2008 rental demand “extraordinary”

Demand for rental property dipped slightly in October, with the number of leases commencing, down 2.35% on September, according to lettings agent Your Move.
The Your Move Rental Demand Index uses two-month rolling averages to measure demand for lettings in the UK and since the index cut-off date, Your Move has tracked a recovery in demand. [...]

Assetz sees window of opportunity for investors

Assetz believes that a brief window of opportunity is opening up for investors and homebuyers as lower interest rates take effect, coinciding with increasing pressure by banks on developers to sell existing stock and increase cash reserves.
The firm notes that there are now several buy-to-let mortgages available on the market at around 5.5%. With rates [...]

Lending up 7% in October

Latest CML data has revealed that gross mortgage lending totalled an estimated £18.7 billion in October, almost 7% higher than September’s £17.5 billion figure.
The monthly total was 44% lower than gross mortgage lending of £33.4 billion in October 2007.
CML director general Michael Coogan said: “While lending in October ticked up from a low figure in [...]

Landlords urged to insure against defaults

Landlords may resist covering themselves against the risk of defaulting tenants, even as possessions rise, because of a fear of high premiums, according to Let Insurance Services.
It warns that this ‘strategy’ could prove to be a false economy now that the risk to the lettings market has increased driven by rising unemployment and, in some [...]

Investors use bridging to finance bargain basement buys

Brokers have seen a 200% increase in demand for bridging finance in the last nine months as investors have been seeking bargains at auctions and through other distressed sales.
A number of smaller bridging firms have had to withdraw because of a lack of funding over the past year. However, unlike the mainstream market, the main [...]

Inflation fall makes December rate cut more likely

The fall in the Consumer Price Index to 4.5% has led Mortgages for Business to believe that rates will be cut further in December.
The buy-to-let broker has also stated that it wouldn’t be surprising if the Bank of England slashes a further 1% off Base Rate before the end of the year.
While the spread between [...]

Face-to-face beats the web, say brokers

RBS research suggests that most intermediaries do not see the internet posing a threat to their businesses over the next five years.
In a poll taken at the most recent RBS Intermediary Roadshow held in Manchester last week, 15% of brokers thought that there was no threat at all because people prefer to arrange their mortgages [...]

Equity release sales set to double by 2013

Norwich Union is predicting annual equity release sales to double to £2.4 billion over five years.
It has made a number of predictions as part of a report on the sector compiled to celebrate its 10th anniversary in equity release on 16 November.
Norwich Union believes that the market will see referral deals where consumers can access [...]

Plenty of housing equity for over 65s still available

The latest findings from Prudential’s Equity Release Index show that despite falling house prices, homeowners aged 65 and over still have £692.06 billion of equity in their homes.
Prudential’s Index, which tracks the amount of equity held in the properties of people aged 65 and over in England and Wales, found that 42.45% of this equity [...]

Cautious optimism pervades landlords

In a poll taken at the most recent RBS Intermediary Roadshow held in Manchester, nearly a third (31%) of mortgage intermediaries thought that their landlord clients are taking an optimistic view about their prospects for the next 12 months and will be looking to add properties to their portfolios.
Nearly six in 10 (58%) thought that [...]