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UK south coast towns becoming new property hotspots for young professionals
The East Sussex coastline along the southern edge of the UK holds the biggest allure for aspiring young professionals to buy property, new research has found. The seaside town of Hove is the leading property hotspot for many 25 to 44 year olds to buy homes while neighbouring Brighton is the fifth most popular in the country for young professionals. The research from Lloyds Bank points out that young professionals, graduates and/or those with professional qualifications, are in well paid occupations and like to take full advantage of living in or close to a city, either for work or leisure purposes. However, the bright lights of London still attract the young and 16 of the top 20 areas that attract the most young urbanite professionals are located in the city. Nine of these areas are in South West London and include Wimbledon, Wandsworth, Battersea, Streatham and Fulham. Other areas in the capital making the top twenty include West Kensington, Chiswick, Ealing and Islington. ‘The most popular areas for young professionals tend to be dominated by trendy locations in London. Whilst this is still the case, this year our report reveals the ascendency of Brighton and Hove as two of the leading property hotspots for this group of buyers,’ said Andy Hulme, mortgages director at Lloyds Bank. ‘Unlike many of the other areas in the survey, Brighton and Hove have the attraction of being by the sea with some outstanding beach front properties and, with average property prices here 38% or £199,000 lower than London yet still being within commuting distance, it is easy to see the desirability of living there,’ he added. The research also shows that away from London and the South East young professionals are flocking to South Manchester with Didsbury the only location in the northern half of the country in the top 20 hotspots list. Other regional areas becoming more popular for young professionals include Jesmond in Newcastle, Ilkley in Bradford, Clifton in Bristol and Harborne in Birmingham. The research points out that properties in areas popular with young professionals typically come with a hefty price tag, but there are instances where average property values are higher in surrounding areas. In Wimbledon the average property value is £624,110 and in Wandsworth homes trade at an average price of £672,178. As a result, young professionals would need to pay a premium of 19% and 28% respectively to live in these desirable areas, compared with London as a whole at £523,412. The two most expensive areas in the top 20 popular with young professionals are Paddington and Hampstead with an average price of £1,319,237 and £1,310,868 respectively, a premium of 150% compared with London as a whole. In Didsbury, young professionals pay an average premium of 59% compared with Manchester as a whole, some £239,734 against £150,751. The average house price in Ilkley is £267,799, a 136% premium compared with the whole of Bradford. In Harbourne, there is a 54% premium compared with Birmingham…. Continue reading
Research reveals differences between landlords and tenants on maintenance
There is significant confusion when it comes to where responsibilities lie in rental properties when it comes to issues relating to property maintenance and care, new research shows. The biggest discrepancy between what tenants and landlords believe relates to providing meter readings at the beginning and end of the tenancy period. Some 73% of landlords correctly think it is their tenants’ job to do this, but only 35% of tenants think so. The research from landlord and tenant insurance provider Endsleigh also shows that 60% of tenant respondents consider it as the landlord’s responsibility to touch up paintwork, yet 45% of landlords cite it as the tenant’s. Tenants and landlords are also unclear when it comes to the responsibility for pest control. Some 32% of landlords believe pest control is the tenant’s responsibility, yet 84% of tenants consider it as the landlord’s. Endsleigh, together with the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme (LLAS), has created a responsibilities guide to clear up the confusion when it comes to rental property maintenance and care. ‘Relationships between landlords and tenants can become strained when rental responsibilities aren’t fulfilled,’ said Marcus Latchford, Endsleigh's lettings and landlords manager. However, sometimes it’s just a case of one side being unaware of their responsibilities. Individual contracts will often spell out who should be taking care of what, but the small print is often the last place people look,’ he added. Jessica Alomankeh, projects coordinator at the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme (LLAS) said that while most of the responsibilities for landlords and tenants are well understood by both parties but some things are still confusing. ‘Landlords deal with repairs to fixtures and fittings, boiler servicing, as well as arrange buildings insurance if the property is furnished. Tenants look after tasks such as keeping the garden in check and the internet installation. For tasks such as pest control and touching up paintwork, the landlord is responsible,’ she explained. ‘What’s more, at the beginning of a tenancy, landlords should provide tenants with an inventory pack, containing contact details of the current service providers. It’s then up to the tenant to check metre readings and set up new payments with the suppliers,’ she added. Continue reading
Cash sales of homes in the United States falling, latest figures show
Cash sales made up 34.6% of total home sales in the United States in March 2015, down from 39% in the same month in 2014, according to the latest data available. The year on year share has fallen each month since January 2013, making March 2015 the 27th consecutive month of declines, the report from real estate form CoreLogic shows. Month on month the cash sales share fell by 2.8% compared with February but the firm pointed out that due to seasonality in the housing market, cash sales share comparisons should be made on a year on year basis. The cash sales share peak occurred in January 2011 when cash transactions made up 46.5% of total home sales nationally. Prior to the housing crisis, the cash sales share of total home sales averaged approximately 25%t. The report predicts that if the cash sales share continues falling at the same rate it did in March 2015, the share should decrease to 25% by the middle of 2016. A breakdown of the figures shows that real estate owned (REO) sales had the largest cash sales share in March 2015 at 56.2% followed by resales at 34.5%, while short sales accounted for 31.6% and newly constructed homes 14.9. While the percentage of REO sales that were all-cash transactions remained high, REO transactions made up only 8.4% of all sales in March. In January 2011, when the cash sales share was at its peak, REO sales made up 23.9% of total home sales. Resales make up the majority of home sales at about 80% and therefore have the biggest impact on the total cash sales share. Florida had the largest share of all cash sales at 51.8 followed by Alabama at 50%, New York at 46.5%, New Mexico at 42.2% and Michigan at 41.3%. Of the nation’s largest 100 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) measured by population, Philadelphia had the highest share of cash sales at 60.7% followed by West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Delray Beach, Florida at 59.9%, North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida at 59.5%, Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida at 59.3% and Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Florida at 58.3%. The data also shows that Colorado Springs had the lowest cash sales share at 16.1%. Continue reading
