London Buy to Let Yields 6.3% More than January 2011

The on average a rental property is providing its landlord with around £30 per month more than it was a year ago.The average rent in England and Wales rose by 0.1 per cent to an average of £712 per month, taking the total annual rent inflation from 4 per cent in December to 4.3 per cent. The largest annual increases have unsurprisingly come in London. Buy to let properties in the nation’s capital city now yield a 6.3 per cent better yield than they did at the beginning of 2011.And the supplier of rental stock is set to increase this year as recent indications suggest that a large number of landlords are currently looking at expanding their portfolios. David Brown, commercial director of LSL Property Services, said: “The rental market burst back into life unseasonably early in January, with tenants on the move trying to take advantage of what is usually a quieter period for the rental market.” London Rental News

London Property Markets Continue to Buck the Trend

London starts the new year again proving it has its own micro-markets where housing demand continues to outstrip supply, reports Rightmove. New sellers in the capital have had the confidence to increase their month-on-month asking prices by 0.8% (£3,453), compared to a fall of 1.5% in the rest of the country (£2,792). This is a continuation of the trend seen over the last year, with asking prices in London now 6.1% higher than a year ago. The rest of the country recorded a combined fall of 1.7% over the same period. Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove comments: “Depending on local market conditions, there are differing pressures on the direction of prices. The lack of property coming to market in the London area over the last year combined with buyer demand has helped to buoy new sellers’ asking prices in most locations. Prices will be receiving a further boost as estate agents compete to attract fresh stock for the year ahead.” There have been more than 44 million property searches on Rightmove during the first ten days of 2012. While this doesn’t necessarily indicate a surge in proceedable buyer numbers, it does highlight a strong pent-up demand to move and is also a reflection that value-seeking buyers who can proceed are taking extra care to research the market. January often sees the beginning of a ‘spring bounce’ in the prices of properties coming to market, and there is again evidence of this in 2012, where the overall monthly period rise of 0.8% in new seller asking prices was boosted by a rise of 1.8% (£7,605) in the first week of 2012. Shipside comments: “As we move into the more active spring market with a shortage of new supply, prices will rise where the local market or a particular estate agent is short of a type or style of stock. However, asking more for your property can only be successful if your target buying audience can raise the necessary funds. The market fragmentation caused by the credit crunch means that success in selling now requires a more careful and complex micro-market analysis, rather than a wishful price-punt to see what happens.”

Mortgage Rate & Home Loan News: House prices in th...

Notting Hill Flats & Houses For Sale & Rent: Mortgage Rate & Home Loan News: House prices in th...: There was no movement for house prices in the UK in November, according to the latest England & Wales House Price Index from LSL Property Se...

New European Treaty Financial Transactions Tax Impact on London Property

Forbes Magazine Reports; It’s true that President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel don’t in fact phrase it quite this way but that is indeed the implication of what they’re saying as they try to resolve this eurozone crisis. That you should go out and buy as much London property as you possibly can, as quickly as possible.

Germany and France said a City tax will be part of a new European treaty in an aggressive move that will force David Cameron to concede defeat or allow the eurozone to advance without Britain.

Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy defied the Prime Minister’s threats and announced a Financial Transactions Tax (FTT) will be part of the proposals for the EU treaty they want leaders to ratify on Thursday.

In an open letter to Herman Van Rompuy, Europe’s president, Ms Merkel and Mr Sarkozy said their demands should be “enshrined in the European Treaties” but warned without full EU support the eurozone “will have to go ahead”.

I’ve said before that the financial transactions tax is a dreadful idea: it will increase price volatility, the incidence will be on consumers and workers and we’ll all lose more than the tax will raise. Further, that it won’t even raise any money, for the losses from other taxes will mean a revenue loss overall.

However, what we’re seeing here is something really quite different. For what is now being said is that the FTT will come in: but that if Britain blocks it (or other non-eurozone states do) then it will be introduced in the eurozone alone.

Which would be absolutely fabulous for London as it would mean that the 20% of Europe’s wholesale finance which is not already in London would move to London. With all the implications that has for the price of decent property in the capital. Quite simply, the biggest obvious economic impact of such a scheme would be to boost London’s property prices.

And I, for one, if Sarkozy and Merkel are silly enough to do this, can only say “Bring it on!”.

London Property Represents Safe Investment

London is a haven for people looking to make a safe investment in bricks and mortar, says a leading property magazine.

Richard Bowser, editor of Property Investment News, said that capital remains a magnet for those looking for a solid long-term venture as values have risen by an average of nine per cent each year despite an otherwise gloomy economic climate.
He added that the rental market also shows no signs of slowing down with yields up by some 23 per cent on average over the past two years.

Mr Bowser feels a major factor in the London property market at present is the influx of cash-rich buyers from other countries.

He said: "Many overseas buyers have also been attracted, as they are buying with greatly increased purchasing power as a result of the 25 to 30 per cent decline in the pound against most global currencies since early 2007."

A particular area of interest for those from overseas is properties in the £1 million-plus market. According to figures released last month by Lloyds TSB, there were 3,375 purchases in London for that price or more during the first six months of 2011.

London Property Market News

Land Registry House Price Index Survey for September

Data released today from the Land Registry's House Price Index (HPI) shows that property prices in September suffered a 2.6 per cent decrease compared to the same month last year.

The monthly change from August to September was a decrease of 0.3 per cent, meaning the average property value in England and Wales now stands at £162,109.However, property owners in London will be pleased to know that the changes have not affected their values year-on-year.

The capital still remains England's housing hotbed, with average values still standing at 2.7 per cent more than they did last year. In fact, it's the only region that hasn't seen a decrease.

In terms of monthly changes the north-west saw an increase of one per cent but was still down 2.7 per cent on last year, making the average value £115,057.The area which has seen the biggest decreases is the north-east, experiencing an annual fall of 8.2 per cent and 3.9 per cent month-on-month.

In terms of individual property types, detached houses held their value best, dropping just 1.5 per cent. Semis fell by 2.9 per cent and terrace house and flats fell by 3.4 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively.

The overall figures are in stark contrast to research conducted by financial website Moneysavingexpert.com earlier this month.The stats, which were published in the Guardian yesterday, have the national house value average £70,519 higher than the HPI estimate at £232,628.

In Yorkshire, for example, the Land Registry's average figure stands at £121,680, while Moneysavingexpert.com have it at £160,345.The most up-to-date figures available show that during July 2011, the number of completed house sales in England and Wales decreased by 11 per cent to 59,919 from 67,475 in July 2010.

The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1 million in July 2011 decreased by 24 per cent to 707 from 932 in July 2010.

London Property News

London Property Remains Safe Bet for International Invetors

Property in London continues to be a safe bet for investors as overseas demand is helping to keep the market stable, it has been revealed.

Selwyn Lim, director of Mouseprice, said the ongoing robust nature of the London market can be attributed to the city's position as a globally-renowned cultural and business centre, with the capital continuing to outperform the rest of the UK in terms of its ability to recover from the financial downturn.

"London has always been a unique case in that the supply and demand of property in London is [affected] by overseas cash and lots of overseas buyers," he commented.

According to figures published by Rightmove, the gulf in north-south average asking prices is now the highest it has ever been.