While nationally new sellers average asking prices increased by just 0.3% (£711), they were again outperformed by the confidence of the capital’s sellers who pushed theirs up by 1.1% (£4,470).
This is the first increase in London new sellers’ average asking prices for three months, and is a timely positive sign for new sellers as it breaks the downward spiral of falls seen in the previous two months when prices fell by a total of 2.4%.Cheap London Property
Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove comments:
“This month’s price rise will come as a welcome respite to prospective sellers in the London area as they had witnessed falls in both November and December.
Sellers in the run up to Christmas normally have a pressing reason to sell so chopped back their prices, while sellers launching to the market in the New Year are traditionally more optimistic.”
Rightmove have recorded rises in new London sellers’ asking prices in January for seven of the last nine years.Cheap London Property
This year’s increase has been assisted by upward price pressure resulting from a shortage of fresh property coming to market.
Newly marketed properties in recorded in the January House Price Index were 5.4% down on the same period last year, and remain well-below pre-credit crunch levels of around 14,000.
The heavy snow will have played some role in the low listing numbers, and it will be important to see to see to what extent figures bounce back in the next few weeks.
Shipside adds:
“The market remains thin and open to some monthly price volatility.
On the upside we have the shortage of fresh property stock that helps push prices upwards in the more desirable areas.
Less popular locations and property types may find prices under pressure due to the deposit requirements of lenders limiting the budgets of buyers.
As London has an international audience who rely less on mortgage finance to buy, we predict it will outperform the rest of the country yet again in 2011”.
As well as the rise in new sellers’ asking prices, there have been signs of pent-up buyer demand in January with Rightmove recording record levels of internet traffic.
For the past three successive Monday’s Rightmove have had their busiest ever day, starting on Monday 10th January with 28.3m pages, which was toppled on Monday 17th with 29m pages and finally Monday 24th which saw a staggering 30m web pages of property served.
This activity pushed Rightmove up to as high as 7th in terms of most used websites by UK users.
The better value buys may well prove to be in lower priced areas where current mortgage restrictions affect the number of buyers most.
All four of the cheapest boroughs have seen year-on-year price falls.
Barking and Dagenham (-0.6%), Bexley (-3.1%), Havering (-3.1%) and Newham (-7.3%) have seen new seller asking prices down compared to a year ago.
Shipside adds:
“Those areas hardest hit in a downturn often rebound strongest, and these four lowest priced boroughs all show prices even cheaper than a year ago.
Affordability has improved, which tends to be a fairly rare event in the history of London property.
While there is a flight to quality in less certain times, when markets bounce back it is the less favoured areas that often see the biggest percentage gains.”
View the original article here
London’s spring sellers have felt sufficiently confident to market their properties at an average of £431,013, a new asking price record.Investment Property
Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove comments:
“Estate agents are reporting buoyant market conditions and sales activity in the capital resulting in a shortage of property for sale in popular areas.
While the rest of the country struggles to sell or raise deposits to buy, demand from cash-rich buyers in London has meant that sellers can ask record prices.
It is driven by London’s international status, its preponderance of wealthier buyers, and a shortage of available land and properties.Investment Property
However, this is not like the most recent boom where easy credit and record bonus pay-outs led to large increases in asking prices every month.
This time it’s crept up on the market, with prices fluctuating month-to-month but overall driven by an on-going shortage of property being outstripped by consistent demand”.
The buoyant market conditions have encouraged more sellers onto the market, though the increases in fresh stock numbers have still failed to satisfy demand.
New seller numbers are up 15% on April last year, up from an average of 4,208 per week to 4,836.
There is a more dramatic recovery against the muted 2009 figure, with 59% more Londoners choosing to market their properties this April compared to two years ago.
The strength of demand has meant that only 3 boroughs out of 32 have recorded monthly asking price falls, with Westminster, Islington and Hillingdon showing marginal reverses.
