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Catchment areas of good schools in UK attracting higher property rent premium
Competition for school places in some of the UK’s best educational establishments is affecting the private rental market with more homes near them being rented to families, new research suggests. Some 28% of properties rented around schools with outstanding ratings from school inspectors OFSTED went to families with children, up from 26% in 2014 and 9% in 2008 In London competition for school places means that for the first time over half of properties rented around the best schools go to families with children, according to the latest quarterly lettings index from Countrywide plc. The firm suggests that while this is a product of the significant increase in competition for school places, the growing number of families living in the private rented sector means more of them move both for work and their children’s education. While the figures in London are most marked for schools rated outstanding, the pressure on school places in the capital means there has been uplift in families with children renting in the area surrounding most schools. Given it is the address from which the school application is made in January that the application is assessed against, the summer months are when most families think about moving. Over half of families with children in the private rented sector move during June, July, August or September in time for the forthcoming academic year. Households with children moving into the area close to an outstanding school don’t move far, an average of just half a mile. This confirms the fine margins involved getting into school catchment areas. This distance is considerably shorter than the three miles the average households in the private rented sector moves, the report explains. As with house prices, tenants pay a premium to live close to a high performing school. Given tenants move more often than home owners, this premium tends to be smaller. In 2015 the average tenant living within a kilometre of a school rated outstanding paid 14% more than someone living more than a kilometre away. While the premium attached to one and two bedroom flats is almost negligible, tenants living in three or four bedroom houses pay an average of 16% more. Where catchment areas are particularly tightly defined, a house on one side of the road can be let for 15% to 20% more than an identical house on the other side. ‘There are 1.6 million families with children living in the private rented sector, 20% more than last year, which means school catchment areas are becoming increasingly relevant to the rental market,’ said David Fell, research analyst at Countrywide. ‘Many of these families are choosing to rent close to the school gates and in some cases parents are taking advantage of the flexibility of renting to move from the fringes of their preferred school’s catchment area to ensure their child’s entry,’ he pointed out. ‘The flexibility of renting can… Continue reading
Year on year US foreclosure inventory falls for 43rd month in a row
Foreclosure inventory in the United States has fallen for 43 consecutive months, year on year, down to just 1.3% of homes. The latest data from CoreLogic shows that national foreclosure inventory fell by 27.4% in May compared with the previous year to approximately 491,000 homes. Also in May 2015, the 12 month sum of completed foreclosures fell by 18.1% to 528,000, since May 2014 while the seriously delinquent inventory fell to 1.3 million loans, a 22.7% year on year decline. There were 47 states that posted year on year declines in the foreclosure inventory, and 27 of those states had decreases of more than 20% while only three states had year on year increases. The five states with the largest year on year drop in the foreclosure inventory were Florida with a fall of 47%, Connecticut at 36.5%, Idaho at 35.6, Washington at 35.3% and Illinois at 34.5%. The District of Columbia saw a 22.5% rise and the three states with foreclosure inventory growth were Massachusetts up 22.4%, Wyoming up 18.2% and South Dakota up 1.1%. Judicial foreclosure states continued to have higher foreclosure rates in May 2015 than non-judicial states, averaging 2.2% and 0.7% percent, respectively. The data also shows that the foreclosure rate for judicial states peaked in February 2012 at 5.4% while non-judicial states experienced peak foreclosure rates of 2.5% in January 2011. As of May 2015 some 42% of outstanding mortgages were in judicial states, but 71% of total loans in foreclosure were in those states. Continue reading
Missing items cause move out misery for UK tenants, research suggests
Tenants in the UK’s private rented sector could lose thousands of pounds due to items that have been detailed in the property inventory going missing at the end of a tenancy, it is claimed. It is a busy time of the year as student tenancies come to an official end and the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC) is urging tenants, landlords and letting agents to take extra notice of inventories as tenancies turn over this summer. The Association points to a recent study carried out by removal firm Kiwi Movers which found that 52% of tenants had experienced trouble with their landlord when it came to the return of their deposit at the end of the tenancy. The survey also revealed the most common reasons for lost deposits with items missing from the inventory the reason a fifth of participants did not receive their full deposit back. Other reasons tenants lost all or part of their deposit included minor repairs, cleaning and unpaid bills. ‘Tenants should be issued with a copy of the inventory at the beginning of the tenancy and I urge them all to double check all the items listed at that time and to ensure that all items remain in the property, in good condition, when moving out,’ said Pat Barber, chair of the AIIC. ‘If there is something missing it can often be cheaper for the tenant to replace it rather than for the landlord or agent to do so,’ she pointed out. ‘For letting agents and landlords, it is important to go through the inventory fairly and thoroughly when undertaking the check-out process it is advised that the services of an independent inventory clerk are used to ensure impartiality,’ she explained. ‘If both sides of the rental transaction hold up their side of the bargain, the amount of deposit disputes can be kept to a minimum this summer,’ she added. Continue reading
