Posts with tag: landlords

Internet connection now considered essential for tenants

Published On: November 18, 2016 at 11:19 am

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An interesting new survey has revealed that a reliable and affordable internet connection is one is the most important features that tenants look for when searching for a new property.

For many millennials, a good broadband connection is imperative, whether for work, study and entertainment reasons.

Essential

Research from LivingCom shows that high-speed internet is an essential component of renting a property. 96% said that a lack of internet when moving into a property is cause for massive frustration.

In fact, the survey shows that sub-standard connectivity can have a detrimental impact on rental values. Tenants will be harder to attract and of course, harder to retain. Three-quarters of young professionals questioned said that the are more inclined to rent a pre-installed internet service.

Paul Eaton, commercial manager at LivingCom, commented: ‘77% of young professionals own three or more internet-ready devices, so connectivity is key for the millennial movers and within three in four of this market lacking the funds to buy their own property, the private rental sector should be ensuring high-speed Wi-Fi and internet based services are delivered as an essential amenity, as soon as possible.’[1]

‘With 83% of 25 to 30 year olds having to wait more than a week to be connected in their new homes, it’s clear that high-speed internet connectivity needs to become an essential part of property development and a priority for landlords,’ he continued.[1]

Internet connection now considered essential for tenants

Internet connection now considered essential for tenants

Growing importance

Alternative research from Gocompare.com Broadband has indicated that a number of Britons see a good internet connection as more important than heating!

76% of people asked now view broadband as an essential utility, with 36% saying that they could not live without it. One if five people said that they would not buy or rent a home if there was a poor connection.

23% of 18-24 year olds said that they would go without heating for a week in favour of broadband. 15% said they would go cold for a month!

Ben Wilson of Gocompare Broadband noted: ‘These figures highlight just how important the internet has become in our daily lives, with the majority of people now considering it an essential utility like energy or water.’[1]

‘The internet has quietly become a vital part in many people’s day-to-day lives and as such it’s now more important than ever to make sure you’re with right provider at the right price.’[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/11/good-internet-connection-now-considered-vital-by-renters

 

Fall in rental market activity recorded in October

Published On: November 18, 2016 at 9:52 am

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Categories: Landlord News

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Rental market activity slowed during October, according to new data released from Agency Express.

Taking Britain as a whole, the number of new listings rose by 2.6% year-on-year, which was down from the 11.5% rise in new properties coming onto the market at the same period last year.

Ups and downs

The volume of properties actually let last month slipped by 6.3% over the same timeframe, almost on a par with data from the same month in 2015.

Eight of the twelve regions assessed by the Property Activity Index recorded growth in new listings to let, with only four regions seeing growth in properties let.

The top three regions experiencing rises in new properties to let were:

  • East Midlands +20.4%
  • West Midlands +13.4%
  • Central England +12.4%

And in terms of properties actually let, the top three were:

  • South East +12.7%
  • Scotland +11.7%
  • North East +7.9%
Fall in rental market activity recorded in October

Fall in rental market activity recorded in October

Scottish success

Overall, Scotland was the top performing region in October, seeing increases in new listings and properties let. While these increases are a record for the region, Agency Express warns that demand continues to outpace supply.

During the last three months, new listings north of the border fell by 1.7%. The largest declines however were in Yorkshire & Humberside, where new listings slipped by 3.6% and properties let fell by 14.1%.

Stephen Watson, managing director at Agency Express said: ‘As we look back at the historical data recorded by the Property Activity Index, we can see over the last three years October has been a buoyant month for new rentals across the UK lettings market. However, this year the figures paint a different picture, evident by the drop in supply.’[1]

‘Historical trends within the indices also indicate that we should not see a decline in figures until December, but with the current rate of change it will be interesting to see what November and December’s data brings,’ he added.[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/11/rental-supply-slows-in-october

 

Renters’ Rights Bill to be debated tomorrow

Published On: November 17, 2016 at 10:59 am

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Categories: Landlord News

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Fees able to be charged by letting agents will be discussed tomorrow in the House of Lords, as the Renters’ Rights Bill takes stage in the upper house.

