Posts with tag: landlords

Where are the best regions for rental growth?

Published On: April 28, 2017 at 8:39 am

Tags: Buy-to-Let,landlords,rental rises,rental yields,rents

New figures from Your Move show that the average rent in England and Wales during March stood at £800, a rise of £2 in comparison to the previous month.

However, this was a fall from the £811 per month seen at the back end of 2016.

Rental Rises

The latest Your Move England & Wales Buy to Let Index shows that rents increased in six of the ten regions covered by the analysis during March, in comparison to February.

This was driven by rises in the East of England, with prices here increasing 1.6% in the last month. Now, values are 7.4% greater than in March last year.

Valerie Bannister, letting director at Your Move, noted: ‘In previous months we have seen rents in the South East rise as people looked to move beyond the capital, but it is the East of England which appears to be seeing the benefit as rents here have risen 7.4% in the last year.’[1]

Capital Slowdown

On the other hand, rents in London continue to slow. The capital saw rental decline on both a monthly and yearly basis. The average rental property in the capital let for £1,203pcm during March 2017, a fall of 6% month-on-month.

Bannister continued by saying: ‘Rents in London have declined in the last 12 months, falling from £1,297 a year ago to £1,203 in March 2017.’[1]

The capital was not the only region to experience a rental decline in the last month and year. In the North East, prices now average at £525pcm, after seeing a fall of 3.7% since February and 3.1% since March 2016. However, it remains the cheapest place to rent, according to the survey.

When are the best regions for rental growth?

Yields

In terms of yields, the average in England and Wales was 4.5% in March, a fall from the 5% seen in March last year.

Regions with greater house prices continue to have the lowest yields, therefore it is not a surprise that the average yield in London was 3.2% last month.

At the other end of the scale, properties in the North East saw the largest yields, of 5.2% in March. The North West also saw healthy yields of 5% over the same period.

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/4/where-are-rents-rising-fastest-in-england-and-wales

Accord announces cuts on remortgage products

Published On: April 27, 2017 at 11:25 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Finance News

Tags: Accord,investors,landlords,LTV's,remortgage

Accord Buy-to-Let has today announced that it has made a reduction of 0.20% across a selection of its remortgage products.

These loans are available to standard investor landlords, alongside non-investor landlords and follows the announcement last week that it was re-entering the consumer buy-to-let market. This is in order to support borrowers who have let their only investment property where they or a family member previously lived.

Rates

Rates now begin at 1.76%, with a product fee of £1,995, for investors looking for a two-year fixed rate remortgage loan at 75% LTV.

For those borrowing lesser amounts, some options include a 2.25% two-year fixed rate with a £950 product fee, free legal assistance and free standard valuation.

Three different two-year fixed rate remortgage products at 75% LTV have also benefitted from a 0.20% reduction. These feature a range of options including free legal assistance, free valuation and cashback on completion.

Accord announces cuts on remortgage products

Connectivity

Chris Maggs, Accord Buy-to-Let’s Commercial Manager, noted: ‘These 0.20% reductions will give brokers the chance to proactively contact landlords who may be looking to refinance some or all of their mortgage portfolio. With the new taxation rules being phased in earlier this month this is an ideal time for landlords to reassess their financial commitments.’[1]

‘These new products sharpen our buy to let range even further and having re-entered the consumer buy to let market we expect a very active time ahead. We’re sure these reductions will prove very popular and the additional features will really appeal to landlords who want to reduce their outgoings when remortgaging,’ he added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/finance/accord-announce-cuts-on-remortgage-products.html

Taxpayers left in limbo after changes to Finance Bill 2017

Published On: April 26, 2017 at 1:03 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Finance News

Tags: landlords,property market,tax,taxpayers

The Government’s choice to scrap significant proposals to non-domicile rules and inheritance tax changes from the Finance Bill 2017 at such late notice has left many taxpayers in limbo.

That is the view of accounting, tax and advisory practice Blick Rothenberg, which offers its support and sympathy for taxpayers.

General Election

Ahead of the forthcoming General Election, the Government decided to rush through the Finance Bill 2017 in the House of Commons yesterday. As such, there was only time for four hours worth of debate.

In order to pass the Finance Bill in the allotted timeframe, the Government dropped several proposals at the very last moment.

Nimesh Shah, partner at Blick Rothenberg, noted: ‘It is unbelievable that such important provisions have been dropped at the eleventh hour, after the painful amount of work that has gone into the process to finalise the legislation.’[1]

‘It is even more disappointing for those non-domiciled individuals who were readying themselves for the changes and arranging their affairs in the run-up to the end of the [5 April 2017] tax year,’ she continued.[1]

Taxpayers left in limbo after changes to Finance Bill 2017

Time

Shah feels that the Government should be taking their time with such important legislation changes and suggests that this particular debate should have been left until after the election.

‘To rush it through in this slapdash way before the election is unsettling for taxpayers,’ she observed.[1]

With a second Finance Bill expected to be published after the election, Shah fears that a number of the scrapped changes will be re-introduced and backdated.

Concluding, Shah noted: ‘Non-domiciled individuals will now face a period of limbo, waiting for the outcome of the election and publication of the second Finance Bill. This will be the second time in three years that we will have two Finance Acts in a year, adding to yet more tax legislation.’

