March is broadly in line with price rises signalled by the latest Nationwide Building Society,” said Moneynet chief executive Richard Brown.

“Average property values for visitors to our site – in common with many of those who regularly use the internet for financial information and transactions – are higher than for those on the national average wage, but we believe the survey to be a key tool for charting house price trends for the UK’s higher earners,” added Brown.

“As well as basic tables to be found with the press release, Moneynet can also provide a detailed breakdown of the different categories of mortgage lending – eg fixed or discounted loans – favoured by consumers on a month by month basis.”

See below for full figures and tables

MONEYNET MORTGAGE DATA FOR MARCH 2005 AT A GLANCE
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AVERAGE PROPERTY VALUES
•Overall average property value was £205,518
•The average value of a property for a First Time Buyer (FTB) was £195,282
•Users looking to re-mortgage valued their property at an average of 249,322

AVERAGE MORTGAGE AMOUNTS
•Overall average mortgage amount required was £136,604, a 67% loan to value (LTV)
•FTBs were looking for an average mortgage amount of £130,518, a 67% LTV
•Those users seeking to re-mortgage their property required an average mortgage amount of £155,801, a 63% LTV

SALARIES
•The overall average salary of the main income earner was £38,818
•An average FTB's salary was £36,090
•Those users looking to re-mortgage had a main income of £44,292
•For two income households, the second salary averaged out at £23,199 for FTBs; £25,670 for users looking to re-mortgage.

Ends

*
The following information is based on mortgage product search criteria provided by 5,400 randomly selected visitors to the Moneynet site for the period 01.03.05 – 31.03.05

APV = Average Property Value
AMA = Average Mortgage Amount
ALV = Average Loan to Value

OVERALL
Mar05 APV=£205,518 AMA=£136,604 ALV=67%
Mar04 APV=£197,723 AMA=£127,714 ALV=65%
Mar03 APV=£192,445 AMA=£121,476 ALV=63%

FIRST TIME BUYERS
Mar05 APV=£195,282 AMA=£130,518 ALV=67%
Mar04 APV=£172,475 AMA=£129,072 ALV=75%
Mar03 APV=£161,700 AMA=£118,301 ALV=73%

BUY TO LET
Mar05 APV=£171,049 AMA=£125,499 ALV=73%
Mar04 APV=£172,475 AMA=£117,072 ALV=73%
Mar03 APV=£158,818 AMA=£115,682 ALV=73%

REMORTGAGE
Mar05 APV=£249,322 AMA=£155,801 ALV=63%
Mar04 APV=£226,504 AMA=£110,625 ALV=49%
Mar03 APV=£223,956 AMA=£109,755 ALV=49%

About the Author

Moneynet was the first UK web site to publish a comprehensive, independent and impartial overview of the products available in the personal finance sector.
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