The world of property can be harsh in the extreme, with one person’s misery being another one’s profit. Nowhere is this truer than in the land of laissez-faire economics the United States.
The collapse in house prices in many parts of America as a result of the credit crunch and recession provides an investment opportunity for cash-rich Britons unafraid of risk and without moral qualms. Property buyers are taking on repossessed homes – called foreclosures in the US – at bargain-basement prices, then renting them out for impressive returns. But should they hand over their cash in such turbulent times?
Dec 10
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The trend towards tightening mortgage conditions will continue for the first half of the year, with lenders remaining reluctant to extend loans to any but the most reliable and safe borrowers. This will keep up the pressure on the private rented sector, meaning higher rents, less availability and some new areas becoming fashionable with landlords – within an hour’s commute of London for example.
In London itself, areas close to good transport links such as Stratford, Kings Cross, Finsbury Park and Paddington will register uplifts in house prices, with the London Olympics now just over a year away. Some companies …
The autumn has seen demand from tenants increase by 32% compared to the same period last year with rental stock, on the other hand, down by 12% over the same period, according to Caroline Kavanagh, group lettings director of Badger Holdings Group, parent company to Townends Estate Agent.
The record levels of demand are being driven by the large number of people either priced or consciously opting out of the sales market and deciding that renting, rather than buying a property, is their best option for the time being, she believes.
Few office schemes are expected to get off the ground in 2011 although investors are actively seeking exposure to London’s West End, says the latest UK Property Market Report from Jones Lang LaSalle. Over 1.3 million square feet of new tower office space is confirmed for 2014 and retailers are in line for a Merry Christmas. But in the residential sector prices and transactions are set to slow across the country.
The monthly change from September to October is a decrease of 0.8 per cent.
Eight regions in England and Wales experienced increases in their average property values over the last 12 months.
The region with the highest annual price change is London with an increase of 7.6 per cent.
Best in class properties have fallen an average of just 1.4% over the past six months and values are within 2% of their peak, says property adviser Savills.
On average values have fallen by 1.9% over the past six months, leaving them 7% down from their peak.
By contrast, properties that are blighted by factors such as road noise, pylons or being the wrong side of the track are now over 13% from peak, having fallen by 2.6% in six months. Some blighted country houses have lost almost of fifth of their peak value.
The proportion of people who intend to buy a home in the coming 12 months and who will be making their first purchase rose to 26 percent, Rightmove said in an e-mailed statement in London today, citing an October survey. That compares with 22 percent found in a study conducted in July, said the operator of Britain’s biggest property website.
Their target is the country’s “unscrupulous tenants” who use the law to live rent free while hiding behind a flawed court system.
But the landlords have had enough – and are asking for changes to the law to speed up the eviction process when there is a clear case of either non-payment of rent or anti-social behaviour.
Nov 10
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“We have lived here for over 20 years and have always struggled with heat loss through the windows,” Katy says. “Last year, we decided we couldn’t continue heating the garden, so replaced some of the single-paned windows with double-glazed fixed units. However, some of the windows are beautiful Victorian sashes with original glazing – it’s uneven and one pane has a scratched signature on it – I like to think it was a bored schoolchild.”
House asking prices fell 0.9% on the month in October, having dropped 0.4% on the month in September and by 0.3% on the month in August.
With the number of new buyers registering with estate agents falling by 2.0% on the month, the data add to the evidence of weakening demand in the housing market.