Posts with tag: London

Is London turning into rental capital of world?

Published On: July 10, 2015 at 10:37 am

Tags: Buy-to-Let,London,rental market in London

A new survey has revealed that a quarter of homes in the capital are privately rented and has led some industry experts to suggest that the make-up of parts of London could be changed forever.

Research from property data company Lonres and analysts Dataloft show that 40% of properties in Westminster are being let in the private rented sector, the largest figure in the capital. Kensington and Chelsea came in second with 36% of homes being privately rented.

Costly

Carmen Champney of Hathways estate agents, believes that renters in the Victoria and Westminster area are spending aroiund £500-£650 per week for single-bed flats in the region. Purchasing a property here would set back buyers in excess of £900,000.

Champney is concerned that the rising number of renters are creating a large turnover, which in turn is detrimental to the feel of the region. ‘I think you lose a bit of the heart of the community with so much change going on all the time,’ she commented.[1]

Is London turning into rental capital of world?

Findings from a separate report by Hamptons International shows that the average cost of a rental property in London has increased by 6% during the last twelve months, to stand at £316 per week. Even in the cheapest London boroughs of Bexley and Havering, the average rental cost of a one-bedroom flat is £170 per week. For two bedrooms, costs are around £225 per week.

[1] http://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/property-news/news/london-new-renting-capital-world

Search agency announces extension plans

Published On: June 3, 2015 at 12:58 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: London,search agency,Stacks Property Search

One of the oldest property search agencies in Britain has announced plans to expand within London.

Capital Expansion

Stacks Property Search, which has offices across England and Wales, have decided to extend their London portfolio after increased client demand. James Greenwood, managing director of the firm, commented that, ‘London clients have historically been managed from a single London office. But increasingly, clients are asking us for help finding property in further flung areas of the capital.’[1]

Greenwood said that Stacks’ strategy is, ‘open to a network of satellite offices across the capital.’ He feels that, ‘this works for us well in the country. Our business model is a head office that looks after administration, including marketing and training, and a network or regional directors who have very specialised local knowledge.’[1]

‘Some of the regional offices are run on a franchise basis, others are managed by head office with locally based associate directors at the helm,’ Greenwood explains. ‘We are now offering business opportunities for property search experts in the capital.’[1]

Search agency announces extension plans

Extensive Service

Sara Ransom, managing director of Stacks Property Search London, stated that, ‘having experts in different areas on the team will allow us to offer a much more extensive service.’ She continued by saying, ‘our clients come from all over the world, looking for properties ranging from large family houses in Wimbledon, pied a terres in central London, investments in the City and Shad Thames, and properties for children in Clapham and Fulham.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/property-search-agency-stacks-unveils-expansion-plans/

London House Prices continue to soar

Published On: April 30, 2015 at 3:44 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: general election,London,London borough

Figures from the New Land Registry suggest that house prices in London continued to soar over the last year.

The statistics show that average house costs throughout the capital rose by more than 11% over the last twelve months. An average London home will now set back purchasers a cool £462,799.[1]

Strong

Growth in all London boroughs was strong, but the greatest performance was recorded in Newham, where prices rose by nearly 20% in a year. The average price of a property within Newham now stands at £291,364. This can largely be put down to new proposed Crossrail stations and new accommodation at the Royal Victoria Docks and the Olympic Village.[2]

Figures also suggest that the nearby Hackney is the fastest growing London borough, having recorded the largest month-by-month growth to March.

London House Prices continue to soar

Buoyant

Andrew Bridges, Managing Director of Stirling Ackroyd estate agents, believes that the figures pour scorn on the notion of pre-election uncertainty within the capital. ‘Election uncertainty is a myth,’ stated Bridges, who went on to say that, ‘house prices across the UK, especially in London, are surprisingly buoyant in the face of the upcoming General Election.’[3]

Mr Bridges did go on to warn however that the election itself, ‘wont’ solve the fundamental mismatch between supply and demand.’[4]

Central Slowdown

Despite the east of London showing the most impressive growth, central London boroughs continued to experience a slowdown. Kensington and Chelsea, the most expensive borough in London, saw the slowest year-on-year growth of 5.2%. With average property prices of £1.3m, Kensington and Chelsea also recorded the largest price-fall in all boroughs in the capital during March, with prices slipping by 1.6%.[5]

[1-5] http://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/property-news/news/east-london-leads-way-house-price-growth-across-capital