20% more sellers listing homes

February sees 20% more sellers listing their homes https://t.co/ji204LTsIy pic.twitter.com/u12igD7M4Q

— Mortgage Introducer (@MortgageChat) March 8, 2018

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1 in 5 estate agents at risk of going bust

One in five high-street estate agents risk going bust, study claims https://t.co/RT8Kyv8ag5

— Guardian news (@guardiannews) July 31, 2017

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Property sellers 'scared off'

Property supply down as sellers ‘scared off’ - https://t.co/V5GMMZnRwe

— Mortgage Solutions (@mortgagesols) July 11, 2017

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5 unusual ways to sell a property

Five unusual ways you can sell your house, including Facebook Live and Gumtree https://t.co/SewHgEVZbj

— Property Matters (@PropMatters_) July 4, 2017

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Rental site where tenants bid for a property

Rentberry's controversial property bid site expands in US https://t.co/pcJcwNnQkN #Expats pic.twitter.com/gfU4vm8UHu

— IIMG Ltd (@IIMGltd) April 2, 2017

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Zoopla buys Hometrack

Zoopla to buy property data provider Hometrack for £120m https://t.co/cYgruuMWCT

— This is Money (@thisismoney) January 31, 2017

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Onthemarket branded a failure by Zoopla

Zoopla wins back customers from online property rival https://t.co/Nz0U02XJa9 #property

— Property PR (@propertypr) November 30, 2016

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A bounce in First Time Buyers

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) Housing Market Report for October 2016 shows a 'bounce back' in sales to First Time Buyers.

Their October data shows -

• A third (32%) of sales were made to FTBs.( the highest on record )
• Supply of homes on the market increased to the highest level since March 16.
• Demand for housing also rose in October
• Sales averaged - 9 per branch.
• Properties for sale averaged - 43 per branch.
• Registered buyers per branch increased to 440.

NAEA's Mark Hayward, comments : 

“This month’s report paints a positive picture for the UK housing market. Our findings over the last few months indicated mild uncertainty immediately following Brexit – and last month we even saw sales to FTBs fall. After shrugging off the uncertainty, we have seen an increase in supply and a rise in the number of sales to FTBs this month – proof the market is beginning to bounce back.

“Clearly what we need now though is a clear plan as to how the Government is going to tackle the chronic shortage of homes that we are facing. During the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced a boost to house-building which is a start but sadly nowhere near enough. We have high hopes for the Housing White Paper as this will set the housing strategy and intent for this Government going forward.”

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ARLA reports fall in rental properties

The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) report a further drop in the number of rental properties advertised by its agents.
On average each ARLA letting agent had 172 rental properties per branch in January - 10 less than in December.

The figure is ARLA's lowest on record, though they have only been tracking it for a year.

ARLA's managing director , David Cox remarks:

“Supply of housing continues to be a problem and tenants bear the brunt of this with more people competing for properties at higher prices.”

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Brits love to fantasise over property

Although market transactions are low, Rightmove's stats show we still love property, or at least fantasising about it on our iPads... ensuite with a bidet, four double bedrooms. a garage, mmm, with an up and over door...mmm.

Busiest month for Rightmove as visits up 21 million year on year: https://t.co/LO20roqL2q #property #news

— Rightmove (@rightmove) February 22, 2016

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RICS September market survey

In RICS September UK Residential Market Survey 2015 surveyors reported seeing -

The lettings market

In RICS September UK Residential Market SurveyTenant demand continues to outstrip the supply of rental properties.

The RICS surveyors predict a 3% rise in average rents over the coming year.

The sales market

Surveyors have reported seeing a rise in agreed sales, higher agreed prices and buyers outnumbering sellers thanks to the improving availability of mortgage finance.

In RICS September UK Residential Market Survey, surveyors in the North, East Anglia and Scotland reported seeing the biggest jumps in activity.

More relaxed lending saw the average ‘perceived’ LTV ratio reported by buyers increased to 79.3%.

