Written By Em

Em Morley

Landlord Licensing Consultancy is Successful at Awards Show

Published On: July 24, 2017 at 8:09 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: Business,landlord licensing,London

Landlord Licensing Consultancy is Successful at Awards Show

An independent landlord licensing consultancy, London Property Licensing (LPL), is pleased to announce its success at the FSB London Business Awards 2017, which has been supporting and rewarding exceptional small businesses across the UK for over 40 years.

At a gala dinner and awards ceremony held last week at the Emirates Stadium, LPL was a finalist in three separate categories: the Property & Construction Business of the Year award, a category open to building and construction companies, estate agents, surveyors and architects; Professional Services Business of the Year; and Micro Business of the Year.

Since launching in 2015, the landlord licensing consultancy’s website has established itself as an essential free information resource for the property industry. It provides a unique service, by mapping out the complex array of property licensing schemes across every London borough.

The LPL website is backed by an expert housing regulation consultancy service that helps landlords and letting agents achieve compliance, including a licence application handling service, which operates throughout the London region.

The Managing Director of LPL, Richard Tacagni, comments on the firm’s success: “Our latest research indicates over 225,000 private rented homes in London need licensing, yet far fewer applications have been submitted. This presents a huge compliance risk to landlords and letting agents who may find themselves operating outside the law.

“By mapping out the licensing schemes across every London borough, we are increasing knowledge and awareness of the requirements, whilst offering a licence application handling service for those who require assistance.”

He adds: “Driving up standards in the private rented sector is central to everything we do, and so I am delighted and humbled that the FSB has recognised our innovative business support service in this way.”

Congratulations to LPL!

Remember that our friends at Just Landlords have been nominated for Best Landlord Insurance Provider at this year’s Insurance Choice Awards. Vote for them by clicking the link below – you could win £1,000:

House prices in Scotland continue to rise steadily

Published On: July 21, 2017 at 11:53 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: property in Scotland,Scotland,Scottish property market

Scottish residential property prices are continuing to rise, according to the most recent figures Your Move Scotland House Price Index.

The average price of a property in the country during May was £175,000, an increase of 3% on the previous year. This rise can be attributed to high demand and particularly tight supply.

Despite the rise, capital growth remains 4.3% below the average seen in England and Wales.

Steady

Christine Campbell, Your Move Managing Director in Scotland, observed: ‘After a surge in April, Scotland has returned to its long-term pattern of modest, but fairly steady price rises. That hides wildly different fortunes in its various areas, though, and price increases are heavily dependent on a few key areas.’[1]

As Campbell alluded to, the market has slowed in many regions of Scotland, with 17 of the 32 regions seeing prices increase during May.

House prices in Scotland continue to rise steadily

East Ayrshire saw the strongest annual performance, with prices rising by 13.2%. Glasgow however appears to be driving the market.

The average price of a property here stands at £151,622 – a rise of 10.9% year-on-year.

Alan Penman, Business Development Manager for Walker Fraser Steele, said: ‘The strength of the market in Scotland’s biggest city is supporting continued house price growth in Scotland, but there also remains a fundamental imbalance in supply and demand.’[1]

[1] https://www.propertyinvestortoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/7/scottish-house-prices-are-continuing-their-steady-growth

City House Price Growth Proving Resilient, Claims Hometrack

Published On: July 21, 2017 at 9:54 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: cities,house price growth,house prices,property market

City house price growth is proving resilient, with average values up by 5% in the first half (H1) of this year, claims the latest report from Hometrack.

Birmingham has the fastest growing house prices of all UK cities, while four areas are registering declines in property values in real terms.

City house price growth is running at 5.1% per year, which is down from 8.8% on June last year. Nevertheless, house price inflation has picked up in recent months.

Growth for H1 2017 ranges from 0.2% in Aberdeen to 6.1% in Birmingham. This is consistent with an 11% rise in home purchase mortgages, which are also 5% higher than the five-year average.

City House Price Growth Proving Resilient, Claims Hometrack

13 cities have a lower annual growth rate than a year ago; London, Bristol and Oxford have recorded the greatest slowdown, as affordability and uncertainty are hitting demand. The rate of price falls in Aberdeen has slowed sharply.

House price growth is higher in seven cities, but the scale of these increases, compared to June 2016, are more modest. The exception is Edinburgh, where the rate of growth has bounced back from 1.8% last year, to 6.5%.

