propertytalk Live!

Rents rose 0.3% in February, according to the latest Buy-to-Let Index from LSL Property Services plc. The average rent in the UK reached £658 per month, 3.2% higher than a year ago, roughly in line with inflation.  Yields on buy-to-let property rose to 4.8%.

Landlords in southern England have made markedly superior returns than their northern counterparts over the last twelve months.

Sales of new-build homes rose by a remarkable 214% in the last full quarter when compared to the same period in 2008, according to Knight Frank’s "London Residential Development 2010 review".

This growth is considerably higher than the average increase of 68% for the entire London property market (ie - including resales).

Liam Bailey, head of residential research, Knight Frank, said: "The central issue in the new-build market is not an overhang of heavily discounted units, but a lack of available supply. The current supply of stock available to buy is down by 20% compared with Q1 2009. The number of built-complete new homes available for sale across London hit an all time low at just 975 in total in the third quarter of 2009.

The number of people considered homeless has fallen 72% since 2003, official figures claim.

The figures also show that 9430 households were accepted as homeless by local authorities between October to December 2009 - a 22% reduction compared to the same time last year.

A number of new mortgage deals have gone on the market this week.

Commenting on the launch of HSBC’s 1.99% discount mortgage deal and Santander’s mortgage rate cuts, Hannah-Mercedes Skenfield, mortgages channel manager at moneysupermarket.com, said: "Any cuts in rates and fees is good news for mortgage borrowers, and its great to see Santander and HSBC leading the charge by announcing changes and additions to their mortgage offerings.

Lack of supply of good quality country houses, which has been a major feature of the country market for over 12-months, will ease in the weeks prior to the General Election - now widely predicted for May 6, according to Prime Purchase.

Jonathan Bramwell, Head of Country at Prime Purchase said: "The shortage of prime country houses in all locations has been an important factor in holding prices stable and in some areas has caused price increases. However, there is now a perception that the General Election may result in a 'hung Parliament' which will struggle to cut public spending and to make the economic reforms required to allow the UK economy to recover."

Some of the property market turbulence of the last year is revealed in figures released by website Zoopla.co.uk.

While property sales in Britain in 2009 were 6.8% lower than a year earlier, it was very much a year of two halves. The number of properties that changed hands in the first six months of last year (273,015) was down 36.9% on 2008 but the second half of 2009 showed a 34.6% surge in sales transactions (421,732) compared to the last half of 2008.

More than 10% of shops on the UK’s high streets are now vacant or available to lease according to the latest Retail Availability survey from real estate adviser Cushman & Wakefield.

The figure of 10.7% at 1 February is a marginal increase of 0.4% over the previous three months when availability fell for the first time in 2009 by 2.3%. That figure was boosted by temporary lettings in the run up to Christmas. The new figure however is almost 2% below the peak recorded in August 2009 of 12.6%.

At 1.5% of the total number of shops surveyed, availability as a result of retailer administrations has fallen by a marginal 0.3% despite some reasonably high profile casualties including Diamonds & Pearls, Ethel Austin and Threshers.

Landlords are assuming the role of surrogate mothers as new research shows tenants are making their renting decision based on the ability to offer a friendly shoulder to cry on, rather than price.

Women are more interested in traditional landlord skills such as DIY (47% versus 35% for men), but it’s men who are looking for a good listener (30% versus 20% for women), according to a survey of more than 1000 tenants carried out by the National Landlords Association (NLA).

The fall in house prices and mortgage rates has resulted in UK housing affordability reaching its highest level since 2003.

New research from property website Zoopla.co.uk reveals that the fall in house prices and mortgage rates over the past couple of years has resulted in UK housing affordability now at its highest level since 2003.

The current boost in recruitment in the banking sector is pushing up rental demand in and around the City, highlighting the shortage of rental property. However, this will not lead to a steep rise in rents in the Capital, according to property consultants Cluttons.

Latest figures from recruiter Michael Page show that financial institutions are back on the hiring trail, with the number of vacancies now double compared to a year ago.