Increasingly the block for buyers is the shortage of supply, with new instructions falling again in September, the thirteenth monthly fall of the last fourteen.

This imbalance between demand and supply is predicted to push prices up further over the first half of 2016.

RICS Chief Economist, Simon Rubinsohn,  comments

"Activity is now picking up which is encouraging, but unless the stock being sold is replenished there is a limit to how sustainable this modest improvement in market turnover will prove to be. And, unfortunately, the indications are that we are locked in a cycle where the lack of available properties on agents’ books is itself deterring some potential vendors from thinking about putting their own property on the market.

Against this backdrop, it is hard not to see prices continuing to move higher over the coming months and into the early part of 2016, notwithstanding the present concerns regarding the affordability of housing in some areas of the UK that are being highlighted by respondents."


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Agents are gunning for big portals

The agents are attempting another fight back against the market strangle-hold of the two key online property portals, Rightmove.com and Zoopla.co.uk .

They've tried and failed before,( remember Propertylive and other botched agent backed portals), but fed up with the high ransoms, another maverick consortium of agents have saddled up and formed a new company - Agents Mutual. The company has announced that it already has 1000 agents signed up to join its new portal, 'Onthemarket', when it launches in early 2015.

Where this new launch differs from the previous attempts to break free of Rightmove high ransoms, is the agreed requirement, that those agents who sign up must then drop from one of the two major portals.

This disruption in the market could unsettle Rightmove and Zoopla from their perch. 

With 1000 agents already reportedly signed up equating to 3000 branches - about a quarter of the 12,000 branches estimated to exist in the UK this time the agents might just do it.

Agents Mutual are aiming to reach 5,000 branches prior to the launch of Onthemarket next year. 

Giddy up!

The Cost of Moving House? A List for Property Owners

Author: Zoopla property news author Robin Stenson previously worked as an estate agent and now consults to regional agencies.

If you're a property owner, especially an owner of multiple properties, you’re likely to get an email every week that asks: “how much does it cost to move house?” If you’re as sick of this as we are, here's an easy moving house checklist you can adapt and give to renters or prospective tenants when they have questions about the various costs of renting, moving out and other topics – today, we’ll focus on security deposits.

When Can a Landlord Keep a Security Deposit?

For tenants considering a move, the first thing many consider is, “am I entitled to get my security deposit back?”

Be upfront with renters about how you expect the flat or property to look when they move out, and the conditions that could potentially prevent the tenant from reclaiming their security deposit. 

Having a list handy of the things you want cleaned or put to rights (repainting walls, steam-cleaning carpets, etc.) in the property before a tenant moves out can help prevent later disputes over the security deposit. Also, be clear that a failure to do these things can result in a loss of security deposit; this is proactive and in the best interest of all parties. Here are five common reasons why property owners withhold a security deposit: 

1) Breaking the Lease Early

Check your lease carefully – most specify that moving out early entitles the landlord to part, or all of, the security deposit. In some cases landlords are even entitled to further compensation, depending on how much time remained in the lease. 

 2) Failure to Pay Rent 

Again, consult your own lease and potentially a legal advisor, but a tenant’s failure to pay rent typically entitles the landlord to withhold the unpaid amount from the security deposit. 

3) Property Damage 

Here, we must make the distinction between normal wear and tear and actual damage. Be specific in communicating with your tenants what you consider wear and tear and what you consider damage, as these terms are very open to interpretation. These are a few general examples: 

Wear and Tear: nail holes in walls from hanging pictures; rust stains or tarnish around drains or faucets; loose handles or hinges on doors, cupboards and cabinets; small amounts of mildew on shower tiles, shower door or shower curtain. 

Property Damage: Holes in the walls (bigger than a nail hole); rips or tears in carpet or wallpaper; large and noticeable stains on carpet, curtains or furniture; broken doors or windows; failure, after repeated requests to do so, to return keys; missing or damaged smoke detectors or other appliances; damaged furniture; cigarette burns or smoke damage to property; items or furniture which has been removed from property.