Despite a material slowdown in the rate of house price growth in southeastern England, house price inflation is holding up, although real incomes have been squeezed. The impact of Brexit was greatest over H2 2016 and house price growth has picked up over the past six months.

At the end of 2016, Hometrack predicted that city house price growth over 2017 would stand at 4%. On current trends, it expects this to be closer to 6-7%. There remains material upside for house prices outside southeastern England, it says.

Nominal house price growth in four cities is failing to keep pace with the rate of consumer price inflation, which is currently 2.6%; Cambridge (+1.9%), Oxford (+2.1%), Newcastle (+2.4%) and Aberdeen (-2.7%).

House price growth across the City of London has fallen to a five-year low of 2.6%, meaning that prices are flat in real terms. Inner London markets have the lowest rates of house price growth and are recording real price falls.

Sustained house price growth in large regional cities has pushed house prices ahead of their 2007 peak in 16 cities. At current growth rates, it will be another two years before Newcastle, Glasgow and Liverpool exceed their 2007 levels. Belfast will take much longer, with prices still 45% lower than in 2007.

Online estate agent eMoov has recently assessed what a similar market crash to that in 2007 would mean for house prices today: https://www.justlandlords.co.uk/news/house-prices-8-years-recover-crash/

The Founder and CEO of eMoov, Russell Quirk, comments on the Hometrack data: “City living will always drive the UK market and so it gives a good indicator of where is quickest out of the blocks, while the overall market is still wiping the post election sleep out of its eyes. The latest data from Hometrack suggests that the UK market has also almost broken free from the shackles of Brexit uncertainty, with the market performing notably better than last year.

“It is a mixed bag of sweets in terms of the current UK market and London seems to be the liquorice where buyer demand is concerned, a classic favourite, but an acquired taste and one that is waning in popularity – particularly inner London. Other areas, such as Bristol, Oxford and Cambridge, are also paying the price of their much higher price tags with slower growth, whilst Britain’s second city has come to the forefront in terms of the best property price performance, joined by the regionally varied ensemble of Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester and Nottingham.”

Election result preventing traditional house price surge

Published On: July 21, 2017 at 9:52 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: general election,landlords,prime property market,property

The most recent analysis from buying agents Garrington Property Finders suggests that the General Election in June has so far failed to give the prime property market a boost.

This has gone against the trend seen in the last five General Elections.

Paralysis

According to the data, the post-election paralysis has been seen most prominently in London. The annual change in prime property prices per square foot here slipped by 7.1% in the last month, dropping from a 3.3% increase in May to a 3.8% decrease in June.

In addition, the number of transactions is also down, with the number of prime properties sold in London during June falling by 15.8% in comparison to May.

Data from June for the rest of England and Wales has yet to be published, although the capital’s Prime market is seen as a good indication of the results to follow. Should these trends be seen elsewhere, we will see a dramatic reversal of the more traditional post-election bounce seen in the UK’s prime property market.

Sales

Analysis of official Land Registry data shows that across England and Wales, sales of prime property increased by an average of 26% in the two months directly after the last five Elections.

In fact, the prime market has outpaced the non-prime market stretching back to Tony Blair’s victory in 1997.

The prime market is defined as the most expensive 10% of properties sold in a region in any one year. During the first six months of 2017, the prime market began strongly, with prices rising by 4% on average.

Election result preventing traditional house price surge

Uncertainty

Jonathan Hopper, Managing Director of Garrington Property Finders, observed: ‘This early snapshot of the post-election market confirms what many had feared – there has been no sudden relief rally. The Prime market tends to be the most sensitive to political and economic uncertainty, and the current dose of both is clearly having a cooling effect, especially in London. Britain hasn’t had a minority government since 1974, so the fragility of the new government’s mandate and ongoing concerns over Brexit are pushing the market into uncharted waters.’[1]

‘Yet for astute buyers those uncharted waters can teem with opportunity. Prime prices in London have softened considerably in the wake of the 2014 Stamp Duty increase and last year’s Brexit referendum. In that time we’ve seen a steady stream of buyers secure substantial discounts as anxious sellers adjust their expectations in return for the certainty of a sale,’ he continued.[1]

Concluding, Mr Hopper said: ‘Where London leads other regions tend to follow, and as the post-election fizzle spreads out from the capital, the next few months will provide some strong buying opportunities for Prime buyers across the country.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/minority-government-puts-breaks-on-traditional-post-poll-house-price-surge.html

Property Transactions Down by 3.3% Between May and June, Reports HMRC

Published On: July 21, 2017 at 9:28 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: home sales,property market,property transactions

The number of property transactions in the UK dropped by 3.3% between May and June this year, reports HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

The provisional seasonally adjusted UK property transaction count for June was 96,910 residential and 9,800 non-residential sales.

