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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
Latest data shows remortgage activity in the UK soared in 2015
Remortgaging activity in the UK has soared over the past year with the total number of valuations some 53% higher than in October 2014. The data from the latest research report from Connells Survey & Valuation says that this is despite the seasonal fall, which saw activity from remortgaging in October drop 21% compared to September 2015. Those looking for cheaper rates have likely been tempted to remortgage to take advantage of the rock-bottom interest rates while they last, according to John Baghsaw, the firm’s corporate services director. ‘Many are also taking this opportunity to remortgage in order to release equity and so upgrade their current property. That said, it’s still a great time to move house. Home sales continue to climb and the Government is improving the liquidity in the housing market by kick starting the construction of starter and mid-range homes. In addition, low interest rates are not just a remortgagors dream, they also make it easier for home movers to climb the property ladder,’ he explained. Despite home mover valuation activity falling 27% between September and October of this year, growth on a 12 month basis remains solid. The sector registered 14% growth in October 2015, when compared to October of last year. Valuation activity for all purposes remains strong, climbing 28% between October 2014 and October 2015, despite dropping back by 21% compared to last month, the data also shows and Bagshaw pointed out that home movers, traditionally the bedrock of the housing market, have experienced more steady activity in October compared to previous months. ‘But with home values continuing to rise solidly and mortgage rates remaining low, this seems like more of a seasonal blip than the start of a trend. By most measures, it’s still a great time to buy. The housing market’s forward indicators remain strong. Activity in all sectors is up on last year, a reflection of a positive combination of economic growth, rising consumer confidence and increasing real terms wages,’ he added. Both the buy to let and first time buyer sectors recorded strong year on year activity in October. Valuations carried out for buy to let investors grew by 25% between October of this year and October 2014, while first time buyer valuations increased by 20% over the same period. However, both sectors also experienced a slight monthly downturn, with October activity in the buy to let sector down by 9% on September. Meanwhile, first time buyer activity saw a 17% dip over the same period. The buy to let sector continues to thrive, albeit it at a steadier pace than in previous months. The fundamentals of its profitability have remained intact. Demand for housing still exceeds supply and very low mortgage rates remain in abundance. Moreover, the Bank of England announced recently that any rate rise is off the cards for the immediate future, meaning the field is still open for many more investors to acquire a portfolio and become a new… Continue reading
Canadian property prices up 2.5% year on year, excluding Vancouver and Toronto
National home sales rose by 1.8% from September to October in Canada while prices were up 6.7% year on year, according to the latest index from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Actual, not seasonally adjusted, activity was little changed with growth of 0.1% compared to October 2014 while the number of newly listed homes was up 0.9% and CREA says that the Canadian housing market remains balanced overall. The data also shows that the national average sale price rose 8.3% year on year but excluding Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, it increased by 2.5%. There was an even split between the number of markets where sales posted a monthly increase and those where sales declined. The national increase was driven by monthly sales gains in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia together with the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and surrounding areas, led by the York Region, Central Toronto, and Hamilton-Burlington. ‘The continuation of low interest rates is supporting home sales activity. Even so, the strength of sales activity varies by location and price segment across Canada,’ said CREA president Pauline Aunger. October extended resale housing market trends of recent months, according to Gregory Klump, CREA’s chief economist. He pointed out that single detached homes continue to be in short supply while demand for them remains strong in a number of active and populous housing markets in British Columbia and Ontario. Meanwhile, an ample supply of condo apartments remains. ‘The balance between supply and demand is generally tighter for single detached homes than it is for condo apartments and that’s unlikely to change any time soon. For that reason, price gains for single detached homes should continue to outstrip those for condo apartment units for some time,’ added Klump. Actual sales were up from year ago levels in half of all local markets, led by the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, the GTA and Montreal. Gains there were largely offset by a drop in activity in the Calgary region, where sales were down considerably from the record set last year for transactions during the month of October. Year on year price growth slowed in in October for one and two storey single family homes, but picked up for townhouse/row and apartment units. Two storey single family homes continue to post the biggest year on year price gains with growth of 8.67% followed by one storey single family homes up 6.02%, townhouse/row units up 4.88% and apartment units up 4.39%. Year on year price growth varied among housing markets tracked by the index. Greater Vancouver was up 15.33% and Greater Toronto was up 10.33% and continue to post double digit year on year price increases. Meanwhile, price gains in the Fraser Valley increased by 10.51%. By comparison, Victoria and Vancouver Island prices saw year on year gains that ranged between 5% and 7% in October. Prices in Calgary edged down by 1% year on year and prices in Saskatoon were down 1.5%. Prices… Continue reading
