Tag Archives: finance-update

UK lettings agents report fewer rent rises and new homes on market also falls

The number of letting agents reporting rent increases for tenants has fallen month on month while the number of homes for rent is also down, according to the latest UK rental sector report. The analysis from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) shows that for the first time this year, the number of ARLA agents seeing rent hikes for tenants has decreased from the previous month. The report reveals only three in 10, some 33%, of agents reported an increase in August, the lowest since April this year and a drop from 37% last month. Tenants in the South West however are not benefiting from this. Some 42% of agents in the region are continuing to see rent prices hiked, up four percentage points from last month. This is compared to only 12% of agents in the North West who have witnessed a rent increase. In Wales, tenants are worse off too. The number of landlords putting rents up for their tenants has increased threefold from July. This month 36% of letting agents in Wales saw increases, up 25% from July when just 11% agents reported rent hikes. The data in the report also shows that after a spike in the number of houses available to rent last month, supply has fallen back down to levels seen in June 2015. ARLA letting agents managed an average 178 properties per branch in August, compared to 189 in July. The report found that the number of house hunters in the rental sector increased marginally in August. Letting agents reported an average 36 prospective tenants registered per branch, compared to 35 in July. The number of properties available to rent in London continued to fall in August, pushing demand for housing even harder in the capital and putting further pressure on house hunters. With 110 properties registered per branch, compared to 117 in July, the task of finding a property in the capital’s rental sector is becoming increasingly difficult. ‘Our findings this month are good news for the majority of tenants, as less are experiencing rent hikes. However, a third of agents are still seeing landlords pushing rents up, which reflects the sorry state of affairs in the market,’ said David Cox, ARLA managing director. ‘With increasing pressure on the dwindling supply of housing, and the number of house hunters growing, rent increases are unfortunately very common as one in three tenants are experiencing,’ he pointed out. ‘Despite the fact they have fallen this month, it’s likely they will go back up again over the next few months,’ he added. Continue reading

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UK home owners increasingly looking to remortgage to a better fixed deal

Up to one in six UK home owners are considering remortgaging over the next six months as the ongoing mortgage price wars cut rates, new research has found. They are targeting average savings of £99 a month, equivalent to £1,188 a year, according to the study by The Nottingham Building Society Nottingham. This comes as Council of Mortgage Lenders figures show that lending for remortgaging increased 15% month on month in recent data and industry experts are forecasting a surge in remortgaging in response to recent rate cuts which have seen five year fixed rates drop below 2%. The Nottingham's research shows five year fixes are the most popular choice for customers considering remortgaging and 27% of potential remortgaging customers would choose a five year fix and 21% a two year fix. The research shows strong demand for fixed rate deals as around three quarters of those considering remortgaging would choose a fixed rate deal. The study found 12% would ideally fix for longer than five years. Just 7% of those surveyed would choose tracker rates while 4% would consider discount deals and 7% say they would choose a standard variable rate. ‘The mortgage price war is interesting to existing home owners who are keen to take advantage of the record low rates. With interest rates expected to rise in the coming years then now could well be the right time for many to consider whether there are savings to be had,’ said Ian Gibbons, senior mortgage broking manager for Nottingham Mortgage Services. ‘Potentially savings are higher than the average £99 a month people are looking for. Someone with a £150,000 mortgage who moved from a deal at 4% to one at 2% could be around £3,000 a year better off,’ he explained. ‘However, to secure the best remortgage deal it is important to look at more than the base rate. You need to search the whole market and to be aware of the product fees that may be charged. A great rate won't save you much if you have to pay a high fee,’ he added. Continue reading

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Majority of UK landlords don’t want personal contact with tenants

Most landlords in the UK prefer for letting agents to manage their tenants and generally don’t want to be troubled with tenant complaints, new research has found. Some 85% of landlords don’t want to deal directly with tenants and 90% are unhappy about tenants calling or emailing them with problems, according to the study from online letting agent Property Let By Us. The research shows that despite landlords avoiding contact with tenants, nearly 60% pay for all the repairs to the property, while 10% expect tenants to pay for small repairs and just 2% confess to ignoring repairs for as long as possible. 'Landlords often come in for bad press but the majority of them are professional and take their responsibilities seriously. Many landlords work either full or part time and need the support of an agent to help them with managing the relationship with the tenant,' said Jane Morris, managing director of Property Let By Us. 'We know from our research that 66% of landlords find managing their properties more stressful than their full, or part time jobs and dealing with tenant complaints is a top cause of stress,' she explained. 'Landlords are under a huge amount of pressure with mounting legislative and tax changes. Agents can be a big help for landlords, offering a range of services that help reduce their workload and ensure they are fully compliant with legislation,' she added. Continue reading

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