‘Moves like this create unstable and complex tax policy, and the government needs to put politics to one side in the interest of certainty for taxpayers.’[1]

[1] https://www.propertyinvestortoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/4/inheritance-tax-changes-to-uk-residential-properties-leave-taxpayers-in-limbo

Older property purchasers more deterred by Brexit threat

Published On: April 26, 2017 at 10:02 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: Brexit,landlords,property,property market

A new survey has revealed that uncertainty surrounding Brexit is impacting more on young home buyers than older ones.

An investigation commissioned by property consultants Cluttons found that 63% of 18-24 year olds has reconsidered buying a home after becoming disillusioned with the economic outlook.

However, the OnePoll survey found that older people were not as deterred, with 82.07% of those aged 55+ saying that Brexit has not impacted on them at all.

Regional Uncertainty

By location, people in Oxford were found to be the most concerned of the impact of a weaker post-Brexit economy, with 80% of people here saying they were reconsidering a property purchase. This is well above the national average of 53.7%.

Those in Yorkshire and Norwich were also found to be wary about purchasing in the midst of Brexit uncertainty. 72.7% and 72.2% respectively in these regions said that they were considering moving house.

Overall, 35% of those asked said they were looking to either move or upgrade their property. 72% of people said that Brexit did not impact on their intention to purchase.

78% of those in the South East said they had not been deterred by purchasing property as a result of Brexit, followed by 77% in the Midlands, 75% in Scotland and 73% in Wales.

Older property purchasers more deterred by Brexit threat

Chance

The poll also revealed that 29% of the total UK residents surveyed agreed that they found the Brexit decision was a chance to capitalise on an ailing market.

Faisal Durrani, head of research at Cluttons, said: ‘Brexit has undoubtedly fuelled economic anxiety across the country. That said, it is encouraging to note that despite heated discussions in the wake of the Brexit referendum results, it’s clear that home buyers have not been deterred by political events in Westminster.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/brexit-affected-younger-buyers-uk-majority-not-deterred/

Property prices in Scotland rise year-on-year

Published On: April 25, 2017 at 11:51 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: landlords,property in Scotland,Scotland,Scottish house prices

The average value of a property in Scotland hit £173,862 during February –a rise of 3.3% year-on-year, according to Your Move’s Scotland House Price Index.

In addition, residential property prices north of the border rose significantly, by £2,340 or 1.4%. This took values to a near two-year high.

Rises

This growth was driven by the two largest cities in Scotland, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Property prices in both of these locations increased by 8.4% over the course of the year, largely due to the ongoing supply-demand imbalance in these cities.

Five regions saw a new peak in February, including Stirling, the Shetland Islands and South Lanarkshire. These regions saw yearly increases of 12.2%, 9.4% and 8.2% respectively.

Christine Campbell, Your Move managing director in Scotland, observed: ‘First-time buyers are continuing to drive the market in Scotland, but the window of opportunity opened by interest rate cuts last year may be narrowing. Tight supply coupled with their demand is pushing up prices across the country.’[1]

Property prices in Scotland rise year-on-year

Strong

Alan Penman, business development manager for Walker Fraser Steele, also said: ‘While London remains sluggish, prices in the big beasts of the Scottish housing market, Edinburgh and Glasgow, are growing strongly. That reflects strength in both high value and affordable areas across the country and bodes well for the market as it faces up to the uncertainties following the triggering of Article 50.’[1]

[1] https://www.propertyinvestortoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/4/house-prices-rise-across-scotland

Rise in the number of landlords leaving the market

Published On: April 25, 2017 at 11:04 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: investors,landlords,letting agent fees,tax

The most recent report from ARLA Propertymark has revealed that there has been an increase in the number of landlords selling their properties and leaving the Private Rental Sector.

An average of four ARLA agents per branch made the decision to sell their buy-to-let property during March, in comparison to three in February. The last time the average number of investors choosing to sell their buy-to-let property was above three per branch was in November 2016-when the ban on letting agent fees was announced.

Reductions

In addition, ARLA Propertymark reported that the number of tenants negotiating rent reductions increase month-on-month in March. During February, 2.2% of agents saw successful rent reductions, in comparison to 3.6% in March.

25% of letting agents said that landlords increased their rents during the last month-unchanged since January. However, this is a fall from the 32% of agents experiencing rent rises in March 2016.

The number of properties being managed per member branch remained constant with the previous month at 183. Last March however, this figure stood at 169, which means that the supply of rental stock has actually increased by 8% in the last twelve months.

Rise in the number of landlords leaving the market

Concerning

David Cox, Chief Executive of ARLA Propertymark, said: ‘It’s concerning that, despite supply increasing over last year, stock failed to return to the market after dipping in February. When we also consider that this is coupled with a rise in the number of landlords selling their BTL properties, this is bad news for those searching for a rental property. The introduction of mortgage interest relief means the market is becoming less and less attractive to investors and it appears some landlords are, as we predicted, choosing to exit the market rather than pay the higher taxes.’[1]

‘What’s more, two thirds (66 per cent) of our members are concerned the Government will introduce even more landlord taxes in 2017, which will only further dampen supply. Following the announcement of the ban on letting agent fees, we expect the situation to only get worse for tenants when inevitably the costs are passed onto tenants through higher rents. However, it’s positive that more tenants are taking action and negotiating rent reductions before the consultation ends and they see their rents increase,’ Cox added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/surge-in-landlords-exiting-the-market.html