Shipside comments:
“While we often see monthly fluctuations, the theme this month is for sellers to be asking more in the vast majority of boroughs.
There is a continuing shortage of properties in the more popular locations, though it is still essential for sellers to employ good marketing tactics to achieve the best price rather than just a quick sale”.
View the original article here
Want to own over a billion square feet of beautiful Welsh countryside?
With over 23,000 acres of woodlands, farmland and conservation areas, Vyrnwy Estate is the largest piece of land to come on the Welsh property market in living memory.Cheap Investment Property
The vast piece of rural Wales is being sold in four lots and is expected to sell for around £11million on a 125 year lease.
So if money is no object, here’s what that large chunk of cash will buy you: 31 cottages, 14 farms and your very own lakeside café.
But possibly most appealing of all is that the Lake Vyrnwy Estate is so big, it can be seen with the naked eye from space. Cheap Investment Property
The stunning estate surrounds Lake Vyrnwy, a 4.75mile long reservoir that was made by Liverpool Corporation to supply clean water to Liverpool.
The estate offers so much more than just a water supply; the countryside in the Cumbrian Mountains is also a popular tourist spot.
Visitors flock to the area to enjoy a nature reserve that has become a haven for birds and wildlife alike.
While Severn Water is keen to sell the land and its included properties, it has been stressed how important it is that the new buyer looks out for the local people who have made the Vyrnwy Estate their home.
Does this sound like your next investment? Snap it up fast as you could be facing some tough competition.
Clive Hopkins, head of farm and estate sales at Knight Frank explains that “due to such a diverse portfolio we anticipate interest from a variety of institutions, landowners and investors”.
View the original article here
3Bed house
Address: Greatstone Road, Manchester, M32 8TH
Mortgage value £135k Feb 2013
purchase price: £108k
20% LTV
rental: £575-£625
LeBernProperty is a Partnership specialising in building its clients and the Partnership’s own property portfolios by providing high quality cheap investment property at a genuine discount.
Guaranteed Rent London | Average asking prices in London drop by over £17,000
Rightmove records that new sellers dropped their asking prices in London by an average of -3.6% (-£17,136) in July.
This follows a seasonal pattern of more competitive pricing at this time of year, though the reduction is more than twice the 1.7% drop recorded in July last year.Guaranteed Rent London
It is also the biggest fall in the capital that Rightmove has ever recorded in the month of July.
View the report here.
Miles Shipside, director at Rightmove, comments:
“Sellers coming to the market in summer are often more price sensitive as they recognise much of the buying audience is more excited about going abroad rather than going to view property.Guaranteed Rent London
The fall also comes on the back of several months of fairly heady price increases, so it might just be that the market is finding a price level where buyers and sellers are willing to transact.
More competition from more properties coming to market and the knock on effects of the Budget rise in stamp duty for properties sold at above £2 million could be making their mark in the statistics ”.
If the market is getting a bit tougher in London, especially during the Olympics, good quality property presentation will be more important than ever for sellers to make their property’s benefits really stand out.
Shipside observes:
“Those keen to sell this summer should research what it takes to improve their property’s quality, value and appeal to be one of the best in class.
Sellers should ask their estate agent if their property is worthy of a medal in terms of the three P’s: Price, Presentation and Promotion.
Is it one of the most competitively priced? Is it amongst the best presented in terms of condition? Having ticked those two boxes, then how is it best promoted to ensure a buyer is aware of its endearing qualities over other choices on the market?”
More property has come to the market this month compared to last, with July’s numbers up by 6%. Increased levels of competition tend to lead to lower prices, especially with summer buyers a bit thinner on the ground.
New listing numbers are also up 4% on July 2011, indicating a slight increase in willingness to come to market.
Shipside adds:
“This increase in seller numbers is unusual at this time of year when there is traditionally less buyer activity, and is made even more surprising given the proximity to Olympic distractions and upheaval.
It is possible the recent Budget changes in stamp duty could be a contributory factor”.
