coinage

Interest rate rises “unlikely” in 2011

The July meeting of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 7-2 to maintain base interest rates at 0.5%. The MPC noted that the general weakness of the British economy and turbulence in the Eurozone made it unlikely that the rate would be increased in 2011. The committee noted: “Recent developments had reduced the likelihood that a tightening in policy would be... Read more

Posted by Dan @ Upad on July 22nd, 2011 in Mortgages, Property Market, Property Rental

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Crazy hill of San Francisco

Buy to Let key to mortgage lending rise

  In June, there was a significant rise in mortgage lending according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). Gross mortgage lending rose by 16% on May 2011 but was still 3% lower than June 2010. It’s expected that mortgage lending will grow modestly year on year in 2011. Pundits have noted that among the reasons for the increase are existing borrowers fixing deals in anticipation of... Read more

Posted by Dan @ Upad on July 21st, 2011 in Buy-to-let, Mortgages, Property Market

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chr2

Chiswick: the new Kensington?

The family suburb which is gradually becoming the “in” place. Located on the edge of zone 2, Chiswick already has its merits. It is almost equidistant between Central London and Heathrow Airport, meaning a comfortable commute for the city workers and a hop skip and a jump to a faraway destination. The Times reports that Chiswick is seeing an influx of affluent people who have decided to... Read more

Posted by Simon @ Upad on June 8th, 2011 in Property Market, Property Rental

toletboard1

Will the UK become a “nation of renters”?

Britain is set to become a “nation of renters”, according to a new study reported in the Telegraph. The study investigates 8,000 people's attitudes to renting and buying a property. The age group 25-40 in particular believe that the UK will take on a property culture more like Europe, where renting is more commonplace. However for this to be the case the UK’s attitude to renting has to... Read more

Posted by Simon @ Upad on June 7th, 2011 in Property Market, Property Rental

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Building a Home

Property’s north/south divide

Zoopla recently released their “Britain’s Property Rich List” for 2011, showing the average house price for across the UK. Due to tough economic conditions house prices have been falling, especially in the less expensive areas. The main thing the research reveals is the widening gap between the north and south of the country. Whilst London and the south reported small decreases in... Read more

Posted by Simon @ Upad on June 6th, 2011 in Buy-to-let, Property Market, Property Rental

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UK must end addiction to “house-price inflation”

UK mortgages should be capped to prevent another housing bubble and curb Britain’s “addiction to house-price inflation”, according to the Institute for Public and Policy Research (IPPR). The think tank believes that ever rising house prices are damaging to the economy in the long term. “Britain has suffered four housing bubbles in the last 40 years, each of which contributed to major... Read more

Posted by Dan @ Upad on June 1st, 2011 in Buy-to-let, Property Market

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41% of private rental properties are in poor condition

41% of properties are in a "non-decent" condition, according to the English Housing Survey released by the government. 15% of private properties were also shown to have serious damp problems. The private sector may be booming but standards of accommodation remain low. 1.4 million privately renting households are living in properties rated as "non-decent". That's 41% of the 3.4 million households... Read more

Posted by Dan @ Upad on March 16th, 2011 in Property Management, Property Market, Property Rental

bankofengland

How would an interest rate increase affect you?

The BBC reports this morning that three of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee are now voting for an interest rate rise. After a rise of 4% in the CPI in January (twice the Bank's target), an increase is looking more likely, though at the moment, the other six members of the MPC are voting to keep the base rate at its historic low of 0.5%. Meanwhile, independent property expert... Read more

Posted by Sue @ Upad on February 23rd, 2011 in Property Market

3004617London

Rents set to rise in Central London

Residential rents in the centre of London will rise by 3% according to figures released by Cluttons. This is slightly ahead of expected increases in the average income. This growth should have a positive impact on rental yields. Growth overall has decreased since last year, but that was in part due to the fact that growth then was almost 20% and utterly unsustainable. Andrew Stanford, head... Read more

Posted by Simon @ Upad on February 14th, 2011 in Property Market, Property Rental

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to-let-brick-houses

Would you rent for life?

Renting is more popular than ever. With the average deposit for a house reaching over £28,000, buying your own house is massively expensive. Renting is the affordable option and more and more people are becoming acclimatised to being tenants. With the deposits for houses as they are, renting is gradually becoming more of the ‘done thing’. People are not necessarily happy about this though... Read more

Posted by Simon @ Upad on February 8th, 2011 in Property Market, Property Rental

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House prices continue to slide in 2011

Following on from grim figures last week showing that the economy contracted for the first time in a year during the fourth quarter of 2010, evidence shows that January has seen a further fall in house prices. If you were wondering whether the Q4 growth numbers are a blip or evidence of an impending double-dip, continuing house price woes don’t give much cause for optimism. Nationwide say... Read more

Posted by Dan @ Upad on February 3rd, 2011 in Property Market

nickcleggshouse

Nick Clegg – accidental landlord?

Nick Clegg should consider letting out his Sheffield house if he can’t sell it, says James Davis, Upad's CEO. Earlier this week, the Daily Mail carried a story about how the Deputy Prime Minister’s constituency home has failed to sell, despite being on the market since September. The 3-bedroomed house in the leafy suburb of Ecclesall doesn’t have a for sale sign outside it, nor does it... Read more

Posted by Sue @ Upad on January 27th, 2011 in Property Market, Should I use Upad?

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Nearly 10% of High Street estate agent branches have closed

Everyone knows that pubs and bars are closing up and down the nation. People like CAMRA are keen to point out that lots of pubs are shutting every week, especially in rural areas. But the plight of pubs is nothing compared to how many high street estate agents have closed their doors the two years between October 2008 and October 2010. Who knew? Nearly 10% of estate agent branches (9.2%) have... Read more

Posted by Dan @ Upad on January 25th, 2011 in Property Advertising, Property Market

Woman and Idea

Doom and gloom in the housing market as more and more people look to rent not buy

The amount of people turning to the rental property market has increased due to the difficulty in becoming a first-time buyer. A study by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has noted that this is an international trend with evidence being seen in the US, UK and Spain. In Britain there has been a drop of 3 percent in adults owning their own properties compared to 2003 and this is... Read more

Posted by Simon @ Upad on December 17th, 2010 in Property Market, Property Rental

glass

That was the year that was…

As a year ends every landlord allows themselves a moment of reflection, perhaps by a roaring fire with a nice glass of wine. What has the year been like? What will the year ahead bring? But it feels a bit like Groundhog Day. Last year, it felt like the worst was over and the year ahead promised a mixed bag. That’s exactly how we feel about 2011. A good year for letting? There is good news... Read more

Posted by Dan @ Upad on December 15th, 2010 in Property Market, Upad

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