Wednesday 16th February 2022
READ ARTICLE2021 proved to be an exceptional year for the property market, with annual growth hitting 10.4% and prices are 15% above the level they were at just before the pandemic hit in March 2020. At the same time, thanks to the stamp duty holiday, the number of transactions came close to highs last seen in 2007 (source: Nationwide). London had been lagging behind the rest of the country but after a slow start, showed signs of a sustained rec...
At Manors, we believe it’s vital we keep our customers on top of all the latest legislation and there are some important changes coming to EPC requirements for rental properties (Energy Performance Certificates). EPCs were first introduced back in 2007 and, at the time, were the subject of much derision. Our ever-increasing focus on the environment means their importance has been steadily growing and they will soon be hitting centre ...
Michael Gove has been in the news recently as he tries to tackle the thorny issue of who should pay for the huge cost of removing dangerous cladding on high rise buildings. In 2017, the Grenfell fire cost the lives of 72 people and cast huge doubts over the safety of many high-rise buildings. In response, the government tightened its safety guidelines and nervous mortgage companies began demanding to see proof high rise buildings complied b...
Because most of the indices are based on sold prices, they tend to lag at least 3 months behind Rightmove’s, which is based on current asking prices. As a result, so far only Rightmove’s shows the true effect of the stamp duty holiday extension. Their latest data reveals demand is now surging ahead of supply in many areas and is creating considerable upward pressure on prices. Spring is already one of the busiest perio...
The rental market continues to operate at two very different speeds. Homelet’s latest data shows the average rent rose by 0.3% between January and February and by 3.0% when compared to the same period last year. Ten out of the twelve regions saw significant rises during the last 12 months, with the East Midlands up by as much as 8.2%. If you take London out of the equation, the average rent rose by 6.2%. In the capital, annually, rents w...
Disclosure – what you need to disclose when selling a home So, Manors have found you your buyer, you’ve accepted an offer, the champagne has been drunk and now it’s time to do the paperwork. If you haven’t sold a property for a few years, you might be surprised by how much there is. There’s the Sellers Property Information Form, the Fixtures Fittings and Contents Form and, for leasehold properties, there&...
Damp, it’s extremely common, especially in older houses, but if you are a landlord, you have a legal responsibility to your tenants to deal with it. But, don’t panic. Damp is not always as big a problem as it may seem and sometimes the cure can be surprisingly straightforward. With a little knowledge, you should be able to identify and fix some of the more obvious causes, or at least make you feel confident about calling ...
Mortgages and interest rates in 2021 In 2020, the mortgage market, like everything else, was heavily affected by the COVID crisis. At the start, lenders worried about the prospect of defaults and negative equity, began withdrawing their high LTV mortgages, squeezing many first-time buyers (FTBs) out of the market. The Stamp Duty holiday, however, ensured house prices remained stable and there were high levels of demand for those a...
2021 – what will happen to house prices? It’s hard to believe now, but this time last year, all the talk was about how resilient the housing market had been in the face of Brexit uncertainty. And, with Boris Johnson’s election and his unexpected success in renegotiating terms with the EU, it all ended with a rising sense of optimism. Commentators were even promising ‘a far brighter, smoother year in 2020...
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