View the original article here
Rent Protection Scheme | Sha’mone! YOU could live in Michael Jackson’s house!
The property where Michael Jackson died has been put up for sale and it’s on Rightmove!
Look inside now!
The King of Pop was renting the seven bedroom property for a jaw-dropping $100,000 a month when he tragically passed last year.Rent Protection Scheme
The property itself is owned by Ed Hardy CEO Hubert Guez, who after failing to rent out the property for $300,000 a month decided to put it up for sale instead for $28,995,000 (£18.3million).
He had originally tried to sell the house for $38million back in 2008 but agreed to let Jackson rent it while he was rehearsing for his ‘This Is It’ tour.Rent Protection Scheme
The 171,171ft2 French Chateau Estate which has thirteen toilets, a seven-car garage, an art studio and twelve fireplaces, was built in 2002 by Richard Landry.
Situated in the Holmby Hills in the prestigious Bel Air area in Los Angeles, the property has now become an iconic landmark in Jacko’s history.
Since his death in June, fans have held impromptu memorials outside the property’s gates.
Die-hard Jackson lovers are expected to try and have a look inside posing as potential buyers (we’ve got our fake moustaches ready!), so Guez has increased security to protect the property from intruding fans.
Before his death Michael lived in the property with his three children, Prince Michael, Paris and Blanket.
The superstar was due to start a fifty date concert tour beginning at London’s 02 Arena just weeks after his untimely death.
If living across the pond in this off the wall property doesn’t fit in with your commute, check out what you could afford in the UK if you have a few million quid to spare.
View the original article here
Guaranteed Rental | Fly on the wall at a Knightsbridge Estate Agents
W.A. Ellis, the Knightsbridge Estate Agent founded in 1868 and ddealing with some of the most prestigious addresses and clients in the world, think my blogs are funny, which is nice. They want me to write one about them. ‘Only if it’s warts and all’ I warn. I don’t want people thinking I have moved over to the dark side. ‘Warts and all is fine’ they say. I really hope they mean that and I really hope I am not going to have to spend an entire day with roaring ‘Ruperts’.
I arrive at their Brompton Road office. A cavernous labyrinth covering many floors, housing nearly 50 property pro’s and belied by the subtle shop front. If Estate Agents did TARDISes…
Leila on reception greets me. She’s a born and bred Londoner, a nice change to your standard London EA receptionist, who are generally chosen for inside leg measurement, blondeness and the ability to speak English is an after thought.Guaranteed Rental
Simon, my ‘charming as they get’ host for the day arrives. ‘Lift or stairs?’ he asks. ‘Stairs’ I say and emerge panting on the sales floor eyrie in the Knightsbridge treetops. I can see down to a square which has been a temporary home to Bill Gates and Woody Allen among many, I may know this but I suspect W.A. Ellis couldn’t possibly comment.
The sales team greet me warily, they know I am writing a blog, some even know what one is. I feel like Katie Price infiltrating the Royal box.
Simon has calls to make, so I tuck myself into a corner with a steaming mug of Earl Grey. Hate the stuff. I attempt invisibility but with flapping ears.
Graeme, an 18 year old recruit to WAE ‘quite a few’ years ago is on the phone. ‘We’re not going to start this if you’re not going to finish it’ he booms at what I picture as an increasingly squirming buying agent. “I won’t have my client messed around’. I warm to Graham.Guaranteed Rental
Receivers are covered as questions get thrown to the floor.. ‘Anyone seen anything good on Egerton..?’ ‘Whats the chance of demising that roof terrace on Walton Street?’
‘Our Vendor’s just lost out on an Eaton Place, can we find one, £5-£9m?’ says Jamie, who started as a Saturday boy and was then supported through a Real Estate Degree by the company… I bite my lip, dying to say ‘tell them to call me!’
