Tag Archives: europe
Rental prices up year on year in 11 out of 12 UK regions, latest index shows
Residential rents prices have increased in 11 out of 12 regions in the UK with the South East of England and the East Midlands showing the highest annual rent increases. Overall the average rent in the UK, excluding Greater London, is now £740 per month while in the capital city it is £1,510 per month, according to the latest rental index from HomeLet. Only the North West of England has seen rental prices drop with a fall of 3.4% from £646 per month to £624 per month. However, rent prices for new tenancies in Greater London are rising at the slowest rate for almost two years. The January index data shows Greater London rent prices are 6.2% higher for the three months to January 2016 compared to the same period in 2015, the slowest rate of growth seen in Greater London, the slowest since March 2014. By comparison, rent prices in other regions continue to rise steadily with the South East of England and the East Midlands seeing the highest rent price rises in the three months to January 2016, at 7.2% and 6.8% respectively. Monthly data gives a different picture. Rent prices in the UK, excluding Greater London, were 0.2% higher in the three months to January 2016 than in the three months to December 2015. In Greater London, rent prices have fallen by 0.9% in the three months to January 2016, compared to the previous month. Overall, six out of 12 UK regions have seen rent prices rise in the three months to January 2016 compared to last month, while six have seen prices fall. ‘It’s notable that there has been a further fall in the rate at which average rents in the Greater London area are rising. In recent years, the capital has seen much faster rates of increase than the rest of the country, but it may be that an affordability ceiling has now been reached in London and that rents will now track other parts of the UK more closely,’ said Martin Totty, chief executive officer of the firm’s parent company Barbon Insurance Group. ‘The fact that UK wide average rents in the private rented sector continue to show sustained upwards growth reflects there is still strong demand for rental properties, driven mainly by the impact of the long term structural imbalance in supply and demand of property,’ he pointed out. ‘Landlords achieving higher average rents over time also suggests that tenants starting a new tenancy are proving they can afford higher average rents. With demand outstripping supply, some would-be tenants may be able to outbid rivals for properties, which could drive higher rents,’ he added. Continue reading
Land Registry fraud line helps thousand protect their homes
The UK’s Land Registry’s fraud line has helped thousands to protect their home ownership against property fraudsters in its first three years. Nearly 3,000 calls and emails have been received as people become more aware of the risk of someone stealing their identity in order to sell or take out a mortgage on their home before disappearing with the money. ‘Since we launched our property fraud line property owners have become more aware of the risk. We urge home owners to follow our advice to reduce their risk of falling victim to property fraud,’ said Alasdair Lewis, director of Legal Services at the Land Registry. ‘Whilst no system can eradicate fraud completely, since September 2009 we have stopped 199 fraudulent applications on properties worth around £82 million,’ added Lewis. The properties most vulnerable to property fraud are usually empty, tenanted or mortgage-free. Individuals at a higher risk of fraud include owners who do not live in the property because they live abroad, buy to let landlords, people in long term hospital or residential care or where a relationship has broken down. Lewis gave an example of a recent case. Penny Hastings called Land Registry’s property fraud line after becoming suspicious that someone had fraudulently sold a property which she owned and rented out. It turned out the tenant was part of a fraud ring. Once he’d rented Penny’s house using a false identity, he and an accomplice put the house on the market. The accomplice was a lady who had changed her name to Penelope Hastings by deed poll and then secured a passport in that name. ‘The Land Registry did not register the sale as we suspected a fraud. This meant that Penny Hastings still maintains the legal ownership of the property. Unfortunately, an unwitting buyer paid £1.35 million for the property. The police are currently investigating the fraud,’ said Lewis. The property fraud line was launched in February 2013 for owners to quickly alert Land Registry if they are concerned their property might be subject to a fraudulent sale or mortgage. It forms part of Land Registry’s ongoing fraud prevention and detection techniques to safeguard people’s registered properties. Callers can speak to specially trained staff for practical guidance about what to do next. The telephone number is 0300 006 7030 and the line is open from 8.30am to 5pm Monday to Home owners can protect their property by signing up for the Land Registry’s free Property Alert service to receive an email alert when there is certain activity on the monitored property such as an application to register a new mortgage. People can then judge whether the activity is suspicious and seek further advice if necessary. Lewis pointed out that those who become an innocent victim of fraud and suffer a financial loss as a consequence may be compensated. If your property isn’t registered then no compensation is payable. There can be up to three addresses on the register including an… Continue reading
Residential rents flat in Australian capital cities over last 12 months
Residential rents in Australian capital cities were flat in 2015 and growth is now at its lowest level on record according to the latest rental index. Rents increased by 0.2% in January 2016. The only capital cities to see a rise in rents over the month were Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra, elsewhere rents dropped, the CoreLogic rental index shows. Currently the median rent rate is recorded at $443 across the capital cities with a combination of factors affecting the market. ‘Among these is a higher level or rental stock resulting in greater options for renters, a slowdown in population growth, higher than normal investment activity and stagnant wage growth,’ said the firm’s research analyst Cameron Kusher. ‘More rental stock at a time when demand is easing due to slowing population growth, and little wage growth for renters, has resulted in flat rental growth conditions over the past year,’ he explained. ‘For renters there is a lot more accommodation options in the market while simultaneously, landlords are now required to respond to a more competitive environment which, in many cases means keeping rents steady or in some areas reducing rents in order to keep a tenant,’ he added. He also pointed out that CoreLogic has tracked annual rental changes since 1996 and over that time, rental growth conditions have never been weaker. At the same time last year rental rates had increased by 1.7% highlighting that the slowdown in rental conditions has been sharp over the year. A breakdown of the figures shows that rents increased in the last year by 1.4% in Sydney, by 2.1% in Melbourne, by 0.1% in Hobart and by 1.8% in Canberra. They fell by 0.7% in Brisbane, by 0.4% in Adelaide, by 8.6% in Perth and by 13.4% in Darwin. Across every capital city except Canberra the rate of annual rental growth or decline is currently lower than it was a year ago indicating that the weaker rental market conditions are prevalent across most capital cities. Weekly rents across the combined capital city measure increased 0.2% over the month of January however they were unchanged over the past 12 months and currently, combined capital city rental rates are $487per week for houses and $465 per week for units. ‘It is possible that over the coming months, rental rates could begin to fall on an annual basis due to additional new rental supply entering the market,’ added Kusher. Continue reading
