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 …