Living in Hungerford

Hungerford is a small market town home to 5,500 people on the Berkshire/Wiltshire border and is located within a region of outstanding natural beauty. Despite this rural location, its strong transport links means the area is anything but remote. Indeed, Hungerford is just four miles from the M4 motorway and also benefits from having a direct rail link to London.

The town’s market contains numerous small independent retail outlets and commercial businesses, thus providing both visitors and residents with unique personal services across a wide range of goods. There is also a wide variety of restaurants and other eating places throughout, not to mention ample local accommodation.

Hungerford is surrounded by open common land just five minutes from the centre of the town and contains a mixture of flora and fauna that should appeal to visitors who enjoy fine walking conditions.

The town also hosts numerous unique annual events, including the three week Arts Festival during July. The event features a combination of theatre, music, entertainment and exhibitions. There is also a late night Victorian Extravaganza in December.

Information on the history of Hungerford is available at the town’s virtual museum.

High deposit demands make it impossible to buy a new home

Banks are damaging recovery in the housing market, according to Britain’s biggest property development company.

Barratt Developments believe lenders are making it impossible for people to buy new homes by demanding 20% deposits. Consequently, those buying an average priced property must find a down payment of around £35,000.

Unless prospective buyers can turn to generous parents, they won’t be able to afford to get on the property ladder, Barratt said.

It also dismissed suggestions that buyers are simply too cautious to splash out on new homes, highlighting the fact that Britain is building fewer houses than at any time since the 1920s.

And with banks even more reluctant to approve mortgages on apartments, Barratt is trying to tackle the problem with a new range of small houses dubbed its ‘Aspirations’ range.

These houses are more expensive than the flats first-time buyers may previously have chosen, but demand smaller deposits from lenders. The other main benefit to young families is that they will not outgrow them as quickly and should delay the increased cost of moving to a bigger place.

Barratt recently announced it had slashed its losses to £163million in the 12 months to July from £679m the previous year.

Mortgage lending low in July

Mortgage lending dropped to its fourth lowest level since records began during July, sparking fears of a double dip in house prices.

Net lending totalled £86million, a dramatic fall from June’s £518million, the Bank of England said.

The number of approved mortgages rose marginally to 48,722 - still significantly down on the levels of more than 100,000 a month during the housing boom.

For some market analysts, the figures confirm the housing market is heading for a double dip, with net mortgage lending flat and the number of mortgage approvals low.

Net lending, which does not include repaid or redeemed loans, was the fourth lowest figure since Bank records began in 1993, and less than 1 per cent of the amount that was lent during the housing boom, when £10 billion was lent in a single month.

The gross amount of money banks and building societies lent was £7.1 billion, also slightly up. However, borrowers paid back nearly as much to their lenders, resulting in the very modest net figure of £86 million.

The number of approvals was also down on November’s recent high of just over 59,000, with the housing market failing to benefit from its traditional summer bounce.