Tag Archives: crisis
Landlords more ethical than many might think, new poll finds
Like estate agents, landlords often get a bad press but new research has found that they are more ethical that they are given credit for. Indeed, tenants rate their landlords highly but think more could be done, according to new research from Saga Home Insurance. In a poll of UK adults, 77% of tenants rated their current landlord as good or excellent, with just 8% giving a poor rating. Despite this 56% of tenants said that their landlord should do more to help them. The research also revealed the top complaints experienced by both landlords and tenants. Landlords were more likely to complain about late rent payments (37%), damage to the property (32%) and even tenants who vacated the property with little or no notice (20%). Tenants were most likely to complain about hard to reach landlords (23%) and poor quality tradesmen used for repairs (21%). However, the firm found it worrying that one in 10 landlords don't pay the deposit in to the Deposit Protection Scheme. This can cause issues with eviction, requiring landlords to pay tenants the full deposit before serving notice and starting the eviction process. The research also found that many landlords understand the value of responding to tenant enquiries more quickly (55%), or having home emergency cover that the tenant can call upon 24/7 (32%). However just 19% believed they should provide alternative accommodation when a property is made uninhabitable by an insured event such as flooding or fire, something they would get as standard with a Saga policy. ‘In the age of housing shortages and escalating rents, landlords have been getting some bad headlines, but the research shows the extent to which this portrayal is unfair,’ said Sue Green, head of home insurance at Saga. ‘The vast majority of landlords are conscientious and ethical, although tenants do believe more can be done which is why we have released our guide with practical tips to help them improve their ethical credentials,’ she pointed out. ‘Anyone who is a landlord should consider whether there might be more that they could do to make things easier for their tenants, which will be beneficial to all involved,’ she added. To coincide with the research, Saga Home Insurance has released a free Guide to Being an Ethical Landlord which offers insight on the benefits of being an ethical landlord, as well as advice on how to become one. Continue reading
One bedroom apartments in London see prices rising more than bigger flats
Property sales prices increased by an average of 4% across some key areas in London this year but there has been a slowdown overall, new research shows. Midtown, City and Docklands saw the price of one bedroom apartments rising by 7% compared with just 2% for two bedroom apartments, according to the bi-annual research from property advisors and development consultants Hurford Salvi Carr. The research also shows that the rental market picked up and recovered in the second half of 2014 with higher numbers of tenants registering and taking out new leases across Midtown, City and Docklands. Rent levels ended the year down 1% or largely unchanged over the year and the report explains that the upturn in the second half of the year coincides with a downturn in enquiries in the sales market across central London. It also shows that the average yield on a typical one bedroom apartment has now fallen to 4% with the yield of new homes averaging between 3% and 3.5%. Looking to 2015, the research indicates that there will be fewer properties being offered for sale in the first six months of next year. It is anticipated that confidence will remain weak in the sales market building up to the general election in May and prices of existing homes will remain unchanged, as owners across Midtown, City and Docklands are not highly geared or in the majority of cases have no borrowings and will not consider selling below full value. It is expected that the price of new homes up to £1 million will continue to sell at current levels and the price of new homes over £1 million may see asking prices fall by between 5% and 10% as the supply of new homes above £1 million is expected to increase in 2015. The research also indicates that residential rents will firm up in 2015 and will increase by 5%. If this happens, it will be the first time rents will have risen since 2010. Hurford Salvi Carr this week opened their new office on City Road, N1, expanding their network of offices to 5 across the City, City Fringes, Midtown and Docklands. Continue reading
Annual residential rents up 1.3% in Australia, but cities show differing rates
Annual rental rate for houses and apartments in Australia increased by 1.3% in the third quarter of 2014, according to the latest data to be published. In the capital cities, house rents remained flat at 0% growth while rental rates for units increased by 2.4%, the RP Data quarterly rental review also shows. According to RP Data national research director Tim Lawless, investors entering the rental market need to be aware that rents aren't rising anywhere near the pace of capital gains which is pushing rental yields lower, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne where values have increased the most at a time when rents aren't doing comparatively much at all. For houses, Darwin currently holds the highest weekly median rental rate at $660 followed by Sydney $525, Canberra $480, Perth $462, Brisbane $400, Adelaide $350, Melbourne $390 and Hobart at $330. For units, Darwin once again emerged as the most expensive market on the rental rate front by recording the highest weekly median rental rate for the quarter at $550 followed by Sydney $500, Perth $450, Brisbane $390, Canberra $383, Melbourne $370, Adelaide $300 and Hobart $275. Lawless noted that while detached house rents remained unchanged across the combined capital cities over the quarter, this cannot be said for each individual city. Brisbane is only city where rents remained unchanged. A breakdown of the data shows that Melbourne saw 2.6% rise, Darwin and Hobart both saw growth of 1.5%, Adelaide was up 1.4% and Sydney by 1%. Perth saw rents fall by 2.7% and Canberra a fall of 2%. RP Data analysts reported that over the third quarter of 2014 capital city rental rates for both houses and units remained unchanged. Across the combined capital cities, rental rates for houses were recorded at $430 per week, while median weekly rental rates remained at $420 for units. On a national level house rents also remained steady over the three months to September at $400 per week, while for units, rents fell by 1.3%, down $5 over the quarter to $390 per week. Across the unit market, none of the capital cities recorded a rise in rents over the September quarter and the majority of cities saw rents remain steady over the three months. Canberra rents fell by 3.2% to $383 per week and Hobart rents fell by 1.8% to $275. ‘The performance of rental markets are diverse, however the common theme is that generally the rate of capital gain is outpacing the change in weekly rents which is driving rental yields lower,’ said Lawless. ‘This is happening at a time when investment demand is at record levels and trending higher, which highlights that most investors are focussing on capital gains and ignoring the low yield scenario. The softer rental conditions are likely the result of the surge in investor related activity which is seeing more rental supply hit the market,’ he added. Continue reading
