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UK tenants want to be able to decorate their properties, new poll finds
New research reveals that residential landlords in the UK could benefit from the findings that tenants are willing to pay more if they are allowed to decorate their homes. Indeed, the survey by insurance provider Endsleigh found that they would be happy to pay an additional £149.52 a year, on average, if their landlords let them personalise the property. With two million private landlords, letting out five million homes in the UK, it calculates that there is potentially an extra £530 million in revenue out there for landlords who explicitly say they are happy for tenants to decorate. The poll found that 43% would be happy to pay more rent and only 29% of those surveyed said that they have the freedom to decorate their property as they wish. It also revealed that with 25% living in a rental property for more than three years, and one in five saying they would be ‘likely’ or ‘very likely’ to avoid inviting relatives round their home if they were embarrassed about the décor, it’s understandable that tenants want to decorate their homes. The top desire was to be able to paint the walls with a colour of their choice with 19% wishing to do this, 17% want to be able to hang pictures or mirrors with screws and 10% want to hand wallpaper of their choice. The research also found that 9% want to be able to use blu-tack to hang things on the wall and 9% want to hang a television on the wall. Many are reluctant to ask with just 28% of tenants seeking permission from their landlord for permission to decorate but of those that do, 76 % of those tenants’ landlords agree to the request, despite it being against the tenancy agreement. ‘With it being so difficult to get on to the property ladder, people are now renting for longer, so naturally they are going to want to decorate the property they are living in long term,’ said David Hadden, manager for landlords and lettings at Endsleigh. ‘Landlords who allow tenants to personalise their property could be favoured over those who don’t and may be able to command a higher rental price. If tenants feel at home in their property they may also have longer tenancies,’ he added. Continue reading
Number of first time buyers in the US falls for third year in a row
The share of first time buyers in the United States fell for the third year in a row and remained at its lowest point in nearly three decades, according to a new survey. The overall strengthening pace of home sales over the past year was driven more by repeat buyers with dual incomes, according to the annual survey released by the National Association of Realtors. The survey also found that nearly 90% of all respondents worked with a real estate agent to buy or sell a home which pushed for sale by owner transactions to their lowest share ever. The number of first time buyers was down to 32% from 33% a year ago, which is the second lowest share since the survey began in 1981 and the lowest since 1987 when it was 30%. Historically, the long term average shows that nearly 40% of primary purchases are from first time buyers. According to Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, the housing recovery's missing link continues to be the absence of first time buyers. ‘There are several reasons why there should be more first–time buyers reaching the market, including persistently low mortgage rates, healthy job prospects for those college educated, and the fact that renting is becoming more unaffordable in many areas,’ he said. ‘Unfortunately, there are just as many high hurdles slowing first time buyers down. Increasing rents and home prices are impeding their ability to save for a down payment, there's scarce inventory for new and existing homes in their price range, and it's still too difficult for some to get a mortgage,’ he explained. Yun pointed out that this year's survey perhaps offers additional clues to why fewer first time buyers are reaching the market. ‘First time buyers reported that debt in all forms delayed saving for a down payment for a median of three years, and among the 25% who said saving was the most difficult task, 58% said student loans delayed saving,’ he said. ‘With a median amount of student loan debt for all buyers at $25,000, it's likely some younger households with even higher levels of debt can't save for an adequate down payment or have decided to delay buying until their debt is at more comfortable levels,’ he added. With strong price growth in many markets and fewer first time buyers, the results in this year's survey reveal a market with a higher share of married couples at 67% percent, up from 65% last year, who have higher household income than previous years. Married repeat buyers have the highest income among all buyers at $108,600, while the share of single female buyers decreased from 16% to 15% and male buyers remained flat at 9%. ‘Similar to some of the obstacles facing first time buyers, tighter credit conditions and having less purchasing power than households with dual incomes likely led to the share of single female buyers declining to its… Continue reading
Homes in London, the south east and south west sell more often
Homes in London and the South East and South West of England change hands much more frequently than those in other parts of the country, according to a new analysis. Properties are held by their owners for an average of just 16 years in the South East and 17 years in London and the South West. By contrast, home owners in the North East are keeping their homes the longest, with property changing hands every 22 years on average, 36% longer between sales than the South East. The research report from mover conveyancing services firm My Home Move, says that a higher rate of property ‘turnover’ between owners is a sign of a healthy housing market as people move to new areas for work, upgrade to a larger home to accommodate a growing family or downsize when they no longer need the extra space. ‘Homes in healthy property markets change hands often, as people move up the housing ladder or move to new areas for jobs or a change of lifestyle. Our research reveals that the stronger job market and higher incomes in the South mean that people buy and sell homes more often than in the North,’ said the firm’s chief executive officer Doug Crawford. ‘Interestingly, it’s not just the South East that has a relatively healthy number of homes changing hands as the West Country is also thriving. Regional towns like Exeter, Bath and Bristol have vibrant housing markets and the region as a whole also benefits from people moving there from other parts of England for a slice of the good life,’ he added. The research also found that the amount of time between house sales has fallen dramatically over the last five years, down by 24% across England as a whole from once every 25 years to an average of every 19 years. The greatest improvement was seen in the Yorkshire and Humberside region which saw the time between sales fall from once every 28 years to once every 19 years. This was followed by the East Midlands, improving from once every 25 years to once every 18 years. Crawford believes that it is reassuring to see that homes are changing hands much more often than they were five years ago. ‘This has been a period of economic growth and the house market has been improving hand in hand with the economy. The combination of low inflation, reduced unemployment and improving wages means that people feel confident in their prospects and are more enthusiastic about moving to a new home,’ he explained. ‘At the same time, improving mortgage availability and low interest costs have made it easier for consumers to finance a home purchase. With interest rates set to stay low for longer, according to the latest Bank of England predictions, the next 12 months could see a further improvement in the housing market across the country,’ he added. Continue reading