It’s time to hit the road with Simon. We are street walking Knightsbridge style. Well he is. I am sporting Clarks comfort heels and blisters, he is in Gucci. First stop a pied a terre in South Kensington. It’s tenanted, (cue untidy) and has the added novelty of a snarling home alone Chihuahua. ‘It’s on webcam’ Simon informs me, ‘they watch it from work’. No kicking the dog then, I tell him.
First viewer is a glossy buying agent. ‘It needs gutting’ she proclaims. ‘Is your client happy to do that?’ asks Simon. ‘NO’ is the curt response. Oops, I look away and concentrate on my role of shooing dog from ankles. Another viewing and another buying agent lollops up the common parts. Simon talks through innovative ways to redesign layout. The buying agent has other ideas, dumb ones. I bite my lip. Onto the roof terrace, Simon starts a techy discussion on it not being demised and ways in which to mitigate that. It’s high up and we are surrounded by London chimney pots. If I had an umbrella I could be Mary Poppins but Simon is no Dick Van Dyke. He’s more Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge, I think wistfully. I try to focus back on roof terrace demisings and not dwell on the unlikelihood of me being mistaken for Nicole Kidman.
Another flat, and £1m nicer. Tim is already there with a gaggle of even glossier buying agents and their uber-glossy clients. I look around trying to find fault then remind myself that today I am not a buying agent, I am an EA.. I need to project the positives. ‘It’s very light’ I say lamely. Tim and Simon classily avert their eyes from the wired glass views onto the dingy light well and say ‘absolutely!’ I’ll stick to being a buying agent, I am so much better at being negative.
Discussions are on lease length, service charges and sink funds, as the common area’s are, shall we say, ‘very’. It gets very technical buying flats and the best agents spell out the good AND the bad at the front end. It save’s lawyer/buyer histrionics the day before exchange.
We trot back to the office and I grab a cuppa with Lucy Morton, the doyenne, the matriach, if not supreme commander of not only WA Ellis but most committee’s, boards and advisory panel’s worth listening to in the property world. In this world, at this level she’s as rare as hens teeth, she is a woman and a phenomenally knowledgable one. Her awards shelf competes with Ant and Dec’s. I comment on the longevity of their staff, many over 15 years and Jamie starting as a Saturday boy. ‘Oh yes’ she says ‘He was so young when he started that I wouldn’t let him cross the Brompton Road’. I get a maternal twinge, then remind myself he is an Estate Agent.
I am told to talk to Charlie about the lettings side, they cover a large swathe of London from this office. Ah, the delicious Charlie. I force a lame News of The World style interrogation on him. ‘Tell me your funniest tenant story’. I am regaled with inebriated Polish girls, the quaintly phrased ‘birthday suits’ and Dan stuck in a lift ‘I was talking to his feet for an hour’.
A quick catch up with Katya, IT manager and Bill Gates’ most dedicated of Bulgarian disciples. She rules all things wifi and web with an iron curtain fist… and Louboutins, then it’s off with Jamie to see something in the teens of millions with the added bonus of a real-life buyer, not a buying agent. It’s an astounding chandelier hung Edwardian apartment overlooking the poshest of the posh London squares. Decor is a feast of 1980′s trompe l’oeil and rag roll paint effects but what the heck, it has a 30ft balustraded terrace with glorious black and white original tiling.’ Can we take those up?’ asks the prospective buyer. I have visions of decking, blue LED’s and Cargo tea lights, my intake of breath is audible. She needs a different type of decking. Lip is bitten yet again.
Back at the office I am flagging. We have walked literally miles, as no one was getting me on the back of their ubiquitous red scooters.
I finish off with the sales guys. Dominic tells me he has been in Lettings, Sales and the surveying department.. he is a chartered surveyor and his desk, littered with very funky spectacles points to a personality too. Another ‘hens teeth in the industry’ moment.
