Property Market Trends and its impact

English: Bacton Hall Adjacent to Church Farm, presently advertised as for sale on the property market. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Property Market Trends and its Impact

According to Halifax, house prices were up very slightly in March. Compared with February they rose by 0.1%. They are still down by 3.3% compared with March 2010 though.

The number of people buying homes has drastically slowed, and this is something that is worrying many in the property market. Some have suggested this could be because house prices are not coming down enough. People would rather stay put for now than reduce the asking price of their homes, meaning people aren’t being encouraged to buy the way they would if prices had fallen more significantly. With many worse off than they were a few years ago it means that despite lower prices, people are actually less likely to buy. With it being harder to get a mortgage than it was and with higher deposits required, it makes it even more difficult. All these factors mean that to some extent the property market is in flux.

The question is what would need to happen for the market to become more active? As already touched upon, prices falling further would liven up the market, although property owners may not come out of it well. This does seem unlikely though, or at least unlikely there will be any significant drop. If prices were low enough it would encourage people to take the opportunities while they can, and make it affordable to a wider group of people. If this doesn’t happen, it seems likely that we will have to wait until the overall economic situation improves across the country.

The government has come up with a new scheme whereby first time buyers can borrow up to 20% of their deposit for a home, therefore only having to pay 5% themselves. It is hoped that this could have a similar impact that the scrappage scheme had for cars had. This is good news for many first time buyers looking to get on the housing ladder and for property developers, but not so good news for the property market in general. The scheme only applies to new builds so for those looking to sell their existing home it will make no difference, or could even have a negative impact.

Although the above news affects much of the country, it doesn’t mean the property market is dead everywhere. There are always people with money and there are always sought after areas. In particular there are areas of London where the property market is still relatively active, with areas such as Kensington and Fulham, and suburbs such as Wimbledon and Richmond, not suffering the way other areas are.

Another influence that the current state of the property market is having is the lettings market. With prices of homes lower than at their high, there is the opportunity for some to buy-to-let. And with many unable to get onto the housing ladder it means that rented homes are in high demand. With prices bound to rise in the long-term, there are those who will be able to profit from such a market.

Andrew Marshall (c)

Winchester White are a Letting Agents Wimbledon.

A History of Surf Music Part One

The term surf music is linked in popular culture with the Beach Boys and those classic hits. However the music has a rich and varied history that predates the Beach Boys. Surf Music is a by-product of the surf culture that developed in Southern California in the 1950's and 1960's. Although surfing has a history that goes back much further than the 1950's it is the arrival of the teenager in these years that kick started the surfing craze.

Surf Music is a by-product of the surf culture that developed in Southern California in the 1950's and 1960's. Although surfing has a history that goes back much further than the 1950's it is the arrival of the teenager in these years that kick started the surfing craze.

Surfing culture has influenced everything from beachwear, bikinis to board shorts, language, film and music. Surf music can be divided into Surf Rock and Surf Pop and within these sub genres there is also instrumental music and vocal music.

The first time a link was established in popular culture between surfing and music was the release of the film Gidget in 1959. The film starring Sandra Dee, Cliff Robertson and James Darren is widely credited with introducing the subculture of surfing to the wider American public. The music in the film is performed James Darren and the Four Preps. The sound is classic late 1950's pop without a hint of rock and roll or the treble heavy sound that came to dominate the sound of surfing.

The King of Surf Guitar and the originator of instrumental surf music is Dick Dale. Dale took the instrumental sounds of Duane Eddy, Les Paul and Link Wray and added a surfer's twist to the sounds. A set of heavy gauge guitar strings and liberal use of the inbuilt reverb on Fender amplifiers help Dale to produce his signature sound.

During a six month period that in 1961,Dale's performances at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa are credited with the creation of the surf music phenomenon. Dale had to move to the 3,000 capacity venue occurred when the local places he was playing sold out.

Lets Go Tripping unleashed in September 1961 by Dick Dale is widely seen as the first ever surfing song. The instrumental lasting just over two minutes was released on Dale's own Deltone label. The song was later covered by The Beach Boys on Surfin USA and even became the theme tune to the BBC Radio 4 radio show Home Truths. The song was picked up by Capitol Records and reached number 60 on the national charts in the USA. Dale followed up with a cover of Greek track Misirlou a one string wonder of a song.

Other records were soon released. Dick Dale's first album "Surfers Choice" was released in early 1962 and was mostly recorded live at the Rendezvous Ballroom. The Los Angeles based The Challengers, an offshoot of another surf band the Bel-Airs released the second Surf music LP with Surf Beat just a month after Dale's debut. The LP was recorded in one single three and a half hour session and contained versions of many of the songs that had influenced the surf sound and covers of Dick Dale's Let's Go Tripping and an instrumental take on the first Beach Boys single Surfin' Safari.

The Beach Boys and Jan and Dean would add glorious harmonies take the surf music sound overground in the coming years.

Tony Heywood ©

I am a big music and surf culture fan. Surf Music Information and L Designer Swimwear for Men

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