Like every month, Rentila offers you an overview of the main real estate news of interest to landlords and tenants. This month, we focus on: Rising buyer confidence boosts UK residential property market; UK’s fastest selling property market revealed; Major UK banks including HSBC, NatWest and Barclays increase mortgage rates; Edinburgh named on list of most expensive places to rent in the UK; New calls to tackle a ‘rental affordability emergency’; Section 21 ban could trigger eviction surge… Happy reading and… renting!
UK housing market returns to growth with £88bn spent in Q2 2024
Spending on house purchases edged back above £350bn in the year to the end of June – meaning that the size of the UK housing market is now slightly larger than its pre-pandemic average.
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Half of London rental properties exceed average monthly income
One in five rental properties in Britain has a monthly rent equal to the average income, while some cost a full year’s salary just for a single month.
According to estate agents, 22% of rental properties are currently listed with a monthly asking rent at, or above, that of the average monthly earnings of £2,957.
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Rising buyer confidence boosts UK residential property market
UK residential property transactions hit over 90,000 last month, driven by rising buyer confidence and improved mortgage options.
According to HMRC data, in August, transactions reached 90,210, a five per cent on the same month last year, which in part reflects the Bank of England interest rate cut in July.
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Boost for housing market as mortgage approvals hit two-year high
Some 64,900 home loans were given the green light, up from 62,500 in July. It marked the highest level in two years, the Bank of England’s Money and Credit report said.
There was also a rise in the volume of remortgage approvals, up after a dip in July…
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UK’s fastest selling property market revealed
A place where it only takes around two weeks to sell your house might seem like a fantasy but that is exactly what is happening in the small town of Carluke, Scotland, where sellers are finding a buyer in an average of 15 days.
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How Edinburgh property prices compare to other British cities for first-time buyers
Rightmove has looked at the average asking price and typical monthly mortgage payment in over 50 cities across Britain – and it makes for interesting reading.
The analysis suggests Aberdeen is the least expensive city in Britain to get on the property ladder – but it’s a different story for anyone hoping to buy their first home in Edinburgh.
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Monthly property transactions exceeds 100,000 threshold for the first time in almost two years
This positivity is now filtering through with respect to transactional volumes, with the latest official data suggesting that the number of monthly sales completing across the UK property market in August tipped the 100,000 threshold for the first time since December 2022.
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UK property market strengthens, pressure on renters intensifies
Britain’s housing market recovered further last month, according to property surveyors who said house prices, sales and enquiries rose, but pressure in the rental sector intensified as tenant demand continued to outstrip the number of available homes to rent.
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Surge in property sales agreed fuelled by lower mortgage rates
All regions saw an uplift in sales agreed throughout the quarter, with the East of England and the East Midlands both experiencing increases of 28% compared with Q3 23. In terms of major cities to have benefited, Southampton, Peterborough and Birmingham saw the biggest percentage rises.
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Interest rate cut boosts rental stock availability
It’s not only homeowners and sellers feeling a sense of relief following the recent interest rate cut, but tenants have also benefited from a big jump in rental property availability.
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Bank of England’s Bailey expects interest rates to fall
The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, has said he expects interest rates to fall, albeit gradually, which will be welcome news for thousands of mortgage borrowers.
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Mortgage approvals for house purchase jump to two-year high in August
The number of mortgage approvals made to home buyers jumped to a two-year high in August, according to Bank of England figures.
Some 64,900 loans for house purchase got the green light, up from 62,500 in July.
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Major UK banks including HSBC, NatWest and Barclays increase mortgage rates
Several major UK banks, including HSBC, NatWest, and Barclays, are hiking their mortgage rates amid growing concerns that the Bank of England might not slash interest rates as early as once expected.
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Edinburgh named on list of most expensive places to rent in the UK
Edinburgh has been named as the one of the most expensive places to rent a home in the UK.
The Capital is the only city north of the border to make the index, compiled by estate agents Rightmove, with the rest found in the south or south east of England.
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Map shows Kent areas where rent has been increasing by nearly 15% a year
The cost of renting in one Kent area has risen an eye-watering 14.2% in just 12 months.
Folkestone and Hythe district has seen one the steepest increase in Kent with prices rising nearly 3% more than any other region of the county.
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The most expensive and least expensive Cambridgeshire areas to rent
Average rent prices in Cambridgeshire can vary greatly depending on the area you live in. While many aspects come into deciding where to rent including transport links and proximity to essential facilities, the cost of rent is often one of the most important factors to consider.
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Pace of rent rises is starting to slow
Rents across England continued to hold steady in September, breaking the £1,400 barrier for the third consecutive month, according to a Rental Index.
However, there were signs that the rapid pace of rent increases might be starting to slow.
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New calls to tackle a ‘rental affordability emergency’
Many landlords and letting agents have used the cost of living crisis as an excuse to push up rents, even though around 2 in 5 landlords do not have a mortgage. Two thirds of these mortgage-free landlords increased the price of new rental agreements during 2023, even though they were unaffected by rising interest rates.
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How landlords can respond to extensive flooding of rental properties
With the severe flooding that has hit the UK in recent weeks many people have experienced damage to their homes as well as in some extreme cases having to evacuate, but what does this mean for landlords?
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Section 21 ban could trigger eviction surge
A proposed ban on Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions under the Renters’ Rights Bill could lead to a ‘spate’ of evictions, one expert warns.
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Renters’ Rights Bill – Government reveals full details
Section 21 is described in the update as a ‘scourge’ and the law is set to come into force next summer.
Repeat breaches of not joining the Ombudsman could see landlords being hit with a criminal prosecution and a fine of £40,000.
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Landlords risk losing thousands in race to sell up
Experts are urging property investors to avoid making impulse sales as they face a perfect storm of incoming reforms to renters’ rights, changing energy efficiency standards and a punishing Budget from Chancellor Rachel Reeves on October 30.
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Rogue landlord fined £485,000 for renting out his shed as five flats
A rogue landlord whose tenants lived in ‘appalling conditions’ has been fined nearly half a million pounds.
Brent council was tipped off to the rogue landlord’s activities by neighbours 10 years ago, but it took them seven years to track him down and take him to court.
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Landlords face £21 billion bill to meet new EPC standards
According to research by Zero Deposit, the tenancy deposit alternative, it will cost the nation’s landlords £21.455 billion to bring their properties up to the required EPC C rating by 2030.
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Landlords stay put ahead of Renters’ Rights Bill
Fears of a landlord exodus following the introduction of new renter-friendly legislation may be overblown, according to fresh data.
The predicted rush of rental properties being put up for sale hasn’t materialised, with the number of properties on the sales market down by nearly a fifth between June and September this year, according to a research.
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Buy-to-let landlords optimistic about performance of their property investments
A prime London mortgage provider commissioned an independent survey of 501 UK landlords with BTL mortgages. It found that two-thirds (60%) of UK landlords are optimistic – both in terms of capital growth and rental returns – about the future performance of their property investments.
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Energy Performance Certificates: Are they driving landlords out of the sector?
Labour has proposed a significant shake-up to the rental sector. By 2030, all privately rented properties must meet a minimum EPC rating of band C. According to the Labour government, these regulations aim to take more than a million renters out of fuel poverty, ensuring that additional costs are not passed onto the renters.
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UK landlords worry about their future under Labour
When asked about the new government’s impact on the rental market, 51% of landlords anticipated a very negative effect, 20% expected a slightly negative impact, 13% were unsure, 10% foresaw no impact, and only 6% predicted a positive outcome.
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