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Confidence in property market reaches three year high in UK
Confidence in the UK property market has reached a three year high, according to new research from Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks. Almost a quarter of people plan to change their current property either by extending or carrying out home improvements, the research found. A further 14% said they want to sell their house in the coming year. Finances are also high on the agenda with 11% planning to either pay off their mortgage, make overpayments or re-mortgage in the coming 12 months. The results, which show a consistently improving picture in the three years since homeowners were first asked about confidence levels, were revealed in the latest Annual Housebuyers Survey by the Banks. The survey supports the latest findings from the Council of Mortgage Lenders which reported that 2014 lending levels were the highest since 2007. Among those surveyed by the Banks in 2013, 62% of people said they planned to simply stay in their current home. The figure dropped to 58% a year later and dipped by a further 17% to 41% in 2015. Of those planning a move in the next 12 months, Londoners are most likely to move with 22% putting up a For Sale sign. Within that group, some 8% of Londoners plan to move up the property ladder, a further 8% have aspirations to relocate and 6% hope to downsize. In contrast only 10% in Scotland and 8% of those in Yorkshire plan to move in 2015. The optimism can also be seen with 44% expecting the value of their home to increase, while 54% think it will remain the same. Men are more optimistic about an increase with half of those surveyed anticipating an increase in value compared to 38% of women. Of those who believe the value of their home will increase the main reason is the increase in property prices in their local area, as well as an upturn in demand. Confidence is at its highest in London where 64% believe their property will increase in value in 2015 in sharp contrast to Wales where just less than a quarter, 24%, share a similar view. ‘We have seen optimism returning to the property market over the last few years and this seems to be growing with more people planning house changes whether it is to move, make home improvements, pay off their mortgage or even help a family member to get onto the property ladder,’ said Steve Fletcher, head of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks Retail Network. ‘Whatever the circumstances Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks have a range of products to suit different needs and budgets and to help make the UK's property aspirations for 2015 a reality,’ he added. Continue reading
Research shows some UK tenants resort to paying for repairs
Some two thirds of tenants in the UK have had to dip into their own pockets to fund repairs because they could not wait for the landlord any longer, it is claimed. A new study shows that 55% of tenants spent up to £50 to sort out a repair and that half of tenants would like landlords to deal with repairs quicker. Two thirds of tenants say that it takes their landlord too long to respond to emails and calls about problems. The research from online agents Property Let By Us also reveals that just a third of tenants would rather deal with a landlord than a letting agent and one in six tenants have experienced bad landlords in the past. However, over 80% say their landlord is approachable and friendly and only 12% of tenants claim their landlord has made promises that he/she could not keep. The recent case of Edwards v Kumarasamy, highlights the legal responsibility that landlords have under the statutory requirements of Landlords Repairing Obligations, part of the Landlord & Tenant Act. Edwards was a tenant renting a flat from Kumarasamy. This case features his claim for compensation, when he tripped on an uneven paving slab on the outside path to the parking and communal bins area. A new Court of Appeal held that as the landlord had a right to use the path under his lease from the freeholder, he had a sufficient ‘estate or interest’ in the area to satisfy section 11 and so was liable for the repair. It means that landlords and agents doing inspections need to monitor the exterior areas of properties to ensure that they are safe and that any necessary repairs are done promptly. ‘There are many professional landlords in the buy to let market that are responsive to tenant communications about problems and issues. However, there are a few bad landlords that neglect their tenants and put lives at risk,’ said Jane Morris, managing director of Property Let By Us. ‘Every landlord has a duty of care and should respond to tenants emails and calls with 24 hours if possible. While it may not be possible to deal with repairs immediately, it is important that landlords maintain open communications with their tenants, so they can provide updates on timing etc. Communication is key and the landlord should keep the tenant informed of the action,’ she explained. The research shows that the most common cause of complaints are faulty boilers followed by leaking roofs, faulty showers, mould and condensation, leaking bathroom and window locks, broken windows, smoke alarms and pests and vermin. ‘Some of these can be very dangerous for the tenants, so it imperative that landlords carry out repairs to their properties within a reasonable time,’ added Morris. Property Let By Us has put together some guidelines on landlord response times for tenant complaints…. Continue reading
US residential rents up 3.3% overall but some areas seeing higher growth
Median residential rents in the United States continued rising nationwide in January, with rental appreciation in some small and even struggling housing markets catching up to the country's hottest areas. According to Zillow's latest real estate market report its rental index increased by 8.5% year on year in Kansas City, more than twice the national pace and faster than markets where rapidly growing rents are an old story, including Seattle, Boston and Los Angeles. Two years ago, when West Coast rents were already soaring, rental growth in St. Louis was flat and even falling. But between January 2014 and January 2015, rents there rose 4.2%. The fastest growing rent in the country in January 2015 was in San Francisco, where median rents were up 15% year on year for the fourth month in a row. Overall rents were up 3.3% year on year in January, near the historical norm. The fastest growing rental markets in January included Denver, Kansas City, Nashville, Portland in Oregon and Charlotte in North Carolina. Nationally, the Zillow rent index rose 0.4% from December, to a median of $1,350. For years, demand for rentals has driven up rents, and income has not kept pace, the firm pointed out. It also said that currently, Americans should expect to spend roughly 30% of their incomes on rent as opposed to historic norms of around 25%. And the problem is far from over, according to more than 100 housing experts surveyed in the latest Zillow home price expectations survey with more than half saying they expected rental affordability to continue to be a problem for at least two more years. ‘Rental appreciation has been a freight train these past few years, chugging along without any appreciable slowdown. Since 2000, rents have grown roughly twice as fast as wages, and you don't have to be an economist to understand why that is hugely problematic,’ said Zillow chief economist Stan Humphries. ‘More than one third of Americans are renters, and today's renters are tomorrow's buyers. For many current renters, buying a home could mean both a lower and more stable monthly payment, but rising and increasingly unaffordable rents make it difficult to save for a down payment on a home,’ he explained. ‘The rental market used to be and should remain a stepping stone to home ownership. But given how widespread rental affordability problems have become, the rental market could be acting more like a barrier to buying,’ he pointed out. ‘More supply will help ease the crunch, both from new construction and as current renters transition into homeownership, creating more vacancies in existing developments. But neither will happen overnight,’ he added. Nationally, home value growth continued to level off in January and the Zillow home value index increased by 0.2% from December and 5.4% year on year to a median value of $178,500. Home values are expected to grow another 1.9% through to January 2016, according to the firm and by the end of the… Continue reading