As I am leaving, the whole office ask ‘Have you seen Trevor Place, it’s stunning’. Genuine enthusiasm for a listing is a rare thing to hear from Estate Agents. ‘Yes, I have seen it’, I say, (it is £17m of delicious double fronted real estate), but there’s one thing I haven’t seen today’, I tell them…. ‘A Rupert’.
We do have one of them they say, a little crestfallen… but we keep him in Accounts.
View the original article here
Guaranteed Investment | Extend your lease – increase its market value
Do you own a leasehold flat? Then spare a moment to consider whether you should be extending the lease.
If you purchased the flat with 99 years or less unexpired then it will certainly be in your best interests to extend the lease before the unexpired term falls below 80 years.Guaranteed Investment
If you are thinking of selling your flat within the next few years then a longer lease will certainly make the property more saleable and also increase the market value of the property.
Provided that you qualify under the terms of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 then you are legally entitled to purchase a ninety year extension to the existing lease term at a new peppercorn (zero) ground rent for the whole of the new term.
Thus, if you currently have a lease term of 70 years unexpired with an annual ground rent of £50, the extended lease would be for 160 years with a peppercorn (zero) ground rent.Guaranteed Investment
The premium to purchase an extension to the lease is assessed by calculating the present value to the freeholder of the future ground rent payable under the existing lease, plus the present value of what the flat would be worth at the end of the existing lease when the flat would otherwise have been handed back to the freeholder.
This is known as the reversionary value.
If the present lease has less than 80 years unexpired then the freeholder is also entitled to a 50% share of the marriage value.
In simple terms, the marriage value is the difference between the value of the flat with a long lease, and the value of the flat with a short lease, on the assumption that the lessee has no rights under the 1993 Act.
The value of the premium obviously varies depending on the various figures and yields applied.
Under the terms of the 1993 Act, the lessee will also be responsible for the freeholder’s reasonable legal and valuation costs in dealing with the matter.
It is therefore very important that the amount of the premium is assessed accurately and professionally.
At MAP, we offer a fast and efficient service to value the premium necessary to purchase an extension to the existing lease.
We provide you with a report which explains the process, lets you know what your next step in the procedure should be and we are also able to suggest solicitors who specialise in lease extension work, including the serving of notices.
So, if you wish to extend your lease or perhaps join together with other lessees in the building in order to purchase the freehold interest, then contact our office on 0845 6344187 for a free initial telephone consultation and advice as to what your next step should be.
View the original article here
Guaranteed Rent Scheme | A day in the life of a London Lettings Agency
It is a fine summery day, as I arrive at W. A. Ellis in Knightsbridge.
I am to spend the day watching the lettings department at work. I am of course dressed for Winter.
Dave, the über-charming Antipodean contingent of the office gets the pleasure of taking me on a little viewing tour, we set off but I am intrigued by the cry from the floor ‘Colin’s in the kitchen’. I shall investigate later.Guaranteed Rent Scheme
Three flats in Cadogan Square – no change out of £4k per week each. There’ll be no laminate floors and glossed over woodchip for me today.
The prospective tenant is meeting us at the first one. We wait and we wait. Phone calls are made and eventually a young lady, clad in tiny Lycra cycling shorts and Chanel accessories breezes up to us nonchalantly. There is no hello, simply a ‘Which way does it face?’ This flat is a penthouse with the largest terrace I have seen in Central London. The view is breathtaking. However this elicits merely a blank expression from our viewer. ‘Let’s move on’ she says – ‘it just doesn’t have enough ‘volume’’. Volume? Dave hides his ‘You what?’ expression somewhat better than I do. The other two apartments don’t cut the mustard either. ‘It must face south, it must be cheaper and it must be bigger. Call me when you get it’. A little expert property tip: If it’s bigger and better, it isn’t cheaper.Guaranteed Rent Scheme
She finishes with the final cherry on any Agent’s cake. ‘There is no rush, we don’t have to move’.
Well at least she had a pert bottom I say to Dave. ‘Hadn’t noticed’ he says, almost convincingly.
