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UK landlords urged to protect their property from fraud
The UK Land Registry is reminding landlords to take steps to protect their property from being fraudulently sold or mortgaged in 2015. It points out that you are more at risk if you rent out your property, you live overseas, the property’s empty, the property isn’t mortgaged and the property isn’t registered with the Land Registry. Properties will be registered if they were bought or mortgaged since 1998 and anyone who is unsure can check the register. A spokesman said that if any information on the register is incorrect, such as a landlord changing contact address, these should be notified and changed. ‘You can track changes to the register or put a restriction on your title if you think you’re at risk. You can also sign up to get property alerts if someone applies to change the register of your property, for example, if they try to use your property for a mortgage,’ said a spokesman. ‘This won’t automatically block any changes to the register but will alert you when something changes so that you can take action. You can get alerts for up to 10 properties and there’s no fee,’ he explained. ‘You can stop Land Registry registering a sale or mortgage on your property unless a conveyancer or solicitor certifies the application was made by you,’ he added. If you don’t live at the property you can fill in a request for a restriction for owners not living at the property if you own the property privately. Business owners must fill in a request for a restriction for business owners of property. Again there is no fee. Continue reading
UK real estate markets set to continue to expand in 2015 says CBRE
Year on year, UK real estate markets will continue to expand, but the overall trend will be a slowing of growth to more sustainable levels, according to the latest forecast. Prime London commercial markets will continue to grow in 2015, but confidence and investor interest will encourage growth in prime regional markets, says the report from commercial real estate advisor CBRE. It reveals that in 2014, total returns to property averaged nearly 20% but predicts that in 2015, there will be a slowing of growth rates with average returns just under 13%. It also points out that the general election will bring some uncertainty in property decision making and adds that year on year there will be significant rental growth for most sectors but a further improvement in yields as investment inflows continue into the UK market. Prospects for retail properties remain among the most uncertain, with few sure signs just yet that stable growth is returning to consumer spending, and cost pressures and distractions across the sector, particularly in grocery retailing, although in 2015 as in 2014, prime retail destinations will remain a safe bet. Industrial property will continue to be attractive for investors due to a dearth of quality supply and price growth in the housing market will ease in 2015 to around 6% with transaction levels having peaked for the time being. ‘This has been a year of extraordinary expansion across the property sector and while this will continue into 2015, overall there will be a return to more sustainable levels of growth,’ said Miles Gibson, head of UK research at CBRE. ‘Rental growth will continue in all sectors and we expect investment yields to continue to improve as levels of capital flows into the UK market remain high. In terms of where growth, we forecast a ripple effect next year as property investors shift from London out to the regions,’ he explained. He also pointed out that global economic factors, most notably the falling price of crude oil, in 2015 will benefit the UK. ‘The likely effects of pushing down inflation and boosting consumer spending, means we should expect to see a knock on benefit for retailers which in turn could stimulate growth in the retail property sector,’ said Gibson. ‘Although there positive signals for the property market, we recognise that there will be uncertainty caused by the imminent general election. The combination of these trends makes 2015 an intriguing prospect for the sector,’ he added. Continue reading
Greenwich in London sees largest house price growth in last 12 months
The London Borough of Greenwich recorded the biggest rise in house prices among major UK towns and cities over the past year, according to new research. The study, based on house price data from leading lender the Halifax, shows that the average house price in this south east corner of the capital was 24.6% higher than in the previous year, increasing from £263,183 to £328,044 in 2014. The Halifax report says that this is a significantly faster increase than in London as a whole, which saw price growth of 13% over the same time. Ealing, in West London, experienced the second biggest rise in average house prices with an increase of 24.5%, the research also shows. Crawley in Sussex with growth of 22.4% saw the third largest rise and is the only town outside London making the top 10. And overall some nine of the 10 areas with the strongest price growth in the past year are in London. These include Tower Hamlets with growth of 22%, Kingston upon Thames at 21.4% and Sutton in south London at 20.7%. Sheffield is the top performing area outside the south with prices rising by an average of 13.7% over the past year. Over the past five years, the South Yorkshire city has seen a significant increase in employment, particularly in managerial, professional and technical skilled occupations. This may have been a key factor in helping to boost housing demand, and hence prices, in the city. The towns experiencing a decline in the average value of homes over the past year are all outside southern England. Bury in Lancashire saw a fall of 4.8%, Keighley in West Yorkshire was down 4.4% and Nuneaton in Warwickshire down 3.2%. Four of the 10 weakest performing towns are in the North West. Besides Bury, they are St. Helens with a fall of 2.6%, Preston down 2% and Rochdale down 0.9%. ‘A number of towns and cities have recorded significant rises in house prices over the past 12 months. Nine of the 10 best performing areas are in the capital, and therefore within easy reach of central London,’ said Craig McKinlay, mortgage director at the Halifax. ‘Continuing improvements in the economy, rising employment and low mortgage rates will no doubt have supported housing demand and, combined with shortage of homes coming on to the market, will have contributed to rising property values,’ he explained. ‘At the other end of the spectrum, several of the towns experiencing price falls in the past year are still suffering from relatively weak employment conditions, which may have had an adverse impact on their local housing markets,’ he added. Continue reading
