January 19, 2010

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Spanish house prices down 6.2% last year

Permalink: Spanish house prices down 6.2% last year
by Gill Montia

According to Spain's housing ministry, average house prices in the country fell 6.2% in 2009, compared with 2.8% in the previous 12 months. However, in the final three months of last year the declined slowed to 0.5% compared with a ...

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New property website promises to save time for prospective buyers

Permalink: New property website promises to save time for prospective buyers
by Kay Mitchell

A new property website, ThePropertyScout.com, has just been launched and said it offers efficient, accurate results when searching for a property. According to ThePropertyScout.com, it offers a personal online scout which allows the prospective buyer to sit back ...

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Panacea leading the way on inventories

Permalink: Panacea leading the way on inventories
by Gill Montia

Panacea Inventory has reported strong trading during its first nine months of operations. The company, which specialises in inventory reports for landlords, says the housing market slump and rise in tenant demand has seen the inventory market flourish. The business has delivered more ...

January 18, 2010

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Mortgage products increase but way off pre-credit crunch levels

Permalink: Mortgage products increase but way off pre-credit crunch levels
by Kay Mitchell

Figures from moneysupermarket.com have revealed a rise in the number of mortgage products available but numbers are still way off the levels seen prior to the credit crunch in August 2007. According to the price comparison website, last week ...

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Taylor Wimpey’s order book surges 28% on year

Permalink: Taylor Wimpey’s order book surges 28% on year
by Kay Mitchell

The UK’s largest housebuilder Taylor Wimpey said market conditions have improved but warned that it remains concerned about the lack of mortgage availability and weakness in the wider economy. Taylor Wimpey, along with other housebuilders, experienced a dismal 2008 as ...

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Asking prices up 4.1% in January on year

Permalink: Asking prices up 4.1% in January on year
by Kay Mitchell

Property website, Rightmove, has reported a rise in asking prices in England and Wales in the five weeks to January 9. The website said due to a shortage of homes on the market, asking prices were pushed up to an ...

January 17, 2010

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Buy-to-let returns up 7.6%

Permalink: Buy-to-let returns up 7.6%
by Gill Montia

New research paints a brighter picture for the buy-to-let investor, who saw annual returns rise by 7.6% in 2009, compared to a loss of 8.8% in 2008. According to LSL Property Services' Buy-to-let Index, the typical landlord achieved a return of £12,740 per property, ...

January 15, 2010

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Reservations up at Bovis Homes but concerns over mortgage availability remain

Permalink: Reservations up at Bovis Homes but concerns over mortgage availability remain
by Kay Mitchell

Housebuilder Bovis Homes issued an upbeat trading statement today as a result of the recent recovery within the housing market. The group said it saw a rebound in private reservations with 1,801 private reservations in 2009, up ...

January 14, 2010

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CML: Mortgage lending down 4% on month

Permalink: CML: Mortgage lending down 4% on month
by Kay Mitchell

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today revealed that the number of home loans approved for house purchase fell 4% in November compared with the previous month. According to the CML, there were 53,000 mortgages granted to buyers, a fall ...

January 13, 2010

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First-time buyers to stay put in rental sector

Permalink: First-time buyers to stay put in rental sector
by Gill Montia

New figures from The Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) claim that in November 2009, UK house prices were 0.6% higher than a year earlier, with the average cost of a home standing at £200,454. According to lettingsearch.co.uk this ...

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Defaults to surge as rents go on credit cards

Permalink: Defaults to surge as rents go on credit cards
by Gill Montia

Landlord Assist is warning that tenant defaults could soar in the months ahead amid reports that over the past year, up to one million households have borrowed money on a credit card to pay their mortgage or rent. The ...

January 12, 2010

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Landlord winter insurance reminder

Permalink: Landlord winter insurance reminder
by Gill Montia

HomeLet is reminding landlords without adequate insurance that they could end up paying high repair costs for damage caused by freezing water and leaks from tanks, pipes or heating systems. In addition, they face the inconvenience of being called by a tenant late at ...

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House price growth eases say Rics

Permalink: House price growth eases say Rics
by Kay Mitchell

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has today reported that house price growth slowed in December with almost one third of surveyors reporting price gains than falls during the month. However, the positive balance was lower than in the previous ...

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Private sector long-term renters make comeback

Permalink: Private sector long-term renters make comeback
by Gill Montia

Younger Britons are more likely to forsake the UK's troubled property market and rent long term. In addition, homeowners may increasingly sell up and rent, gaining the freedom to relocate more easily. According to research by unbiased.co.uk, long-term private renting could make a ...

January 11, 2010

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1m households using plastic to pay mortgage/rent

Permalink: 1m households using plastic to pay mortgage/rent
by Kay Mitchell

A report from the homeless charity, Shelter, has revealed that in the last year, up to 1 million families have paid their mortgage or rent on their credit card. An exclusive YouGov survey for the charity's ROOF magazine reveals the ...

January 9, 2010

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Maintenance rallying call for commercial landlords

Permalink: Maintenance rallying call for commercial landlords
by Gill Montia

Security and maintenance specialist, SitexOrbis, is advising commercial property landlords to review their vacant property portfolios, as the market shows signs of recovery. According to the firm, reports just published by Colliers CRE and CB Richard Ellis show UK commercial property prices ...

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Landlords on course with deposit protection

Permalink: Landlords on course with deposit protection
by Gill Montia

The Deposit Protection Service (DPS) is confident that more landlords than ever are complying with tenancy deposit legislation, with over 200 new landlords registering every day. The government accredited scheme says it is currently holding just over £370 million worth of deposits, ...

January 8, 2010

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A&L named most competitive mortgage lender

Permalink: A&L named most competitive mortgage lender
by Kay Mitchell

Alliance & Leicester (A&L) has been named the most consistently competitive mortgage lender during the final quarter of 2009, according to research by mortgage search software firm, Evaluate Technologies. A&L replaced HSBC as the UK’s most consistently competitive mortgage lender during the ...

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Lenders increase SVRs despite rate freeze

Permalink: Lenders increase SVRs despite rate freeze
by Kay Mitchell

Research from price comparison website Moneyfacts.co.uk has found that several mortgage lenders have increased their standard variable rate (SVR) despite the Bank of England’s base rate freeze. Since March 2009, the Bank of England has held interest rates at the historically low ...

January 7, 2010

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UK house prices 1.1% higher on year

Permalink: UK house prices 1.1% higher on year
by Kay Mitchell

The Halifax has today reported a 1% rise in house prices for the month of December compared with the previous month - the sixth consecutive month that house prices have risen, driven by higher demand and a shortage of properties ...