Direct Property News

Rents across England and Wales increased by 2.2% year on year in December, ending the year higher than they started in most areas, the latest buy to let index shows. They increased the most in the East of England and the South East but in London they ended 2016 just £10 per month higher than at the start of the year, according to the data from the Your Move index. The average rent was £811 in England and Wales during December with the highest in London at £1,291, followed by the South East at £877, the East of England at £864 and the South West at £660. The lowest average rent was in the North East […]

A new report from the British Property Federation and real estate firm Savills suggests that Build to Rent is now prominent in the UK housing sector. The investigation indicates that this scheme could deliver 240,000 homes by 2030. White Paper Acknowledging that Build to Rent’s ability to increase the amount of homes will be prominent in the Government’s White Paper, which was released this week. The report looks at the progress of the sector, alongside looking at its potential. Overall, it concludes that on large urban sites, Build to Rent can motor house building three fold. Data was produced in conjunction with the London School of Economics and explains that if this can be achieved in […]

New forecasting from economists at Lancaster University Management School indicates the UK housing market will remain stable as house price inflation slows to 3.5%. They have been analysing house prices (using the Nationwide House Price Data) retrospectively since October 2015 to produce the Housing Market Observatory with the aim of analysing indicators patterns of exuberance, or price booms. For 2017, they have introduced forecasting into the Observatory and results suggest that house prices in the national and all regional property markets will grow this year. For the UK national market, the forecasting models predict a slowdown in the rate of house price inflation to 3.5% in 2017 (in 2016 it was 4.4%). Despite some economists predicting […]

Many experts from the property industry have been quick to respond to yesterday’s already controversial Housing White Paper, delivered by Sajid Javid, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. We have already reported that the RLA is disappointed in the lack of support for individual landlords, while PwC warns that the announcement has worsened the outlook for generation rent. Meanwhile, the Association of Residential Letting Agents and the National Association of Estate Agents have issued a joint statement: https://www.justlandlords.co.uk/news/arla-naea-react-three-year-tenancies/ Now, the CEO of online estate agent eMoov.co.uk, Russell Quirk, has offered his opinions on the Housing White Paper: “As always, commendable that the Government should look to again address the housing crisis, but there […]

House price rises in the UK will slow in 2017 but a crash is highly unlikely due to a sound economic outlook despite Brexit, according to a new analysis. Stability in the housing market is predicted throughout the year with house price inflation slowing to 3.5%, says the forecast from economists at Lancaster University Management School. The data from the Housing Market Observatory from the University has analysed house prices retrospectively since October 2015 and now has produced a forecast with the results for the first time. It suggests that house prices nationally and all regional property markets will grow this year but at 3.5% this will be slower than the 4.4% recorded in 2016. In […]

New housing policies affecting the private rented sector in the UK have been widely welcomed regarding longer tenancies and clamping down on rogue landlords. But landlords and the industry are warning that they still face tough challenges ahead relating to tax and letting fees and rents could rise at a time when the new Housing White Paper wants more affordable homes to be available to rent. The document says that there should be more family friendly tenancies so that people don’t have to worry about moving home frequently as the Government believes that those renting a home should feel as secure as those who buy a home. ‘As access to ownership has become more challenging, increasing […]