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Independent property consultants, Sandfords, says that average rental prices have increased by over 12% year-on-year as demand continues to exceed supply. They attribute the exodus of buy-to-let investors from the market in the last few years, but landlords are beginning to return, encouraged by higher yields and increasing mortgage availability. Andrew Ellinas, director of Sandfords, comments: “This will have an impact on rental price growth, which I expect to slow in the second half of 2011 as more prop

The winners of the Block Insure Property Management Awards 2010-11 were revealed at a glittering award ceremony held at Lord's Cricket Ground on Monday 6th December 2010.  A full report will follow in Issue 53 of News on the Block.   THE WINNERS ARE...   London Property Management Company of the Year, sponsored by SLC Solicitors  WINNER: RingleyHIGHLY COMMENDED: Crabtree Property Management and Granville & Co.FINALISTS: Granville and Co, Rendall and Rittner, Crabtree, Chainbow, Mainstay and Ringley

The planned 2.5% increase in VAT is an unwelcomed additional cost to the price of both buying and selling a property and particularly comes at a bad time given the softness in the market. However, Douglas Sleaper, Group Sales Director for Townends Estate Agents part of the Badger Holdings Group believes the increase will not be significant enough to unduly upset the housing market or deter those wishing to move from doing so. Sleaper estimates the average associated moving costs, such as surveying, conv

Research from the Worldwide Property Group suggests that the public is split regarding the potential direction of UK interest rates. Half believe rates will be increased in the next 12 months and the other half believes rates will be unchanged. In the survey, 67% (considerably higher than the 12 month average of 57%) indicated that the current low level of interest rates has actually increased their desire to buy property. Buyer confidence in the property market remains high with 83% holding the opini

Jelf, the specialist insurance advisers for block managing agents and individual property owners, has launched a new proposition aimed at simplifying the insurance process for the property sector. According to Nigel Richardson, Jelf Property National Sales Director, “One of the main problems facing block managing agents today is rising premiums. We can help them alleviate this and also work with them to reduce their administration, help them to win new clients and to speed up claims delivery.” Jelf, i

Research from Zoopla.co.uk suggests that renting is more expensive buying across 80% of the cities/towns in Britain, which is up 74% since July 2010. The average tenant pays 9.9% more than an owner with a 5% mortgage, whereas the previous gap was 8.7% in July 2010. The underlying factors behind the widening gap between renting and buying are twofold: 1) The severe shortage in mortgage credit availability in limiting entry into home ownership; 2) The re-financing of existing homes with current low intere

A competitive pricing strategy is key to securing the best price when selling your flat, according to experts at Cluttons. While there is strong support for apartment values, especially in central London and given the shortage of stock, sellers should price competitively in absorbing as much interest and generating a situation where buyers are competing to secure the property. James Hyman, Partner of Residential Sales at Cluttons, argues that buyers are very well informed about prices and if sellers ove

Nigel Page, who was said to have previously run a property maintenance business, won the £56 million jackpot from the pan-European lottery ‘EuroMillions’ in February of this year. Page and partner Justine Laycock, previously a senior sales negotiator at a local estate agent, gave away their home in Park View, Cirencester to their cleaner Denise Kelso and moved into their new eco-friendly home in Bibury, Cirencester. The home is said to be mostly carbon neutral, equipped with 20 solar panels and running on

The large waiting list for housing in Brighton has led the City Council to offer private sector properties, providing strong support for rental demand of one to four bedroom properties. Properties on the ‘private sector leasing (PSL)’ scheme will be managed by Orchard & Shipman, responsible for maintenance and rent collection. Orchard & Shipman will be holding an event at the Preston Park Hotel, Brighton on December 8 to provide more information on the PSL scheme. The event is targeted at potential privat

The UK charity Age UK has retracted its accusations about two property companies and issued an apology after receiving complaints about ‘serious inaccuracies’. Age UK had criticised landlords and managing agents for “unreasonable and unjustifiable charges”, including allegations towards property management company the Peverel Group and the landlord Fairhold. Age UK has since published a correction on its website stating that it had made errors and that the issues covered by the report did not apply on

October house prices were down 0.8% from a month earlier, with the average price now £165,505 in England and Wales. The year-on-year change is still up 3.4%, with London increasing 7.6% from a year earlier. The Eastern region had the greatest monthly rise (1%)  and the North Eastern region had the greatest monthly decline (-0.9%). LSL estate agency stated that because mortgage finance remained difficult to obtain for potential buyers, it has put a drag on house price growth and into negative territory f

Landlords should always protect their deposits within 14 days of receiving them and give the required notification to their tenants. The Court of Appeal has now clarified the date by which a landlord has to protect a tenant’s deposit in order to avoid a penalty. Under a shorthold tenancy the deposit has be protected by lodging it with one of three tenancy deposit schemes.  The landlord then has to notify the tenant of what has been done and provide other key information. And, if this isn’t done, landlor