Breaking News
Rent rises moderate across UK
According to the latest findings from the HomeLet Rental Index, rent rises slowed in every region of the UK over the 3 months to August 2015 compared to the previous 3 months, however rents are still rising at double figure rates on an annual basis and now stand at 10.5% higher than a year ago….
Allen Walkey
Corbyn and Social Housing
The result of the labour leader contest was announced on saturday, against all the odds we saw the selection of Jeremy Corbyn, most commentators and many inside his party are dubious as to whether the right person was selected. This major swing to the left has suprised many, how will it affect those moderates in…
Allen Walkey
Landlords and tenants in despair as Oliver Knights shuts shop.
Landlords and tenants are in despair as a London letting agent, Oliver Knights, is thought to have closed down, owing thousands of pounds in unpaid rent and holding deposits. Landlord Action had been instructed only weeks ago to recover more than £10,000 for one landlord and £8,000 for another, but with signs the company has…
Christopher Walkey
Waterfords celebrates 20 years as a leading local estate agent.
On Tuesday 1st September, Waterfords turned 20. To celebrate this special occasion, the Waterfords team spent the week in Camberley town centre running competitions, raising over £400 for local homeless charity, Step by Step, and catching up with happy home owners. From Monday 31st August to Sunday 6th September, the Waterfords team set up home…
Christopher Walkey
Private sector rent controls in Scotland
Nicola Sturgeon is an advocate of rent controls, she has outlined plans in the Scottish Parliament to introduce them through a Private Tenancies Bill, personally I have always thought some form of rent control would be the most sensible way of keeping a cap on private sector rents, however this method of controlling rents should…
Allen Walkey
Halifax HPI for August
Halifax House Price Index figures for the month of August released today show that house prices for the UK in the 3 months to August were 9% higher than in the 3 months a year earlier, lower than June at 9.6%, but higher than last month at 7.8%, house prices increased by 2.7% between July…
Allen Walkey
London house price rises continue say RICS
House prices are still rising in London caused by fewer instructions to sell and rising buyer demand, the number of homes coming on to the market remains at its lowest level in at least three decades, according to the latest RICS UK Residential Market Survey, In London 34% more respondents saw prices rise over the…
Allen Walkey
NLA response to DCLG’s new regulations
The National Landlords Association (NLA) responded yesterday to the Department of Communities and Local Government’s (DCLG) new regulations, which are due to come into force on 1 October, they will introduce new obligations on landlords to provide specific information to their tenants, and restrictions on the use of the section 21 notice no fault possession…
Allen Walkey
Greater powers when tackling rogue landlords
The London Mayor wants greater powers to deal with so called rogue landlords who rent out property to tenants in the capital, Richard Blakeway the lead for housing to the Mayor is calling for additional powers for local authorities when dealing with these rogue landlords, including the ability to impose minimum fines. These demands made…
Allen Walkey
Interim results for Belvoir Lettings
Belvoir Lettings PLC, one of the largest lettings franchises in the UK announce their interim results today for the six months ended 30 June 2015. The Belvoir network currently stands at 166 outlets having introduced 5 new franchisees to the network in the last 6 months, they also say that there is a stronger pipeline of…
Allen Walkey
Barratt Devs post great set of numbers.
Barratt Developments report a great set of full year figures, their profits up 44.8% at £565.5 million and their shares are up 74.5% this year. Following a year of excellent progress Barratts today posted their Annual Results for the year ended 30 June 2015, the highlights are: Significant increase in housing completions with the Group…
Allen Walkey
BOE report on UK residential loan value
The Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authorit’s Mortgage Lenders and Administrators Statistics report revealed on tuesday that the overall value of residential loans was £1,272bn in the second quarter, the value of UK residential loans rose 1.8% in the second quarter compared to a year ago, with growth in first time buyers and buy-to-let…
Allen Walkey
Cala Group reports soaring profits.
Cala Group house builders have announced announced a near-doubling of pre-tax profits to a record £50.9million for the year to June 30, the group who target the relatively affluent areas of the UK saw revenue soar by 79% to £511.6million, the company reaped the rewards of the first full year of a new strategy to…
Allen Walkey
UK’s FTB’s facing toughest conditions
According to an ING International Survey on Homes and Mortgages, first time buyers in the UK are facing some of the toughest conditions across Europe, the survey of over 15,000 people across 15 countries revealed. The study found that more than half of people in Europe see house prices rising over the next year, this…
Allen Walkey
Prisoners to their mortgage
Many interest only mortgages are fast reaching the end of their term, those mortgage holders who have not made plans as to how the original sum borrowed will be paid off could face repossession at the worst, nearly a million people are in such a situation because they have interest-only mortgages they just cannot pay…
Allen Walkey