The proposal was put forwards as a Private Members Bill by Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Grender, but is unlikely to become law outright. However, Private Members’ Bills have a record of highlighting features that are later put into legislation.

Scrapping of fees

Grender’s measure outlines the scrapping of agents’ fees for tenants. It calls for an amendment to the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, to stop agents in England by charging both existing tenants or prospective tenants.

She calls for no charges to tenants for registering, administration, inventories or reference checks, alongside free renewal or exit fees.

In addition, Baroness Grender has called for the mandatory registration of landlords and caps of the size of deposits. What’s more, the proposals request an automatic ban for any agent or landlord named on a ‘rogue operator’ database from being given a HMO licence.

Renters' Rights Bill to be debated tomorrow

Renters’ Rights Bill to be debated tomorrow

Support

Last time the measure was debated in the House of Lords, it received substantial all-party backing. At this debate in June, Baroness Grender told the Lords that consumer protection for private sector tenants was less developed than in other commercial activities.

Grender observed that renters are, ‘often at the mercy of landlords and lettings agents.’[1]

‘It’s time for the Government intervention to address this imbalance of power and build up the consumer rights of renters….Letting agents should not be able to get away with double charging fees, imposing them on both tenants and landlords, when in fact it is only the landlord that is the client,’ she added.[1]

[1] https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/11/letting-agents-fees-to-be-discussed-in-house-of-lords-tomorrow

 

Borrowing lull in buy-to-let market

Published On: November 16, 2016 at 10:44 am

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Categories: Finance News

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New seasonally adjusted figures released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reveal that the level of buy-to-let borrowing slipped by 7% between August and September.

According to the firm, the 3% stamp duty surcharge continues to hit landlords hard in the pocket.

Borrowing falls

Data from the report shows the gross amount that buy-to-let landlords borrowed is also down year-on-year. There was a 22% fall in borrowing to £2.8bn with the number of loans down by 6% from August to 18,200. In addition, there was a fall of 26% in comparison to September 2015.

Paul Smee, director general of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, said: ‘Six months on since the stamp duty changes on second properties and buy-to-let continues to operate at lower levels than a year ago. But lending for buy-to-let house purchase and remortgaging has settled at its current level over the last four months.’[1]

Steve Bolton, founder of Platinum Property Partners, feels it could take a long time to see resurgence in mortgage lending required to bring the market back to pre-stamp duty levels.

Bolton noted: ‘The fall in purchase loans suggests many landlords are holding back from expanding their portfolios. With punitive tax changes on the horizon for 2017, this trend will only become more pronounced. The unfortunate knock-on effect for tenants is rents will become more expensive as the supply of suitable rental accommodation is constricted.’[1]

Borrowing lull in buy-to-let market

Borrowing lull in buy-to-let market

Remortgaging rises

Remortgaging hit £5.5bn during September, a fall of 7% in August. However, this was 8% up in comparison to September 2015. This was a representation of 31,500 loans, down 10% month-on-month but up 2% year-on-year.

Jeremy Duncombe, director of Legal & General Mortgage Club, observed: ‘It is encouraging to see that remortgaging figures are continuing to rise on an annual basis. These figures show that borrowers are beginning to regain control of the housing market and make it work for them, as they continue to take advantage of the record low base rate.’[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/11/landlord-borrowing-falls-by-7-as-lull-hits-buy-to-let-market

 

More properties available to let in prime central London

Published On: November 15, 2016 at 11:31 am

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Categories: Property News

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Another piece of research has revealed that property available to rent in prime central London has risen sharply.

Data from the report by property company LosRes reveals that in the third quarter of this year, stock levels have risen substantially since the same period in 2015.

In contrast however, there was actually 4% fall in the number of properties actually rented out.

Rising stock

A LosRes spokesperson said: ‘Increased stock levels have meant that tenants are able to negotiate on price. A slow July market, following the referendum result, is impacting on the quarterly figures.’[1]

Taking prime central London properties as a whole, the number of homes let fell by 17% in comparison with the same period one year ago. August and September however saw increases of five and seven per cent respectively.

