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 [...]

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 [...]

Scotland preparing for Home Reports

From the 1st of December, all houses marketed for sale in Scotland will need a Home Report. This is a pack of three documents: a Single Survey, an Energy Report and a Property Questionnaire. The Home Report will be made available on request to prospective buyers of the home.
The Single Survey contains an assessment by a [...]

Rents down as supply increases

Rents dropped across the residential lettings sector during the last quarter due to the increase in unsellable properties put onto the rental market.
The latest RICS Lettings Survey reports that the net balances of surveyors reporting new instructions to let both flats and houses (an indicator of supply) are now at historical highs.
50% and 68% more [...]

Largest quarterly fall in Scotland for 16 years

Scottish house prices fell in the latest quarter, according to the latest Scottish House Price Monitor from Lloyds TSB Scotland.
In the three months to 31 October, the quarterly price index for the average domestic property in Scotland fell by 4% to give an average mix adjusted Scottish house price of £165,398. This is the largest [...]

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 [...]