Direct Property News

A London square whose wealthy residents have included Margaret Thatcher and Sean Connery has been crowned the most expensive in England and Wales with an average house price of nearly £17m. Eaton Square, in the upmarket Belgravia district of west London, topped a list dominated by addresses in the capital, according to an annual survey by Lloyds Bank.

Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, London and Cardiff are the best locations in the UK for residential rental investment and are cities with strong tenant demand, according to new research. They all score over 45 in a new investor growth assessment tool developed by national lettings and property franchise business Martin & Co. Cambridge also scores highly due to having a significant population of young professionals and growing support for the proposed Cambridge-Milton Keynes-Oxford corridor. Less obvious investor destinations for buy to let landlords include Aylesbury and central Bedfordshire which score the maximum seven for development. Both have witnessed a 5% increase in housing stock since 2011 and both have a substantial development pipeline. The analysis report also […]

The latest report from residential chartered surveyor, e.surv, has revealed that mortgage approvals grew 1.3% between October and November – the first significant growth in the market since the EU referendum in June. Following the vote to leave the European Union, mortgage approvals dropped dramatically but now, after a period of stability, growth has resumed. In total 64,407 house purchase mortgages (seasonally adjusted) were approved in the month of November. This is above the 62,522 recorded for October but remains below the 70,511 approvals in November 2015. This month’s figure also remains below the 2016 peak of 72,512. This figure was recorded in February and may have been artificially boosted by buyers making house purchases before […]

It is currently a time of cooling off for the UK housing market as Christmas approaches. However, there are still some signs that investors are remaining highly active. A clear sign of this was the outcome of Cheffins’ auction in Cambridge last week, where £1.65m worth of sales was achieved across 13 lots. This represented a sales rate of 77%. Activity Ian Kitson, associate at Cheffins, said: ‘December sales often feature slightly smaller catalogues than the rest of the year, but there was good interest in a range of the lots throughout the marketing period, suggesting that buyers remain motivated regardless of the looming festive period.’ ‘We saw a good turnout on the day and achieved […]

If you are purchasing or selling a property or Land and it is affected by a rentcharge. Whether you are purchasing or selling a freehold property either registered or unregistered it is essential you are aware of any rentcharges that might affect the property or land. Despite freehold rentcharges reaching far back in the nineteenth century, they affect several properties including areas of Manchester, Bristol and various areas of south Wales.

Britain’s average residential rent increased slightly in 2016 at 1.12%, latest data revealed, but growth is expected to rise in 2017. Compared to 2015 where growth was at 2.34%, rental growth slowed this year with rents in London dropping by 0.31%, the national rent review by buy-to-let lender Landbay states. Towards the end of 2016, the national average rent paid is at £1,188 per month, an increase of £132. Rents in London peaked in April at £1,894 before falling in May. Whilst the downward spiral seemed to continue in London, the rest of England has seen a yearly rent increase of 2%. The biggest annual rise happened in the East Midlands at 2.6%, followed by the […]