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A new housing minister has been named this afternoon, to replace Chris Pincher.

Stuart Andrew has been confirmed by Downing Street as a new housing minister at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. He's been MP for the Pudsy constituency in West Yorkshire since 2010 and until this afternoon was deputy chief whip. He has also previously held parliamentary under-secretary roles in the Welsh Office and the Ministry of Defence.

Pincher became housing minister almost exactly two years ago. He was the 19th holder of that post in 21 years - his predecessor, Esther McVey, held the post for just seven months.

Estate Agent Today

The Bank of England has increased the base rate from 0.25 per cent to 0.5 per cent.

This means a typical tracker mortgage customer's monthly repayment will go up by £25.76. The typical standard variable rate customer is likely to pay £15.96 more a month.

Some 74 per cent of mortgage borrowers in the UK are on fixed-rate deals, so would only see a change in repayments when the existing term ends.

Estate Agent Today

British lenders approved more mortgages than expected in December, according to Bank of England data that underlined the post-lockdown strength of the housing market. It said that 71,015 mortgages were approved in December, up from 67,859 in November.

The housing market has had its strongest start to the year in 17 years, according to Nationwide.

Annual price growth increased to 11.2 per cent in January from 10.4 in December -the sixth consecutive monthly increase. Across the UK, the average house price in January was £255,556.

The lender has warned that the property market will slow this year. Its chief economist Robert Gardner said: "House price growth has outstripped earnings growth by a wide margin since the pandemic struck and, as a result, housing affordability has become less favourable. For example, a 10 per cent deposit on a typical first-time buyer home is now equivalent 56 per cent of total gross annual earnings, a record high."

The Sun

Several factors combined in 2021 to drive demand for family homes. The pandemic 'search for space', the stamp duty holiday and changing working patterns for office-based workers all contributed to a strong focus on family homes, especially in the wider commuter zones and in rural areas.

As Zoopla forecast in early December, buyer demand bounced back strongly at the start of this year, up to 50% compared to usual levels for this time of year. 

Demand for flats has also risen sharply.

The flats market outside London has been driven by the re-opening of offices, as well as more buyers considering the value of flats, with average flat prices up just 1.9% over the last year across the UK's 20 major cities. In contrast, the average value of a detached family home in these cities is up 8%. Agents have also reported increased interest from investors and homebuyers from overseas signalling some pent-up demand coming back.

Zoopla

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