Property Transactions Down by 3.3% Between May and June, Reports HMRC

The seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of residential property transactions fell by 3.3% between May and June. On an annual basis, the seasonally adjusted figure is 1.0% higher than in June 2016.

However, HMRC warns that caution should be used when making comparisons between the level of property transactions in June 2017 and June 2016. This is due to the introduction of the higher Stamp Duty rates on additional properties in April 2016.

Non-tax factors may have also played a role in residential property transaction levels. For example, the Bank of England’s plans to curb buy-to-let mortgages resulting in a rush to purchase before April 2016, together with behavioural changes associated with the EU referendum and 2017 General Election.

For June 2017, the number of non-adjusted residential property transactions was around 13.2% higher than in May. The amount of non-adjusted residential sales was 8.4% higher year-on-year.

Long-term movement in the number of residential property transactions reflects the general performance of the housing market over the last 12 years. The most prominent feature of the time is the sharp decline in sales at the end of 2007, coinciding with the housing market crash and credit crunch.

Online estate agent eMoov’s latest research looks into what would happen if the market were to crash again: https://www.justlandlords.co.uk/news/house-prices-8-years-recover-crash/

The CEO and Founder of online mortgage broker Trussle, Ishaan Malhi, comments on the latest figures: “There’s been a lot of talk recently of the property market cooling off and, despite a slight increase in transaction levels in May, there are now fewer properties changing hands than in the month prior. This suggests that buyers and sellers are feeling slightly less confident about the future of the property market, unwilling to press ahead with purchases, perhaps due to the somewhat ominous political backdrop. There’s also the possibility that buyers are sitting on their hands until they know the full extent of the recent fall in house prices in June.”

Stephen Wasserman, the Managing Director of West One Loans, adds: “Consumer and investor confidence in bricks and mortar dipped slightly as the snap election dampened buyers’ and sellers’ interests. Despite this, the market is incredibly resilient and we’re confident transactions will pick up again in the coming months, as the sector recovers from the initial shockwaves from the election. We are in a period of prolonged economic uncertainty and, during this time, it’s important borrowers are aware of the range of financing options available to them. We’re seeing steady growth in investors taking out bridging loans, making the most of the flexibility and quick turnaround times they offer while in such choppy waters.”

Landlords remain confident over future of sector

Published On: July 21, 2017 at 8:56 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: Buy-to-Let,buy-to-let sector,landlords,landlords confidence,tax

A high-number of landlords remain confident about the future of the buy-to-let sector, despite recent tax alterations impacting on the market.

57% of landlords have not changed their view on the future of the sector, despite cuts to mortgage interest tax relief and alterations to stamp duty, according to research from buy-to-let investment platform Property Partner.

Investment

The survey discovered that many landlords seeking to minimise risks choose to invest in property, as they feel long-term trends will continue. They are hopeful that property prices will remain resilient despite economic and political upheaval.

Despite this bullishness surrounding property investment, experts at Property Partner expressed their surprise at how few investors are actually diversifying into property.

Only 19% of investors see property as a good way of diversifying their assets and only one in ten would-be landlords see investing in property is simple. 51% said that they were deterred by the thought of having to manage tenants.

Landlords remain confident over future of sector

Confidence

Dan Gandesha, founder at CEO at Property Partner, observed: ‘This research underscores the confidence being shown in the buy-to-let sector across the UK. It really highlights that, despite efforts to increase the tax-take from landlords, investors continue to be bullish and see property as a secure, long term investment.’[1]

‘With no end in sight to the acute shortage in housing stock, there is an inevitability to the continuing upward pressure on prices. In the long-term, prices are expected to rise faster than the rate of inflation, economic growth and wages, despite recent political uncertainty,’ Mr Gandesha added.[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/7/landlord-confidence-bullish-despite-higher-buy-to-let-taxes