Concluding, the report said: ‘The majority of our subscribers surveyed still expect achieved rental values in 2016 to end the year down on 2015 levels, but the proportion expecting a fall has dropped since our previous survey in Q2 2016. This quarter, 32 per cent of respondents expect average rental values to end the year at the same level, or higher, than the end of 2015, up from 22 per cent in Q2 2016.’[1]

More properties available to let in prime central London

More properties available to let in prime central London

Falling rent

This report comes soon after a similar one conducted by lettings agency and property consultancy JLL.

Research Director, Neil Chegwidden, said: ‘With weakened tenant demand, the increased supply of properties on the market is not being eroded. Available supply has also been boosted by owners electing to rent out their properties as opposed to selling them, given the diminished demand in the sales market.’[2]

‘Although most are choosing to remain in their current accommodation due to the upheavel and cost of a move, some are moving elsewhere to take advantage of these conditions,’ he added.[2]

[1] https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/11/another-report-of-surge-in-supply-of-prime-london-homes-to-let

[2] https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/8/over-supply-leads-to-rents-falling-in-prime-london-lettings-market

 

Shortage in property pushing up prices

Published On: November 14, 2016 at 12:03 pm

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Categories: Property News

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New figures released from haart estate agents has showed that transactions, viewings and registrations all slipped during October.

The report reveals that property prices rose by 0.5% month-on-month and by 1.5%, taking the average UK house price to £227,566.

Dropping demand

Buyer demand for homes dropped by 2% in September and is down substantially by 22.4% year-on-year. What’s more, the number of properties coming onto the market has dropped 5.3% month-on-month and by 6.1% year-on-year.

As such, the decrease in stock has led to the number of buyers chasing an instruction to rise slightly. There are now nine potential purchasers for every new property coming onto the market.

In addition, the market has become less efficient in the last month, with the number of transactions decreasing and viewings rising.

Market ups and downs

The typical purchase price for first-time buyers has increased by 2.8%, up year-on-year by 5.6%. However, the number of first-time buyers entering the market dropped by 1.5% month-on-month and by 30.1% annually.

In terms of tenants, the numbers entering the market fell by 2.6% and by 13.4% annually. This pushed down rents marginally, with the average rent now £1,385 in the whole of the UK. In London, demand has risen by 6.8% month-on-month, but is still down year-on-year. Average rents in the capital are £1,961.

Investors taking out landlord insurance on properties have increased over the last month, with numbers registering to buy rising by 5.4% month-on-month across Britain. Despite that increase in demand, sales prices have fallen, by 3.5% over the month and by 9% in London.

Transactions increased by 28.6% across the UK over the course of the year.

Shortage in property pushing up prices

Shortage in property pushing up prices

Confusion

Paul Smith, CEO of haart estate agents, noted: ‘The nation’s property market is suffering from the ongoing confusion around Brexit and what it will mean for our economy. Homeowners are experiencing a crisis of confidence, with sellers either holding out for better offers or keeping their properties off the market altogether. A Brexit courtroom drama has hardly helped the situation. The Government must set out a clear plan for Brexit to help buyers and sellers feel confident and to get housebuilders building again.’[1]

‘In London, which voted heavily in favour of Remain, the problem is particularly acute, with the number of new properties on the market down by over 10% on last month, and transactions down by over 20% on last year. The current supply shortage has seen a jump in London prices compared to last month, but unlike normal times this isn’t a sign of a ‘hot’, active market. It is a blip undermined by the fall in transactions – in reality nobody is winning in the current market. The ‘Psychology of Brexit’ is holding the market back, and the government must act to avoid this dip becoming a long-term problem,’ he continued.[1]

Concluding, Mr Smith said: ‘The Autumn Statement is the Government’s opportunity to relieve the pressure. Philip Hammond must look to cut stamp duty, especially at the bottom end to help ‘generation rent’ make their move onto the property ladder, which will increase fluidity in the market. We also need to see new incentives to ensure housebuilders continue with planned projects and increase their pipelines to get Britain building again.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/property-shortage-continues-to-push-up-house-prices.html