Property News
Neighbourhood Hit Squad comes to Bentley
Posted on 01/08/2011
Doncaster Council’s Neighbourhood Hit Squad is launching in Bentley this week with a community event at Fern Avenue (Thursday 4 August 1pm-6pm). The project is run by the council’s Private Sector Housing team and brings together a variety of agencies including NHS Doncaster, the police and fire service as well as various other council departments …
Rise in number of buy-to-let mortgages
Posted on 22/07/2011
Half of mortgage intermediaries reported that buy-to-let applications increased during the second quarter. The Financial Adviser Confidence Tracking (FACT) Index, carried out by specialist buy-to-let mortgage lender Paragon, found that on average, the intermediaries interviewed conducted 5.4% more buy-to-let business in Q2 than in the first quarter. Availability of buy-to-let finance also improved significantly during …
More landlords seek to evict tenants
Posted on 22/07/2011
The number of landlords seeking to evict their tenants through the courts is creeping up, amid forecasts of more evictions next year when new housing benefit caps are introduced. There were 34,897 landlord claims issued in courts in England and Wales in the first quarter of this year, 5% higher than in the first quarter …
Zoopla inks deal to power property search on AOL UK
Posted on 05/07/2011
Zoopla.co.uk today announced that it has signed an exclusive deal to power the property search feature on AOL UK. AOL UK owns a portfolio of brands including Walletpop and Daily Finance where daily property related articles will automatically incorporate the property search functionality. Under the terms of the deal, all properties listed on Zoopla.co.uk will …
Mortgage lenders continue to let down house hunters
Posted on 05/07/2011
Buyers are still failing to overcome the significant barriers to home ownership that the current housing market represents, according to the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA). The latest monthly market report from the NAEA showed only slight decreases across supply and demand during the month of May, when 275 people registered with a branch, …
People expect house prices to rise over next year
Posted on 05/07/2011
More Britons expect house prices to rise rather than fall over the next twelve months, according to the Halifax Housing Market Confidence tracker. Although house prices fell by 1.2% on a quarterly basis in April, one in three of survey respondents actually predicted that average UK house prices will rise this year, whilst 23% expect …
Renting more expensive than buying in 8 out of 10 cities
Posted on 05/07/2011
Renting a home in Britain is currently 9.7% more expensive than owning on average. And it is cheaper to buy instead of rent in four in five of the 50 largest towns and cities across the country, according to the latest research from leading property website Zoopla.co.uk. The research looks at the current asking prices …
LANDLORDS FORCED OUT OF HOUSING BENEFIT MARKET
Posted on 20/06/2011
A survey by the National Landlords Association (NLA) has found more than half of private residential landlords are planning to reduce the number of properties they let to tenants on housing benefits. This response from landlords comes on the eve of the Welfare Reform Bill’s report stage in the House of Commons on Monday, 13 …
Demand in rental market to remain strong, says expert
Posted on 03/06/2011
Letting agents are likely to continue to see strong demand for properties while the housing market remains as it is. This is the view of Malcolm Harrison, an independent property expert, who pointed out that there is very little house-building taking place and a shortage of “decent” homes in many areas. On top of this, …
Brits encouraged to consider renting over home ownership
Posted on 03/06/2011
The positives of renting a property have been expounded by an industry source, who suggested people might benefit from not owning their home. Paul Holmes, chief executive of first-time buyer specialist Firstrung, accepted that it is easy to sell a house in a bull market, but when the sector goes bad it can leave individuals …
HOUSING BENEFIT CUTS COULD ADD TO RENT ARREARS
Posted on 03/06/2011
More than half of landlords have experienced late rent payments in the past year, with housing benefit cuts expected to put further pressure on tenants. Research by the National Landlords Association has found 52 per cent of landlords have reported rent arrears in the past 12 months. The survey of nearly 600 landlords found the …
Letting agents see record rents in April
Posted on 25/05/2011
The record monthly high of £692 per month charged by landlords on average has been matched in April, a study from LSL Property Services has demonstrated. It revealed that such bills climbed 0.8 per cent compared to the previous month, with London and the south-east of England experiencing the biggest jump. Estate agency managing director …
