General news (March 2012)
Latest General news
Private rented sector 'will continue to grow'
The UK's private rented sector is in great shape at the moment and will only continue to expand in the coming months and years, it has been predicted. According to Stuart Law, chief executive at property investment adviser Assetz, he agrees with a recent report by Savills which claims that rental Britain is "here to stay". What this means, according to Mr Law, ...
30th Mar 2012
Empty home renovators 'should be rewarded'
People who seek to renovate empty homes and bring them back into use should be assisted in their efforts to increase the amount of housing stock in the country, it has been claimed. David Ireland, chief executive of the independent campaigning charity Empty Homes, which aims to highlight the number of empty properties in England and bring empty property back into use, said ...
29th Mar 2012
General news archive
Hiring professionals 'not essential' for home improvements
Property owners looking to carry out some home improvements have been advised that it is not essential for professionals to carry out the work. Jason Orme, editor at Homebuilding & Renovating, acknowledged that spring is the time of year when many people begin to think about how they can spruce up their home interior and exterior with some employing tradesmen to do the ...
26th Mar 2012
NHF: We welcome government efforts
The government's efforts to open up the housing market to more first-time buyers (FTBs) have been welcomed by the National Housing Federation (NHF). In particular, the NHF has credited two schemes that have been designed to help people who are finding it difficult to get on the property ladder for the first-time. The redesigned Right To Buy scheme aims to give social ...
20th Mar 2012
London land values increase substantially
There has been a sharp rise in central London residential development land values over the last 12 months, according to the latest report from Knight Frank. The data shows that values are up 20.3 per cent year-on-year while, on a quarterly basis, they rose by more than three per cent in the final quarter of 2011. Outside of the capital the land market is stable, which ...
12th Mar 2012
'Always set a budget' when building an extension
People planning on making major changes to their property , such as adding an extension, need to set a budget first and then stick to it, according to one expert. Tom Gresford, architect at Architect-yourhome.com, said that when it comes to budgeting for an extension, a big budget is not essential, but some form of cap is. "Home extension costs have so many variables, ...
8th Mar 2012
Buy to let property 'set to increase'
There is set to be a rapid increase in the number of buy to let mortgages being issued in the UK, according to one sector expert. Lee Grandin, director at Landlord Mortgages, said that lenders seem to be "very keen" to lend to landlords at the moment, which provides great opportunities for those hoping to move into the private rented sector. "I think there ...
7th Mar 2012