Nottingham Letting Agent Property Blog

Latest figures show that just 66% of homes are owner occupied, down from a peak of 71% nine years ago. This means one third of homes are rented from the council or housing association, or are privately rented. This is the largest percentage seen since 1988 when the push towards home ownership was at its peak. It's no surprise to hear that the major obstacle facing young people is trying to afford a mortgage, and data from the Department for Communities and Local Government shows just 10% of homeowners are less than 35 years of age.Young people have been amongst the...

It's the New Year and price predictions for 2012 show property in London faring the best while the rest of the country is expected to suffer price falls. Unsurprisingly the North is expected to suffer the worst price falls as these areas are more likely to be dependent upon the public sector for employment. Knight Frank is predicting prices could fall by up to 6% in northern England and Scotland, while property prices in London could rise by up to 5% during 2012. Savills predictions are a little more favourable, showing price falls of up to 4% for property outside London...

In spite of the fact that most people would prefer to own their own home, more and more are becoming resigned to renting property for the longer term, and it's likely attitudes towards renting will change. It's only during the last few decades that Britain has become a nation of homeowners, as at the end of the First World War just 23% of property was owner occupied, and those who owned property tended to be the middle classes or landed gentry.As standards of living gradually increased, so did the trend of buying your own home. This policy really took off when...

New data recently released by LSL Property Services Buy to Let Index shows demand for rental property is at an all-time high, and that rents are still increasing in most areas, albeit at a slower rate than inflation. In spite of rents being high, tenant arrears have dropped to their lowest level since April last year, with just 8.6% of rent due being unpaid by the end of September, down from 10.7% at the end of August.In many areas it would actually be cheaper to buy a home than to rent, but this is unachievable for many due to the £25,000...

A new report from Connells showed the number of valuations carried out last month increased by more than a third compared to August, and during the third quarter there were 11% more valuations than during the second quarter. If these figures are assessed annually, they appear far more impressive as the annual growth was 63% compared to September 2010, although during that month mortgage lending was at its lowest level since 2000.According to Connells the mortgage market has improved over the past few months in spite of continuing economic troubles, and it expects the remainder of the year to prove reasonably...

According to a survey by the Association of Residential Letting Agents, only 35% of landlords in the UK know the energy performance of their properties, and around 17% think their property falls into the minimum category of energy efficiency performance, which is the F or G band of the Energy Performance Certificate. If this is true then they need to make plans to improve the energy efficiency of their properties, as from 2018 onwards, under the terms of the governments Green Deal, any rental properties performing at this level will be banned through the minimum efficiency standard.ARLA thinks that landlords should...

Anyone looking to purchase an investment property might be well advised to choose one with energy efficient essentials already in place, or they should be prepared to spend a bit of money making it more eco-friendly. Apparently tenants are becoming more concerned about keeping their household bills low, and are likely to be more interested in renting quality homes available from letting agents in Nottingham, which already have simple energy efficient upgrades. Energy efficiency is going to become more important in the near future, especially with the governments up-and-coming Green Deal policy which aims to upgrade the country's housing over the...

Gross mortgage lending has increased by 10% compared to a year ago, but in spite of this analysts remain cautious and think the long-term outlook is still pretty subdued. Mortgage lending for August was around £13.4 billion, which is a 6% increase on the £12.6 billion lent in July, and is the highest monthly total since July 2009, and the highest monthly total for August since 2008 when mortgage lending reached £19.3 billion.According to the Council of Mortgage Lending, the underlying market appears to be quite stable, even though activity is still subdued, and the August figures offset the weaker than...

The property market has changed substantially over the last couple of years or so, and whereas in the past people would expect to be able to sell and buy a new property on the same day, nowadays many are finding this somewhat tricky to achieve. Increasing numbers are choosing to look for short-term rental accommodation, rather than lose a sale. Buyers are often able to dictate the terms, and many more are changing their minds at the last moment and pulling out. A recent report by a conveyancer found that one in three property sales fell through during the first six...

Renters have traditionally been younger people who require the flexibility of being able to move quickly, or who are unable to buy their first home just yet, but there is growing evidence to show that the older generations are choosing to sell up and rent. While there are a number of equity release schemes available, and some of them may be pretty good, it can often be far better for an older person to sell up and live off their equity.Apparently elderly Britons have an incredible £3 trillion tied up in property, and growing numbers need this money to fund a...

Tenants who rent privately automatically have an assured short hold tenancy. There are other types but these tend to be used for tenants who are in Council or housing association accommodation or in those rare cases where the rent exceeds more than £100,000 a year. An assured short hold tenancy is used where rent is paid to private landlord who doesn't live in the same building, and it allows the tenant to prevent others from accessing their home without first seeking permission to enter at a mutually convenient time, which is typically at least 24 hours after the request. The tenancy...