Kevin's Property Blog - February 2016

Kevin Spires, Senior Sales Executive at Edward Ashdale estate agents, shares his latest thoughts on the property market.

December saw the rate of annual house price rises increase from 11.2% in November to 12.4%. The average house price in London is now £514,097.

An average property in London now costs a staggering ten times the average salary, according to the London Housing Commission.

What rise will we see for London house prices in 2016?  The range of forecasts suggests prices will rise on average of 3%-6%.  We predict property prices property in Bromley will increase by an average 6%-8%. 

The London Housing Commission report for the Institute for Public Policy Research shows 500,000 new homes need to be built in the capital over the next 10 years to keep up with demand, but in the past 10 years only 194,000 were built. 

So with the lack of new homes being built and it looks like interest rates will stay unchanged for 2016 these are two strong indicators why house prices could rise at an average of 5% this year.

But a good argument against a continuous rise in house prices is that they cost a staggering eight to ten times (earnings) the average salary. Looks like we have a very interesting year ahead.

Kevin Spires, Senior Sales Executive, Edward Ashdale, February 2016

Please call 020 8466 8445 to book your FREE MARKET APPRAISAL

You can view our earlier posts in our Index here.

New landlord? Don't be nervous

We recently published a short video offering advice to new and prospective landlords. Sam Samuel talked about some considerations of importance to new landlords, from considering what property to purchase in the first place, to property maintenance and dealing with tenants.

After going over general points and potential risks, such as nuisance behaviour and rent arrears, Sam concludes that, with or without a managing agent such as Edward Ashdale, being a landlord can be a smooth-running and rewarding experience. 

However, Edward Ashdale are ready to help if an intermediary between landlord and tenant is needed to apply expertise and experience to ensure the letting out goes well and any emergencies are dealt with. In the case of a landlord with multiple tenants, such an arrangement could be even more valuable to ensure that the landlord has peace of mind that, whatever happens, any issues with his or her properties that arise are routinely dealt with effectively and efficiently.

You can view our earlier posts in our Index here.