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Majority of UK landlords don’t want personal contact with tenants
Most landlords in the UK prefer for letting agents to manage their tenants and generally don’t want to be troubled with tenant complaints, new research has found. Some 85% of landlords don’t want to deal directly with tenants and 90% are unhappy about tenants calling or emailing them with problems, according to the study from online letting agent Property Let By Us. The research shows that despite landlords avoiding contact with tenants, nearly 60% pay for all the repairs to the property, while 10% expect tenants to pay for small repairs and just 2% confess to ignoring repairs for as long as possible. 'Landlords often come in for bad press but the majority of them are professional and take their responsibilities seriously. Many landlords work either full or part time and need the support of an agent to help them with managing the relationship with the tenant,' said Jane Morris, managing director of Property Let By Us. 'We know from our research that 66% of landlords find managing their properties more stressful than their full, or part time jobs and dealing with tenant complaints is a top cause of stress,' she explained. 'Landlords are under a huge amount of pressure with mounting legislative and tax changes. Agents can be a big help for landlords, offering a range of services that help reduce their workload and ensure they are fully compliant with legislation,' she added. Continue reading
Key commuter city sees prime property market perform best in UK
Winchester, a popular commuter city within reach of London has seen its prime property prices outperform the wider UK market, new research shows. Prices in the city, famous for its cathedral and history, increased by .4% between April and June, taking the annual change in prices in the city to 6.3%, according to data from international real estate firm Knight Frank. Such price growth means that Winchester has comfortably outperformed the wider UK prime market where values have risen by 0.9% on a quarterly basis and 2.3% on an annual basis. Winchester has also registered stronger price growth than other prime city markets including Bath, Bristol and Oxford. A shortage of prime properties for sale, combined with strong demand for homes in thriving town and city markets, has contributed to this out performance, according to the Knight Frank analysis report. It shows that the number of properties for sale in the city was 17% lower at the end of July than at the same point a year previously. In the prime market, the number of properties for sale valued at over £500,000 was 20% lower, a factor which, combined with strong demand, can put upwards pressure on prices, the report explains. Against this backdrop, demand for property in Winchester remains widespread.'As well as those moving up the ladder locally, the city remains popular with commuters both from the wider South East region and from London. Figures from the 2011 Census show that some 53% of people living in Winchester work outside of the city,' the report says. Buyers from the capital are also taking advantage of the price differential between property prices in London and elsewhere in the country. The report points out that while there has been sustained price growth in Winchester over the last year, changes to stamp duty announced in December have made buyers at the top end of the market more price conscious. This has resulted in slower than average price growth for the most expensive properties in the city since the introduction of the new rates. Meanwhile, in geographical terms, price growth has been fairly uniform across the city. Property values in Hyde and the city centre have risen by 3.2% and 3.1% respectively over the first six months of 2015, and by 6.9% and 6.8% over the past year. To the south and the east of the city centre in St Cross and St Giles Hill annual price growth of 5.7% and 6% respectively has been recorded. Overall, there were over 200 sales with a value of £500,000 or more in Winchester over the 12 months to June, 23% higher than the previous 12 months, according to data from the Land Registry. Continue reading
High speed broadband becoming more important for UK home movers
House buyers might have a dream kitchen on their wanted list or an extra bathroom but an increasing number want fast broadband and they are willing to pay extra for it. Some would pay an extra 8% or £14,000 for their property if it was guaranteed to have broadband with a speed of at least 100Mbps, a new survey has found. Research carried out by ultrafast broadband provider Hyperoptic polled prospective home buyers on the importance of a quality internet connection, and found that this is valued more strongly than many other factors when moving house. Two thirds of those questioned said that having a good broadband connection was just as or more important than living next door to nice neighbours and a third would give up an extra bedroom if it meant having a quality broadband service. According to Hyperoptic vice president for products Steve Holford, the poll results ‘categorically proves’ that broadband has become a key deciding factor when moving home. ‘Ultrafast broadband makes a property more marketable; people are increasingly reliant on their connection and need it to cope with their current and future bandwidth demands,’ he said. Holford pointed out that an increasing number of consumers are now checking average broadband speeds in areas before moving there, and that this will only continue as data demands and reliance on technology increase. The survey found that 61% of UK house buyers currently check their potential broadband speeds before renting or buying a property, with anything less than 6Mbps being a deal breaker, while 31% do not officially move house until broadband is up and running in the new home. Respondents said 14Mbps would be the bare minimum speed, but something closer to 100Mbps would be far more attractive, with a connection of this quality preferable to a swimming pool for half of consumers. Holford said one of the best ways to check the broadband speed in an area is to contact the provider directly, adding that online speed tests also offer an indication of whether internet speeds are up to par before people buy their new property. Continue reading
