Prime London property up by 0.1%

Knight Frank's Prime Central London Sales Index for February 2015 recorded a 0.1% rise over the month.  

The figure brings the annual growth rate down to 4%, less than half of the 2014 average of 8.1%.

Some prime London areas experienced price falls, with Chelsea down by 0.8% and Notting Hill and South Kensington both falling by 0.2%.

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Prime London rents rise by 0.2% in Feb

Knight Franks latest Prime Central London Rental Index for February 2015 report a 0.2% rise over the month, putting the annual growth rate at 4% - the highest level in more than three years.

With record global stock market performance over recent years Knight Frank believe prime London rents will remain positive for the medium-term.

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BTL lending will break £30bn

Leading buy-to-let experts predict mortgage lending will go beyond £30bn this year and the private rental sector will account for 25% of all residential properties by 2020.

Buy to let lending has grown from £15.7bn in 2012 to £20.7bn in 2013 and jumped to £27.4bn last year. It is predicted to surge past £30bn in 2015 despite the uncertainties of the sector due to the general election.

Speaking at the Great Buy-to-let Debate in London David Whittaker from Mortgages For Business commented: “I think we’ll end up seeing around £31bn in lending to landlords this year, which would be about 12 per cent growth from where we were in 2014.  I think that is a sensible figure to chase, let’s achieve it and not go mad. Ten to 12 per cent growth indicates a stable market.”

The buy-to-let panel consensus was that the private rented sector will account for one in four properties by 2020 up from 19.4% at current levels.

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NHF debate London's property shortfall

Housing debate with @joesarling + others on @LondonLive - watch now at http://t.co/Rv9214uGuJ pic.twitter.com/L7ivHHW89M

— National Housing Fed (@natfednews) March 3, 2015

Lifting the lid on deposit disputes

What happens to your deposit at the end of a tenancy #MyDepositStats #DepositProtection pic.twitter.com/fzyOkNVhMP
— my|deposits (@mydeposits) March 3, 2015

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Homelet Rent Index for January

The latest Homelet rental index has been published

The January figures show -

• In the three months to January, average rental values for new tenancies in the UK were 8.9% higher than the same period last year
• Annual growth in average rental values for the three months to January were higher than 2014 (8.9%), 2013 (3.8%), 2012 (4%) and 2011 (2.9%)
• In the three months to January 2015, average tenant incomes were 6.2% higher than in 2014
• Average rents for new tenancies in London are 12.3% higher than the same period last year
• Average rental values in the 3 months to January for new tenancies in London (£1,412pcm) were £155 more expensive per month when compared to average rental values in the same period in 2014 (£1,257pcm)
• When London is excluded, the average UK rental value in the 3 months to January was £702pcm - this is 3.7% higher than the same period last year (£677pcm)

Read the pdf of Homelet's rental data for January 2015

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