Search Results For: buy to rent sector

New web portal makes good start

Published On: August 12, 2015 at 4:14 pm

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Less than six months six its official launch date, a web portal which changes the way investors browse for their next property has already signed up 5,000 agents.

Taking two years to develop, Pring.co.uk has already gained interest from estate agents across Britain, who have uploaded in excess of 30,000 properties onto the site.

Success

Pring.co.uk was founded and developed by entrepreneur Stephen Moss, who began his career in an estate agency before co-founding a number of other businesses, including Legal 4 Landlords, based in Warrington.

For the first-time, Pring.co.uk allows its users to browse for investment properties which meet their requirements by using a range of different selection criteria. These includes:

  • location
  • purchase price
  • rental value
  • mortgage cost
  • potential yield
  • return on investment
New web portal makes good start

New web portal makes good start

More than 5,000 agents from across Briton have uploaded their properties and the site is getting more than 100,000 visits per month. The site has been launched at a particularly good time for the buy-to-let sector, with one in five British homes now owned by private landlords.

Gap in the market

Mr Moss commented that, ‘there was a clear gap in the market for a search portal dedicated to investment properties. I was hearing the same issues from property investors time and time again. There was nowhere they could go to search for suitable investment properties in one place without spending hours and hours going through each property in a given location and working out the figures. Pring brings together all the figures an investor needs before deciding whether a house is worth viewing,’[1]

‘We’ve developed the site to make sure it provides everything the property investor needs. They can look for properties in a specific area that give a particular return on investment and see immediately what the mortgage cost will be,’ Moss added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/business/new-property-investment-portal-attracts-5000-agents.html

 

 

 

Mortgage lending up by a fifth in June

Published On: August 12, 2015 at 11:16 am

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Further indications that the property market is well on the way to full recovery came with the news that mortgage lending increased by more than a fifth during June.

Rises

The Council of Mortgage Lenders said that 61,000 loans, totalling £10.6bn, were advanced to people buying a home in the month. This represented a rise of 22% in number and 25% in value, in comparison to May.[1]

A mixture of first-time buyers and homemovers drove activity rises, with lending to both groups increasing by around 25%. However, despite the significant monthly rises, 1% fewer mortgages were agreed in June than one year previously.[1]

Remortgaging activity in particular soared by around 31% year-on-year, with totals also 30% greater than what they were in May. The Council of Mortgage Lenders attributed the large increase to a growing demand amongst homeowners to take advantage of the current range of competitive mortgage rates on offer.[1]

Interest rates

Homeowners are looking to secure mortgage rates currently available before the Bank Rate begins to increase. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney recently indicated that the cost of borrowing could rise at the beginning of next year.

Paul Smee, director general of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, said that, ‘it is likely that people are now beginning to feel a rate rise is a realistic prospect and not just a distant theoretical possibility. After a slower than expected start to the year, lending now appears to be picking up as we expected and in line with our recently revised forecast.’[1]

A record number of competitive mortgage deals on offer meant that first-time purchasers spent just 18.2% of their income on capital repayments and interest in the last month-the lowest total since the Council of Mortgage Lenders began tracking in 2005.[1]

Mortgage lending up by a fifth in June

Mortgage lending up by a fifth in June

First-time finance

Additional data from financial information group Moneyfacts shows that first-time buyers are now £2,000 a year better off than they were just two years ago. Moneyfacts suggest the number of deals available to first-time buyers has risen from 42 in 2013 to 195 today. In addition, the lowest interest rate on a two-year fixed rate mortgage for someone with a 5% deposit has fallen from 5.59% to 3.49%.[1]

Charlotte Nelson, finance expert at Moneyfacts commented that, ‘the launch of the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme acted as a starting gun for this sector, making it almost acceptable to lend at higher loan-to-value again. Once these deals hit the market, other providers outside of the scheme had no alternative but to compete to attract customers.’[1]

‘Not only are first-time buyers benefiting from more choice, but this fierce competition has caused rates to drop significantly to the lowest on Moneyfacts.co.uk records,’ Nelson added.[1]

[1] http://www.zoopla.co.uk/discover/property-news/lending-on-homes-jumps-by-more-than-a-fifth-in-june-11-08-15/?search_source=top_nav&utm_content=buffer04962&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer#toD3ri2QQI3vkAxK.97

 

easyProperty Now Does Sales

Published On: August 11, 2015 at 2:57 pm

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Online agent easyProperty has ventured into the residential sales sector, believing it will save “home-sellers across the UK thousands of pounds in hefty high street fees.”

