Grainger Plc looking forward to a successful year.
Grainger plc is possibly the UK’s largest listed specialist residential landlord and owns, acquires and trades regulated and market-let tenanted properties. Established in 1912 they now own over 20,000 properties and also manage 4,000 properties through co-investment vehicles. The results demonstrate that despite the tough trading conditions three are profits to be made in residential […]
Fewer homes to let means no ‘let-up’ in rising rents
The buoyancy of the UK rental market continues with over 40% of renters stating they believe rents will be higher in 12 months’ time, according to results from Rightmove’s latest quarterly Consumer Confidence Survey. Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove comments: “For the second consecutive quarter more than 40% of renters are revealing their fears of […]
Cost of renting rises further compared to home ownership
New research from property search website Zoopla.co.uk reveals that buying is more cost-effective than renting in 80% of British cities/towns. The figure is up from 74% in July as asking prices have come down and rents have increased. The average renter pays 9.9% more than an owner with a 5% mortgage The research compares current […]
Autumn rush fails to materialise for Persimmon
Persimmon Homes today confirmed that sales volumes have remained stable with sales prices and margins holding firm in Autumn 2010, despite below expected levels of visitors and reservations. The company would usually expect these to increase after the summer lull, however this increase has not been seen this quarter. Weekly sales saw a gradual increase […]
Barratt conforms weak autumn property market
The company reports that underlying selling prices have remained stable during the period, while total average selling price on completions increased by c. 9% to £180,000. Total completion revenues also increased by c. 9%, driven by relatively flat completion volumes and a significant increase in ASP compared to the prior year equivalent period. Total forward […]
Freeing up data – a nail in the coffin for Official Searches?
On 29th July the Government announced that the fee for carrying out a personal search of the Local Land Charges Register (formerly £22) was to be scrapped with effect from 17th August 2010. Subsequent guidance issued to local authorities by the CLG and DeFRA confirms that most CON29 information is ‘environmental information’ and should be […]
Rental shortage sees prices swell over 12% in London but is it sustainable in 2011?
The prime central London lettings market has seen average rental prices increase by over 12% year-on-year as demand continues to exceed supply, says Sandfords, one of the capital’s leading independent property consultants. The shortage is attributed to the exodus of buy-to-let investors from the market in the last few years, but landlords are beginning to […]
Shelter response to latest Council of Mortgage Lenders repossession figures
Responding to new Council of Mortgage Lenders figures showing there were 8,900 repossessions in July-September this year, Campbell Robb, Chief executive of Shelter said: “While repossessions are lower than predicted, annual levels are still the highest we have seen since the mid 1990s and the number of people in more than 12 months of arrears […]
Rural house prices double in a decade
Rural homeowners have seen the value of their property rise by more than £100,000 over the past decade, according to the latest annual Halifax Rural Housing Review. Based on Halifax’s own data, the average house price in rural Great Britain rose by 96%, or £102,722, from £107,250 in 2000 to £209,972 in 2010 — equivalent […]
Housing and legal bodies warn of 'dire consequences' from new mortgage rules
The Guardian newspaper today reported that a coalition of the UK’s leading housing and legal organisations have written to Chancellor George Osborne warning of "dire consequences" for homebuyers and the building industry if Financial Service Authority proposals for mortgage regulation are implemented. Eight influential bodies, including the House Builders Federation, the National Housing Federation and […]
New board structure for Eclipse
Eclipse is a leading provider of case management, practice management and workflow software. The firm’s Proclaim software system is in use by 12,000 professionals dealing with a vast range of work areas. Eclipse’s flagship product, Proclaim, is in use at over 500 organisations, representing some 13,000 individuals. The company has experienced a surge of expansion […]
September sees little movement in mortgage market
Slight falls in lending to some groups of new borrowers were tempered by comparable rises to others leading to a flat mortgage market in September, according to new data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. There were 50,000 loans for house purchase (worth £7.4 billion) advanced in September, unchanged by volume but down £0.2 billion […]
Decline in mortgage arrears and repossessions
Mortgage arrears and possessions continued to decline in the third quarter, according to CML data showing that a combination of low interest rates, a responsible approach by borrowers and lenders, and support from the government and debt advisers has been helping to keep payment problems in check. But, with the economic outlook uncertain and in […]
E.surv reports lowest levels of mortgage approvals in 18 months
The number of mortgages approved to buy homes in October (46,507) shrank to the lowest level since May 2009 on a seasonally adjusted basis, down 18% compared to October 2009, and down 2% compared to September 2010 according to e.surv. Remortgage volumes are higher than a year ago (up 7.7%) but remain close to historic […]
Bank of England's September lending data
The flow of net mortgage lending by all UK-resident mortgage lenders increased in August to £1.7 billion, though the annual rate of growth in the stock of lending was stable at 1.0%. According to data from the major UK lenders, net mortgage lending flows fell in September as total gross lending remained broadly unchanged but […]
Buyers confused about purpose of surveys
Homebuyers in England and Wales are facing bills for thousands of pounds by failing to have a sufficient survey of their property before purchase, according to new research from RICS. This is unlikely to come as any surprise to conveyancers. The report indicates that Home surveys help buyers make informed decisions as to whether to […]
Equity release looking forward to a growth in popularity
Friends Provident has commissioned a report from research house, the Future Foundation regarding attitudes towards retirement funding. Only 6% of respondents are considering equity release, however, experts believe it will become more common by 2020. Conveyancers may wish to think about how much they know about equity release and whether it is a sector they […]
Homeowners cut house prices in run up to Christmas
New research out today Thursday 4th November from the leading property search website Zoopla.co.uk shows that the number of properties for sale in the UK that have had their asking price reduced at least once since coming to the market has climbed by more than 13% over the past three months, up from 32.2% in […]
Rightmove survey shows first time buyers coming back into market
Rightmove’s Consumer Confidence Survey for October shows that 26% of people of who intend to buy a property in the next year will be doing so for the first time, up from 22% in July. The survey also finds that the number of first-time buyers expecting prices to drop over the next year has jumped […]
Search provider MDA Searchflow announces sale by parent
MDA the Canadian business providing satellite technology to conveyancing search data announced on Friday that it had agreed terms to sell its UK and North American Information Products division to TPG Capital for net cash proceeds of Can$850M. The UK brands included are MDA Searchflow Ltd, MDA Hub ltd, xit2 limited, Rochford Brady Group and […]
