September 30, 2008

---

Opportunities for student rental investment in Edinburgh

Permalink: Opportunities for student rental investment in Edinburgh
by Lin Freestone

Cullen Property, an Edinburgh-based specialist in sourcing properties with optimum rental potential in the student market, is looking for investors and landlords to meet the constant demand from students for high-quality, well-managed properties. Demand for student rental properties in Edinburgh ...

---

Tenants still losing £15,000 every month in lost deposits

Permalink: Tenants still losing £15,000 every month in lost deposits
by Lin Freestone

Despite the implementation of a mandatory tenancy deposit protection scheme earlier this year, tenants are still losing approximately £15,000 in deposits each month by not sticking to tenancy agreements. The rules were introduced to ensure a fair and balanced ...

---

£48m funding package for commercial property development

Permalink: £48m funding package for commercial property development
by Lin Freestone

Regional development agency Advantage West Midlands (AWM) is investing £48m in the commercial property industry in the region to assist development opportunities that might otherwise not get off the ground. The funding package is available to private sector developers for suitable ...

---

Pension funds have confidence in commercial property sector

Permalink: Pension funds have confidence in commercial property sector
by Lin Freestone

The results have just been published of a survey carried out in June 2008 with 200 UK pension fund managers, trustees and investment consultants. Conducted by the Pensions Management Institute and PRUPIM, a division of Prudential which specialises in ...

September 29, 2008

---

EPC deadline ignored by 50% of landlords

Permalink: EPC deadline ignored by 50% of landlords
by Gill Montia

From 1st October landlords are legally required to provide an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for properties that are marketed to new or prospective tenants or re-let to existing tenants. However, research by Countrywide Residential Lettings (CRL) indicates that around 50% of ...

---

BoE: Mortgage lending plummets to record low

Permalink: BoE: Mortgage lending plummets to record low
by Kay Mitchell

According to the latest figures from the Bank of England, new mortgage lending plummeted in August. The figures show that banks and building societies lent an extra £143 million during the month. The figure is less than 5% of the £3 ...

---

Bradford & Bingley borrowers face uncertain future

Permalink: Bradford & Bingley borrowers face uncertain future
by Gill Montia

Britain biggest buy-to-lender is being nationalised. The Government has confirmed that Bradford & Bingley (B&B) will be taken into public ownership, although parts of the business will be sold. B&B’s savings account business, which is worth around £22 billion, and its 200 ...

September 28, 2008

---

Spain gets new property index

Permalink: Spain gets new property index
by Gill Montia

Official figures from Spain's National Statistics Institute show that house sales in the country fell by 26.3% in the 12 months to the end of July; mortgage lending declined 33.2%, to €10.2 billion, during the period. Predictions that the Spanish property market will ...

---

Rics: Gap widening between asking and selling price

Permalink: Rics: Gap widening between asking and selling price
by Kay Mitchell

According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), properties throughout the UK are selling at well below the asking price. As the property market deteriorates, vendors are accepting offers, on average, 9% below their advertised price, in order to ...

September 26, 2008

---

Land Registry: All regions experiencing house price falls

Permalink: Land Registry: All regions experiencing house price falls
by Kay Mitchell

According to the latest figures from the Land Registry, house prices are falling throughout England and Wales for the first time ever. Annual house prices in England and Wales fell by 4.6% in August to prices last seen in spring ...

---

Call for easing of commercial rent and lease conditions

Permalink: Call for easing of commercial rent and lease conditions
by Lin Freestone

The British Retail Consortium, together with a group of nearly 30 retailers, is urging commercial landlords to allow them to switch from quarterly to monthly rents to aid cashflow. It is estimated that paying quarterly rental up-front ...

---

Go-ahead for British Land’s £150m Birmingham office tower

Permalink: Go-ahead for British Land’s £150m Birmingham office tower
by Lin Freestone

Following design concerns and mixed reactions from conservation groups, British Land has secured planning permission for the construction of a 35-storey office tower in Birmingham’s city centre. The prime city centre site of a former NatWest building in Colmore Row, ...

September 25, 2008

---

Mortgage rates rise amid global economic turmoil as predicted

Permalink: Mortgage rates rise amid global economic turmoil as predicted
by Kay Mitchell

The recent events in the financial markets have put further pressure on the UK’s frozen mortgage market after HSBC has become the first major High Street bank to announce rate rises. The news comes after two months of falling ...

---

Bradford & Bingley reins in mortgage lending

Permalink: Bradford & Bingley reins in mortgage lending
by Lin Freestone

The troubled mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley is to close its mortgage processing centre in Borehamwood, with the loss of 300 jobs. The group is also planning to cut back its sales team. As part of its plans to make annual ...

---

Bristol’s new shopping centre opens 90% let

Permalink: Bristol’s new shopping centre opens 90% let
by Lin Freestone

The Bristol Alliance, a joint venture between Land Securities and Hammerson, is opening its £500m Cabot Circus Shopping Centre in Bristol today. Following a development period spanning eight years, the centre offers one million square feet of retail and leisure space ...

---

15 years to save a 15% mortgage deposit

Permalink: 15 years to save a 15% mortgage deposit
by Kay Mitchell

A study from Fairinvestment.co.uk has discovered that it could take first-time buyers 15 years on average to save a deposit for their first home. According to the Halifax, the average house price currently stands at £174,178. Fifteen percent of this ...

---

Housebuilders agree new code of conduct

Permalink: Housebuilders agree new code of conduct
by Lin Freestone

The Office for Fair Trading (OFT) has ruled that consumers must get better customer protection from housebuilders if they experience delays and faults when buying new homes. A code of conduct has been agreed by representatives across the housing sector, including the ...

September 24, 2008

---

House sales plummet 60% year-on-year

Permalink: House sales plummet 60% year-on-year
by Kay Mitchell

Figures released from HM Revenue & Customs have revealed that the amount of homes sold last month plummeted by 60% compared with a year earlier. The official figures established that 62,000 homes were sold in August compared with 140,000 in August 2007. The figure ...

---

Monaco overtakes London in prime property market

Permalink: Monaco overtakes London in prime property market
by Gill Montia

Central London has lost its claim to the title "world's most expensive property market", having been overtaken by Monaco, the Mediterranean tax haven. According to Knight Frank's Prime International Residential Index, Monaco overtook the UK capital in the second quarter of ...

---

Cornish Homes (UK) to be liquidated

Permalink: Cornish Homes (UK) to be liquidated
by Lin Freestone

The current financial crisis has caused the downfall of a Cornish-based property company. Cornish Homes (UK) Ltd of Truro is preparing to be placed into liquidation following financial difficulties, and insolvency accountants have been appointed. Cornish Homes is run by Kevin ...