The new offerings are priced from £475 to £1,500.

easyProperty aims to reassure vendors by stating that most of its staff as “ex-high street agents with years of experience at big-name firms.”

It also says: “It’s little wonder online agents are starting to become pretty popular indeed.”

easyProperty claims to offer customers an average saving of £3,269 and £9,584 in London.

easyProperty Now Does Sales

easyProperty Now Does Sales

The firm launched in September 2014 with a lettings division and more recently a commercial property sector.

Robert Ellice introduced the site, which says: “We advertise on all the UK’s leading property websites, to line up prospective buyers fast – not all agents do.”

It emphasises that high street agents cannot list on Rightmove and Zoopla if they also use OnTheMarket. easyProperty states: “We advertise your home on both the UK’s biggest portals, where buyers search first.” 

easyProperty is now offering three packages, all with fees paid upfront and in full.

For £475, vendors host any viewings and deal with the sales progression.

At £825, sellers host viewings but easyProperty handles the sales progression.

The most expensive deal, at £1,500, involves a full service, including premium listings on Rightmove and Zoopla.

The lowest price is cheaper than Purplebricks’ flat price of £798. Purplebricks charges £1,158 in some areas of London.

Other agents’ prices vary massively, with split fees becoming increasingly popular. With these deals, vendors pay a cost upfront and then another fee upon sale.

For instance, a seller could pay £9 per week with House Simple and a £495 fee on completion, or £395 if they have sold through House Simple or been listed for 12 months.

Tepilo charges from £595 to £955. eMoov’s prices range from £594 to £1,194 on a no-sale no fee-basis. Hatched charges £295 upfront plus £595 on completion, or nothing upfront and £1,495 upon a sale or £595 upfront.

eMoov states that it is still analysing its no-sale no-fee price plan.

Hatched, run by Adam Day, is no longer focusing on being a low cost service.

The first 200 vendors to sign up to easyProperty are being offered “the chance to sell their home without paying any agency fees.”1

Yesterday on Rightmove, easyProperty had 408 properties available for rent.

The company said it may float on the stock market later this year, hoping to fund international expansion and a room rentals division alongside entering property auctions. Last year’s fundraising valued the firm at £66m.

1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/easyproperty-goes-into-sales-promising-to-save-sellers-hefty-high-street-fees/

Affordable Homes Moved Out of Battersea Development

Published On: August 10, 2015 at 10:23 am

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Affordable homes reserved for first time buyers and tenants at the Battersea Power Station development have been moved to a new plot half a mile away from the luxury property scheme.

Over 370 affordable homes were originally planned to be mixed among the multi-million pound apartments next to the Grade II Listed power station, but are now being built on a former industrial estate between busy railway lines.

Developers argue that this is necessary, to make way for a new giant sewer.

Wandsworth Council is currently considering a plan to move the cheaper homes to a collection of mansion blocks, which will be ready in 2019.

However, as the homes are being located as far away from the site as possible, the proposals signal that developers plan to segregate the luxury homes from the affordable ones.

Head of the Battersea Power Station Development Company, Rob Tincknell, defends the change, stating that the affordable homes will be completed sooner under the new proposal.

The affordable homes will be built on a three-acre site in Sleaford Street, on the other side of Battersea Park Road.

This is the opposite of the original plan, which was to mix affordable homes with the luxury properties throughout the later phases of the scheme.

Tincknell says that when they were aware of the Thames Tideway Tunnel – the new sewer – and the Northern line extension, the plan was reconsidered, so that work wasn’t delayed.

He states: “When it became apparent that construction of the Thames Tideway Tunnel would delay delivery of affordable housing, we were immediately asked by our shareholders to develop an alternative strategy to deliver our committed affordable housing.”

The affordable homes are designed by Patel Taylor Architects, which created homes at the Athletes’ Village in Stratford for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Tincknell continues: “We think the architecture is beautifully proportioned and the 374 homes are spacious and well laid out, with the vast majority benefitting from double or even triple aspect.”1

The properties will be housed in five mid-rise blocks, ranging from nine to 18 storeys. Over 250 homes will be rented out on long leases and at lower rates for those priced out of the local private rental sector.

The average rent of a two-bedroom flat in Nine Elms is currently around £3,000 per month, says Zoopla.

The remaining properties will be sold to local first time buyers that earn from £40,000 per year, who will be able to buy a 25% share. A two-bedroom flat in the area costs just over £1.2m.

The project includes a new piazza with space for market stalls, a ball court, outdoor gym equipment, children’s play areas, a fitness trail, a private residents’ garden and a community garden including allotments and fruit trees.

