Weekly Property News Round Up – 03.12.22

Hello,

I hope you’ve had a restful week. We are now officially in the festive season and are looking forward to celebrating with our investors by offering an incredible range of incentives across our entire range of prime UK developments.

With the chance to save thousands of pounds off your property deal, get flexible payment plans on some of our most popular products and so much more on offer, there really has never been a better time to get in touch.

Reply to this post today for more information.

Now, let’s take a look at all the headlines that caught our attention this week. I always try to summarise the links to save you from having to click through.

Episode 52: What Should Landlords Be Doing Right Now?  – The latest episode of the Pure Property Podcast is out now. You can listen to it on Apple Podcasts and all other major platforms.

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Property News This Week

• Five Government Rebates to Help Your Home Go Green – With energy prices rising, it is more important than ever to utilise government support schemes that work to give you a more energy-efficient home. While not generally advertised, these schemes can help save you thousands in upgrades and energy costs. The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) was created to help those experiencing the greatest need to heat their homes. The scheme offers free cavity wall insulation and free loft insulation for both homeowners and renters and could collectively save around £300 per year in energy bills. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is worth £450 billion in government funding and can award up to £6,000 for a registered installer to replace a boiler. Green Deal Loans are also available to help with payments on a variety of energy-efficient features around the home.

 

• BTL Lenders Slowly Build Back Their Product Availability – The latest data from Moneyfacts.co.uk suggests that there has been an increase of over 700 buy-to-let mortgage products now available for landlords to choose from since October. Landlords searching for a new BTL mortgage will find product choice within the lending sector is recovering, research reveals. This strongly signifies a recovery of the mortgage sector from its mini-budget crash when lenders scrambled to price their products correctly, which resulted in hundreds of products being pulled from the market. There are still fewer deals available than there were at the start of September, and the evidence shows an average increase in landlords who opted for fixed-rate deals during that time, with deals having an average 6% interest rate. It is clear that landlords are now paying more for their products, but experts do predict that interest rates will be coming back down in 2023.

 

• Industry Data Shows Looming Crisis for UK Renters – Talk to anyone in the UK who is searching for a property right now and you will likely get the same comments – There are more applicants than available stock, and prices have gone crazy since the start of the pandemic. Incredibly, this goes for renters, homebuyers and BTL landlords alike, showing a widespread supply-demand imbalance all across the UK property market. In its latest report, TwentyEA has revealed that both new instructions and lets agreed have dropped in Q3 by 25% and 19% respectively when compared with pre-pandemic 2019 figures. With landlords now having to pay more for their properties, and pay higher interest rates on borrowing, it is unsurprising that rental costs have risen by 19% since 2019. And with supply shortage being so prevalent, there are now 13 prospective tenants on average for every property on the market, with many people no longer able to afford to either rent or buy a property in the UK.

 

• Hong Kong Buyers Rush to Take Advantage of Unique Conditions -Beijing’s recently imposed national security laws have put the squeeze on Chinese citizens, and now Hong Kong residents are taking advantage of a new opportunity to free themselves from the oppressive regime. After it was decided that the laws breach the 1984 Sino-British declaration, the UK created a visa scheme for all Hong Kong-based BNO passport holders, allowing them to fast-track their way to UK citizenship. Since its inception in 2021, some 121,500 people have already left Hong Kong and 140,500 people have applied for the visa. With property already being priced lower than the sizzling Hong Kong market, the potential for excellent Return on Investment and a favourable exchange rate after the disastrous mini-budget sent the pound spiralling, there is more reason than ever for Hong Kong buyers to invest in the UK market. We can only hope that the government will invest heavily in meeting the ever-growing need for housing, especially with the influx of its newest residents.