Blog

UK house prices recorded a "modest" rise in May, increasing by 0.4%, according to the latest survey from the Nationwide building society. It said the increase provided further support for "the view that the housing market is gradually gaining momentum".

The annual rate of price growth rose to 1.1%, the fastest pace since November 2011. The increases mean that the average house now costs £167,912, the Nationwide said. Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said a number of factors were likely to have contributed to the recent pick-up in activity.

"There has been an improvement in the

More than 40% of landlords have increased their rents over the past year, according to new findings.

Market research company BDRC Continental and property consultants Allsop LLP, the Rent Check Report revealed a thriving rental market has resulted in 41% of proprietors throughout the country upping these costs in the past 12 months.

The study - which considered the views of 1,500 property investors - also showed that next year will see around one-quarter of landlords attempting to increase their portfolios, with many optimistic about what the future has in store.

With rented homes making up 17

After a fantastic sales rate of 90% in our April/May auctions, we are now accepting property entries for our next round of auctions taking place before the Summer break. If you're thinking about selling your property (residential, commercial, development site, land, mixed use, investment, ground rent), contact us today for your free auction appraisal and to chat with one of our auctioneers in your area.

If you have been struggling to sell your property with your estate agent, or you're just needing to sell quickly and are willing to drop your asking price in order to enter it into auction

The number of homes repossessed by mortgage lenders remained near five-year lows at the start of the year, as record-low interest rates help homeowners.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said the repossession rate in the three months to March remained at 0.07% – meaning fewer than 1 in 1,400 mortgaged properties were taken into possession by lenders.

A total of 8,000 properties were repossessed in the first quarter of 2013, down by 17% compared to the same period last year.

The CML said a fifth of those repossessions were on buy-to-let properties, rather than owner-occupied homes.

Separate

Asking prices for homes in the UK are continuing to rise, new research has shown.

According to the latest House Price Index report from Rightmove, the average asking price for property currently stands just shy of £250,000. Surpassing the previous highest level recorded in June 2012, the typical value is now £249,841.

The London market in particular has seen marked price increases, with the average level coming in at over £500,000 for the first time.

Miles Shipside, director and housing market analyst at Rightmove, explained suggestions of a recovery are not applicable across the board, as

The Local Landlord Expo. in association with Tenants History welcomes your attendance to the "Surrey Landlord Property Investment Show" that will be held at the prestigious Croydon Park Hotel, Thursday 16th May 2013.

This is the opening show of the 5 "hot spot" buy to let areas that are being targeted in 2013, whereby industry leaders will be exhibiting on the day and seminars with key speakers passing on their valuable knowledge, will take place.

Anyone involved in property either on a professional or personal basis, will benefit greatly from attending. No matter what level of experience

Buy to let landlords were advanced £4.2 billion in gross mortgage lending in the first quarter of 2013.

The UK's buy to let market is continuing to grow, new research has shown.

According to the latest findings from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), the first quarter of this year saw gross mortgage lending of £4.2 billion across 33,500 home loans advanced to buy to let landlords.

This type of lending accounted for 13.4% of total outstanding mortgage lending by the end of March, which was greater than the 13% recorded the previous quarter and up on the 12.9% reported at the end of the

British property guru Kevin McCloud and Housing Minister Mark Prisk have formerly launched the first ever National Self Build Week which aims to help millions of people turn their self build dreams into a reality.

Grand Designs Live, the award winning home build and design show at the London Excel centre will be a central hub of activity for the event which will also see things taking place all around the country.

An Ipsos MORI poll recently showed that around six million people in Briton are currently planning or researching how to build a home for themselves and want to start their new home

Six properties, ranging from country cottages requiring renovation and modernisation to blocks of pastureland and woodland, sold for nearly £1m at Hall's collective auction in Shrewsbury last week, which saw a country cottage, Yew Tree Cottage, Ellerdine Heath, near Telford, sell for £313,000.

More than 60 people viewed Yew Tree Cottage, a three-bedroom property set in around 1.34 acres of gardens and pasture paddocks, in the run up to the auction and bidding soon raced away from its guide price of £190,000 to £200,000. The buyer exercised an option to purchase an additional 3.4 acres of land

After a fantastic sales rate of 90% in our April auctions, we are now accepting property entries for our next round of auctions taking place in June/July. If you're thinking about selling your property (residential, commercial, development site, land, mixed use, investment, ground rent), contact us today for your free auction appraisal and to chat with one of our auctioneers in your area.

If you have been struggling to sell your property with your estate agent, or you're just needing to sell quickly and are willing to drop your asking price in order to enter it into auction, then contact us