Back to the office for an Espresso, no Mellow Birds here apart from in Property Management. Then off to the launch of a £5000 per week fab-pad. A mews house which has been refurbished with not a bell or whistle missing. The launch is for other London Agents, a quirk of the London market that Agents very often ‘share’ the properties thus opening up a property to many more potential tenants – a bonus to Landlords and Tenants. I wish it was commonplace outside the smoke.
There is elderflower juice and wine on offer. I plump for wine. This will be a mistake.
Lucy Morton, darling of the industry and supreme commander of W. A. Ellis gives me a tour. Basement with plasma and bar? Tick. Dark wood and pewter kitchen? Tick. Polished cement feature wall in the reception? Absolutely. It is beautifully presented and if I had an Argentinian polo player client I would be marching him straight in. Sadly for me, on a number of levels, I don’t. However I am hoping for some extra wow factor. I get it in the toilet. As Lucy wafts past the toilet in the en-suite, the lid opens. We take a closer look. A control panel worthy of Star Trek 7 and stomach churning warnings of low-grade burn risks if misused, you’ve got to love the Japanese. This W.C. offers far more than a loo really should in polite company.
Charlie, lettings negotiator extraordinaire, plies me with another glass, another large glass. Charlie is ‘trouble’. The winter outfit is now making me rather pink in the face. ‘Take your jacket off’ they say. I can’t, the zip on my dress is broken. I get pinker but finally escape back to the office, wandering in a wavy line.
‘D’ya want a drink?’ twinkles Charlie when I get back. Great, reputation of respectable lady buying agent in tatters and now I have to have a serious chat about Lettings with the Guru herself, Lucy Morton. Another cry of ‘Colin’s in the kitchen’ but too late to investigate, I make an executive decision. I decide to come back tomorrow.
I arrive back the next day to see Lucy and get down to some nitty gritty lettings talk at her desk in the centre of the Lettings department. Lucy is a past president of ARLA, a Board member of NfoPP, CLEA and Lonres and a trustee of EAF. She set up W. A. Ellis lettings department in 1990 after setting up Savills’ Lettings department in 1985. Her role within ARLA means that she is often acting as arbitrator for Tenants, Landlords and Agents, being called for advice from anywhere in the UK so she is not shielded from the huge issues on the ground in say Liverpool and fully appreciates how lucky she is to be working in the buoyant Central London market.
View the original article here
Guaranteed Rental Income | Welsh tourist attraction up for grabs
Boasting breath-taking views of the crystal clear sea and flanked by acres of woodland, Waterwynch house is a cash-rich buyers paradise.
And the stunning estate in Pembrokeshire that has played a major role in Welsh tourism for the past 200 years is now officially on the market!Guaranteed Rental Income
Look inside Waterwynch house here.
The property situated in Tenby has been used to entertain overseas guests for decades.Guaranteed Rental Income
The beachside house was first built by Charles Norris in the early 19th century when he was given the land in recognition of his work promoting the seaside town.
It was later owned by Lord and Lady Ridsdale whose son-in-law Conservative Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin was often a guest, adding to the town’s popularity.
What once was a rundown hotel, has now been converted into a beautiful family home with an asking price of £3.5million.
Philip Evans, the present owner of the property, used to be the chairman of the Welsh Tourist board and credits the lovingly restored house with helping to keep Wales a popular holidaying destination.
The eleven bedroom house can be accessed down a quiet country lane and has its own beach front and a deep-water mooring (one needs a place to keep the yachts!).
The property also includes a separate four bedroom lodge which is currently set up for short-term holiday rentals.
Waterwynch house and all of its glory is set in 30 acres of land and stunningly laid formal gardens and it’s clear to see why so many tourists have flocked to area to marvel in its beauty.
If you fancy living in this stunning tourist spot but can’t afford the price tag then check out these more affordable options all in Tenby, Pembrokeshire.
View the original article here