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The nationwide released their latest monthly figures as part of their House Price Index today, and the main headline figure was that house prices declined by 0.3% between February 2017 and March 2017. In addition, the annual rate of increase declined from 4.5% to 3.5%. Despite the fact than Manchester is currently showing the highest increases in the UK, the South of England continued to show slightly stronger price growth than the North of England. As we have commented on previously in our articles, there was also a decline in the percentage of people that own their own home, and in particular, for people aged between 25-34 who would traditionally make up the first-time buyer segment of the market. How Has This Impacted the Rental Market The percentage of people who own their own home is now 62.9%, which is the lowest recorded since 1985. As you expect, people still need to live somewhere, and so, as a result, 20% of households in England are now privately rented. ...

We can now offer Audio tours and professional photography for sales, please do let us know your thoughts on these.  Audio Tour Link

With the date for the triggering of Article 50 now set for 29 th March 2017, I thought it would be interesting to look at some of the trends in property prices both in Basingstoke and nationally. It’s fair to say that although we still have two years before we actually complete the Brexit process, that we will all be eagerly watching how this progresses and what the impact may be on the property market in Basingstoke. The National Picture .     Ave Price Paid Ave Price Now Properties Sold % Value Change 5 Years Ago £165,947 £218,255 4,779,304 31.52% 12 Months Ago £207,333 £218,255 995,373 5.27% 3 Months Ago £215,137 £218,255 238,335 1.45% *Source: The Land Registry On the face of these numbers, the property market continues to look extremely healthy. However, from the start of 2017,...

Leasehold Properties – Are they worth the aggravation?   You may remember in our article about the governments housing white paper, that the government is going to review current legislation on leaseholds, and in particular a recent trend of selling the freehold for profit after the properties have been sold.   In advance of this review, I wanted to provide some advice and what to look for when considering purchasing a leasehold property to live in, or as a buy to let property.   Years Remaining on the Lease Agents are required to provide this information when marketing a property that is Leasehold. The length of lease can vary dramatically, but from new, this may be anywhere from 99 years to 999 years depending on the property. The length of lease remaining, will have a significant impact on the re-sale value of the property so factor this in. If the lease has less than 100 years remaining, find out how much the freeholder will charge you to ...

Barrett Homes have just released a selection of Brand new apartments. They are located right near the train station and have the added bonus of TWO parking spaces. These will be very popular and will rent from £950 a month so around 5% yield. Two parking spaces are very rare and even a parking space on its own is around £70 a month. Here is the link http://www.rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/property-47210442.html

  As from the 1st April 2018 there will be a requirement for any properties rented out in the private rented sector to have a minimum energy performance rating of E on an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). The regulations will come into force for new lets and renewals of tenancies with effect from 1st April 2018 and for all existing tenancies on 1st April 2020. It will be unlawful to rent a property which breaches the requirement for a minimum E rating, unless there is an applicable exemption.     As a landlord, it has been a requirement since 2008 to have an EPC for your property, and this certificate will outline areas in your property where you can take action to improve the performance of your property. This typically relates to double glazing, wall and loft insulation, fitting thermostats in the property and ...

It’s hard to believe we are already at the end of February 2017! The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) are predicting that housing prices will increase by 20% over the next 5 years (4% per year), and that Rental Prices will track slightly higher than this at 5% annually. This is of course an average across the country and across all property types, so it doesn’t follow that all properties will increase in value. Some areas will see a decline. The forecast is based on RICS expectation that there will continue to be less properties on the market for sale or rent than there is demand. This is consistent with previous articles we have written, and in the short term, we do not anticipate any change in this trend. It also highlights the ongoing problem the government faces in building enough properties to meet the demand in the market (see our article on the Housing White Paper). This is further supported by the January UK Cities House Price Index from Hometrack ...