Monday, January 02, 2023

Immigration News – New Rules To Deter Illegal Immigration Suella Braverman Promises

In a recent speech to parliament, Home Secretary Suella Braverman vowed to crack down on illegal immigration.

People who came to the UK illegally could “expect to be detained and swiftly returned” to a safe country, she announced to MPs hours after four migrants drowned when their boat got into trouble in the English Channel.

The latest “crackdown” has not been helped by a strike by one thousand UK Border officers and news that the number of migrants arriving in Britain on small boats will top 45,000 by the year end – 60% up on 2021.

With hotel bills for housing asylum seekers running at £7 million a day and her party lagging behind labour in the polls, the Home Secretary is under pressure to solve the migrant crisis.

Net migration figures now exceed half a million prompting the Home Secretary to rethink how the Immigration Rules could be applied to make it harder to bring family members, students and workers to come to the UK. Details of tougher measures are expected to be announced in the near future.

Millions of students are taking advantage on online degree courses saving thousands of dollars on fees, accommodation – with no need for a student visa.

UK Property Predictions For 2023 – Where Is The Housing And Rental Market Going?

With some forecasters warning of somewhere between a depression and Armageddon, here are my thoughts on the UK housing market.

The UK housing market will shrink - but not necessarily crash - next year, industry experts agree, as the government fights recession and higher mortgage rates.

House prices have been dropping month-on-month with average prices down 2.3% in November from October – the most since the start of the financial crash in 2008 – according to Halifax.

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Price growth will decline in 2023 as soaring inflation hits the economy and forces interest rates up.

As the downturn intensifies the Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates into 2023 from 3.5% now to 4.75%, but there are signs that the rate of inflation is slowing.

Higher interest rates will hit buy-to-let landlords and investors, as deals fail to stack up.

Move from cities to the country is slowing, as more people move back to the office.

Property experts forecast property price declines of 5% - 12% next year, although some warn of a crash by 15% to 20%. 

Mortgage rates have since fallen back since the disastrous mini-budget in September to an average five-year fix at 5.6% according to Moneyfacts – still far higher than a year ago.

UK Finance forecast gross mortgage lending for house purchases to decline to £131bn in 2023 from £171bn in 2022 and a peak of £189bn in 2021.

Leading UK lenders have met with government officials to discuss measures to ease the burden on around 90,000 people in mortgage arrears, the FT reports. Property sales are set to drop to 1.01m next year from 1.27m in 2022.

Savills warns of a severe drop in transactions, to 870,000, and a 10% fall in house prices in 2023. Estate agents Jones Lang LaSalle forecasts a 6% drop in house prices next year. Both firms expect a 1% price growth in 2024, as interest rates fall back and inflation cools.

The Bank of England said 4m households face higher mortgage payments next year.

Typical payments could rise by £250 to £1,000 a month causing severe financial difficulties for 220,000 households.

Capital Economics’ central forecast is for house prices to fall by 12% by the end of 2023, but Andrew Wishart, senior economist at the consultancy, said in a worst-case scenario prices could plummet by up to 20%.

Rent prices meanwhile have surged to record levels due to a shortage of properties to rent and growing demand, as well as a slowing buy-to-let market and many first-time buyers are opting to rent in the hope of lower mortgage rates in 2023/24. Some 85,000 landlords have quit the buy-to-let market in the last 5 years.

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UK private rents jumped by 4% in November, the highest since records began in 2016, official figures showed.

Globally, many markets seem overheated and, in a bubble – Toronto, Sydney and Auckland for instance.

China’s property market boom appears to be over with a 20% decline.

As with all economic forecasts, much depends on government action and the prevailing winds of the economy, but more rests on your action in your U’conomy!

Your goals for 2023

·        How was 2022 for you?

·        Did you achieve your goals?

·        What are your financial goals for 2023 and how do you plan to achieve them?

I wish you a happy and successful new year!

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