Additionally, there will be a new NHS health centre on site and small business units, as well as shops and cafes.

When it is completed in 2025, the development will include 581 affordable homes – the remainder will be built in later phases – accounting for 15.2% of all housing on the site.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, defended affordable housing on the £8 billion site last year, noting that it will provide hundreds of homes for struggling Londoners.

1 http://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/property-news/news/its-battersea-poor-station-first-time-buyers-banished-former-industrial-estate-half-mile-luxury-homes

Prime London House Prices Rise for First Time Since Sep 2014

Published On: August 7, 2015 at 9:04 am

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House prices in the prime central London market have risen slightly, by 0.8% in the second quarter (Q2) of 2015. This is the first increase since September 2014, according to the latest index.

The highest growth in the past year was experienced in Pimlico, where values rose by 5%, or £66,000, revealed the data from Marsh & Parsons estate agent.

There was also a 17% increase in demand for prime property in Q2, but supply rose by just 10%. Overall, investors made 42% of sales in this sector, an 8% annual rise.

Prime London House Prices Rise for First Time Since Sep 2014

Prime London House Prices Rise for First Time Since Sep 2014

In the same period, there was an increase in foreign buyers, which accounted for 34% of all sales, up from 30% in Q2 2014. The firm believes this is due to an influx of European buyers of all nationalities.

Prime London homes cost an average of 27% more per square foot than all London properties. The average price per square foot of property in central areas, such as Holland Park, Notting Hill or Kensington and Chelsea, is £1,516.

Contrastingly, the overall price of prime London property is £1,192 per square foot.

CEO of Marsh & Parsons, Peter Rollings, says: “The excellent capital appreciation and secure nature of property in prestigious central addresses of Kensington, Chelsea and Holland Park have long made them appealing, particularly to the investor, and it’s encouraging that we’ve seen such a rise recently.

“Investors are a good gauge of the overall health of the London market. If there was any cause for concern about the future property market, investors would be upping sticks and moving elsewhere.

“But the fact they are still putting down roots in the capital shows how fertile current conditions are. While there may not be much action to see at the moment, prices are still growing and the foundations for fruitful capital returns are strong.”

He also notes that price growth has reversed and started to improve again, with a 0.8% quarterly increase compared to a 0.6% decline in Q1 2015. Outer prime parts of London have witnessed the strongest recovery, with 1% growth.

However, house price growth in this sector is still much lower than last year. Annually, prices have dropped across the whole prime London market.

Rollings says that values should be considered over the longer term, stating that since June 2013, the price of the average prime London home has risen by 12.1%.

Regarding property type, family sized homes have experienced the greatest increase in price, with four-bedroom houses in prime London locations rising in price by 1.3% quarterly. Additionally, demand for these homes has grown, with the amount of registered buyers up 17%.

Rollings expects that London house prices will become steadier than prices in the rest of the country in the coming months, as Londoners face much higher Stamp Duty.

He adds: “There’s no denying that London has been struck by significant regulatory changes, and given it’s position at the frontline of the UK’s property market, is having to absorb the impact.”1

1 http://www.propertywire.com/news/europe/central-london-prime-property-2015080610834.html

 

New Group Formed to Address Housing Crisis

Published On: August 5, 2015 at 2:54 pm

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The new All-Party Parliamentary Group for Housing and Planning has been formed to address the housing crisis.

The group’s secretariat will be the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

New Group Formed to Address Housing Crisis

New Group Formed to Address Housing Crisis

It will be chaired by James Cartlidge, the Conservative MP for South Suffolk and involve MPs from a range of urban and rural constituencies.

The group has four vice-chairmen, including the former housing minister, Mark Prisk.

Cartlidge explains the organisation’s objective: “Housing is increasingly becoming one of the most critical policy challenges facing local and national government, and with a housing bill pending, it is likely to become more political and controversial.

“In this context, a cross-party parliamentary group focused objectively on the national policy challenge of housing offers a vehicle for taking the debate forward in a way that is both positive and constructive.

“Having spent my working life in the shared ownership housing sector, I am acutely aware of the challenges facing first time buyers, particularly in London.

“Equally, as a rural MP, I recognise the need for development to be sustainable. Ultimately, there are a whole raft of complex issues in housing and planning today, but I hope that we can make a real contribution to the debate.”1

Sean Tompkins, Chief Executive of the RICS, says: “We currently need to build in the region of 245,000 homes every year if we are to address the UK’s housing crisis.

“The solutions we need must be innovative and wide-ranging, but also grounded within a political framework, which allows them to be implemented.”1

1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/new-all-party-committee-formed-to-look-into-housing-crisis/