The commercial property market is still struggling due to the difficulties in the economy, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.
Their latest forecast cites returns down at 2%, although office rentals in the West End should perform well. Elsewhere across the country will not experience the same though, with Jones Lang LaSalle expecting rental falls. Continue reading Forecasts Down for Commercial Property
Rents are still rising and are unlikely to drop anytime soon, according to one of the UK’s leading letting agents.
Average rents in England and Wales edged up by 0.4% in May to £712 a month in May – increasing for the second month in a row as the market settled after the end of the stamp duty holiday for first time buyers in March. Continue reading Buy to let rents still rising and unlikely to fall
The number of buy to let homes to rent may soon outstrip the number of homes coming to the market for sale.
Research by Experian shows the number of private homes to rent coming to the market in the first three months of 2012 increased by 6.34%, while the number of homes put up for sale was down 2.53%. Continue reading Buy to lets may soon top homes for sale
Students living at universities in London and Manchester face the worst crime rates – according to a survey of offences reported to police over the last year.
The figures were compiled by The Complete University Guide for the year to May 2012. They list 103 further learning institutions by numbers of burglary, robbery and violent crimes including sex crimes. Continue reading Is your shared student house in a uni crime hot spot?
Homes selling at auction in May sold for around 80% of the price of an average home.
The latest figures from auction monitor EI Group show 2,034 properties changed hands for an average price of £128,466 in May 2012. Continue reading Homes at auction 20% cheaper than average
The housing market is still trying to shatter the glass ceiling imposed by mortgage lenders restricting home loans, but expectations are exceeding reality for most sellers as sales have plunged 40% since the 2007 boom.
A number of surveys looking at the market all report more activity but less sales. Continue reading House sales 40% down on buy to let boom years
Buy to let is here to stay and even more families will have to rent if the economy does not improve, says new research.
The number of private renters is expected to jump from 18% to 22% by 2025 – up from 7% in 1994 – reports a study from the Resolution Foundation for housing charity Shelter. Continue reading Buy to let here to stay and will only grow, says Shelter
Buy to let rents slipped back 4.3% to an average £919 a month in May, according to letting agents haart.
Average rents across the country fell, but slightly increased across the UK when excluding London – by around 0.7% to an average £791. Continue reading More surveys confirm North/South property divide
The merger of Zoopla and Digital Property Group has been officially announced, finally; the deal was struck last October and passed by the Office of Trading Standards in April.
The move is seen as an attempt to break the stranglehold Rightmove has on the online property portals, with Digital Property Group have been buying up smaller websites over the past few years. Continue reading DPG and Zoopla merger finally completes
A struck-off solicitor and an estate agent who managed a house shared by 12 tenants who lived in filthy conditions have been branded slum landlords by their local council.
Both picked up rents from the tenants for an absent owner in Nigeria but failed to run the house in multiple occupation according to strict licensing rules and safety regulations. Continue reading Struck-off solicitor branded slum landlord for house of filth
The cheapest homes in England and Wales were sold for just £8,000 in April, according to the latest Land Registry data.
Two homes sold for £8,000 out of more than 51,000 that changed hands. Continue reading Cheapest homes in England sell for just £8,000
According to the latest Landlords Panel research by BDRC Continental, one in four buy to let landlords own their property portfolio outright, while a third have a mixed portfolio.
The survey of NLA members showed something of a polarised investor community though. The investors who rely on buy to let mortgages believe the industry needs more competition, with only one in ten disagreeing. Many (60%) believe the buy to let lenders don’t take into account individual circumstances when it comes to mortgages and 39% believe the products available have little variety. Continue reading Buy to Let is a Living for Many
Property taxes in the UK are the highest in Europe, according to the latest figures issued by the European Union.
The latest figures are for 2010, and show revenue flowing in to government coffers from property taxes varies widely across the continent. Continue reading UK has the highest property taxes in Europe
Homes going under the hammer at auctions are going up in value, but are still significantly below average house prices.
April figures for homes sold at auction show 1,479 properties were sold for an average price of £101,060, according to auction monitor EI Group. Continue reading Auction homes sell for 37% less than average house prices
Nearly a third of landlords have plans to buy more rental property this year, according to specialist buy to let lender CHL Mortgages.
Landlord confidence is running high with just 1 in 10 aiming to sell property or leave buy to let, with 31% set to expand their portfolios, while the rest continue with business as usual. Continue reading Third of Landlords Ready to Buy More Rental Homes
Beds in sheds landlords are the target of a new government campaign to crack down on shoddy housing.
Housing minister Grant Shapps is spearheading the battle against the spread of ‘suburban shanty towns’ by injecting £1.8 million into a fighting fund for nine councils. Continue reading Task force targets criminal ‘beds in sheds’ landlords
The Coventry Building Society has cut rates and fees on buy to let loans through subsidiary Godiva.
Two year fixed rates are offered at 4.30% at 65% loan to value with a £250 booking fee and no arrangement fee, while another two-year fix is available at 3.99% with a £250 booking fee and a £749 arrangement fee.
Platform has also cut buy to let rates across a range of tracker and fixed rate buy-to-let products. Continue reading Buy to Let Arrangement Fees Reduced by Godiva and Platform
My article this time is more of an open question to which I would like your input. Background first.
I was listening to ‘In Business’ on Radio 4 the other day, a programme about something I had not heard of- the business concept of “Frugal Innovation”, currently much in favour with many huge corporations and even David Cameron.
The idea was first put forward in a book by the late C K Prahalad “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid”. He took his inspiration from the ingenuity and inventiveness of the Indian rural population in devising solutions to problems in their community when the average wage is 50p a day. Hardly enough to allow them to go around making prototypes and also not a normal market for corporations looking for people to sell to. Continue reading Jugaad
A garage hitting the market with a staggering £525,000 asking price in upmarket Knightsbridge, West London, has prompted a look for the cheapest homes for sale in the capital.
For homeseekers looking to buy outright, the cheapest home for sale in London is a one bed renovated houseboat in the Paddington Basin is on the market for £41,000, according to online property portal Rightmove. Continue reading London’s cheapest home is a £41,000 boat
Landlords are still purchasing more buy to let homes, according to research by a mortgage lender.
Property investors piled cash in to buy to let in the first three months of 2012, adding an average 1.8 homes to their portfolios, says Paragon Mortgages. Continue reading Landlords ready to sink more cash in to buy to let
It’s not the money the government prints that triggers a resurgence in the economy, but the way everyone spends the cash, argues credit strategist Ben Bennett.
The point of no return for the economy was when property investment stopped improving living standards and became pointless spending on renovations and idle speculation, he argues. Continue reading Pointless property spending ruined the UK economy