4) Cleaning Costs 

If your tenants haven't cleaned the property as specifically requested, or if their neglect is considerable (food left in refrigerator, or rubbish, clothes and other items left behind) and requires the landlord to bring in outside help, this is reasonable cause to keep as much of the security deposit as needed to cover these costs. 

5) Money Owed for Utilities 

If the rent didn't cover utilities, and your tenants paid for these services separately, it should be communicated to them that any unpaid bills will result in the loss of their security deposit.

Zoopla property archive

The most important factor to making a good property investment is research.

Knowledge is key, the ability to make accurate comparrisons to establish the value or potential values of a property.

Zoopla have added another useful tool for any investors researching residential property with their new property archive function. They are archiving photos and details on sold property, and adding it to the 2 million property archive they already hold.

Will this make it even more difficult for small time developers to make quick profits out of refurbishments (Beany style)?


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Google retires from property

Google have given up on the idea of competing against the likes of Zoopla, Rightmove and friends.

It seems that their property for sale/rent option on google maps wasn't been used so they've decided to retire this function over the next month

Well you can't win everything.

Alex Chesterman, Founder & CEO of Zoopla.co.uk said: "This has been an interesting experiment for Google with an outcome that has not entirely surprised us. Whilst Google is clearly the world-class leader at search, its real estate offering on maps did not provide users with the type of rich product experience of sites like ours. The overwhelming majority of consumers continue to use the leading portals as their online starting point for property search as demonstrated by over 5 million visitors to our site per month.”

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Letting agents - lower voids

One of the approved Tenancy Deposit Schemes (TDS) the Deposit Protection Service (DPS) has examined the different void periods experienced by landlords who market their property directly compared to those that use a letting agent.

The findings are interesting. The DPS found that 63% of buy-to-let properties that used an agent kept void periods to within 2 weeks compared to only 38% for those landlords that marketed their buy-to-let properties directly.

Two of the worst area for voids were in Lancashire but their research also highlighted parts of Surrey, Hampshire and Essex showing higher than average void rates.

In some parts of the country the DPS found that over 50% of properties had been empty for over 3 months.

The reality is that in the current market of high rental demand there is no excuse for a pre-longed rental void period. If a landlords property is empty they are not marketing their property effectively or it could be time for a property makeover.

Landlords should remember they are running a business & they need to be proactive in getting their investment property let, whether they employ a letting agent or market their buy-to-let independently. Cashflow is king and avoiding a void is critical to any successful rental business.

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Tips for selling property

If been a landlord has all go too much.

Have a look at the Ten top tips for selling property in this Times article.

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Selling your property at Tesco

Further information on selling property through Tescos new iSold site.

With charges of £999 it might be an interesting proposition for those landlords looking to offload property before the post election economic meltdown.

If you do use it, let us know how you get on.

Read more in the Times and go to iSold here

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Tesco pre-launch 'isold' estate agency service

Tesco are almost there with the launch of their new online estate agency offering.

The site has been set up by Tesco and the independent estate agency group Spicerhart.

The new service isold.com is still in pre-launch but have a peak at what Tesco will be offering.

It's fees are not as cheap as some of us had hoped for, at a fixed price of £999, so it will be interesting to see what kind of impact they have on the market second time around.

Take a look at isold.com

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Tesco set to sell houses - in the aisle passed the crisps but if you get to biscuits you've gone too far.

Tesco look set to launch a new property website in the next few weeks after the OFT announced relaxation of trading in the estate agency field.

Tesco is expected to charge a few hundred pounds to sell a property which is a massive saving on existing estate agency fees.

The news comes in advance of confirmation that Google will be launching its property search facility in the UK.

The property portals will come under fire alongside high street estate agencies as a price war hots up, and as landlords know, "every little helps!"

Fingers crossed, Lidl, Aldi and PoundStretcher will all enter the market over the coming years.

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