Friday News #068 – 31st July 2020
The UK property market is set to defy the doomsayers once more, those who forecast collapse and incited panic during the darkest weeks of lockdown are to be proven wrong – there’s no disaster on the horizon, the outlook is quite the opposite and we’re excited for what the future holds for our investors.
Prices are rising, steadily, and whilst there was initially slightly frenzied activity due to pen up demand, there is a new normal emerging; both factors supporting the overall stability and resilience of the UK property market that makes it such an appealing investment opportunity.
Here’s what we’ve seen in the news this week:
UK house prices rise in June: The annual rate of UK house price growth edged up to 2.7% in June, after rising 0.2% on the month according to the latest data by Zoopla. Buyer demand has seen strong growth since housing markets reopened. Read more.
Letting market activity springs back into life: Activity levels in the rental market bounced back to pre-lockdown levels in June, as the reopening of the housing market released pent-up demand. Read more.
Buy-to-let landlords abandoning London for better returns in the North: London-based buy-to-let landlords are increasingly heading to the North West in search of better returns, research from Hamptons International has found. A third (34%) of London-based investors buying new property in the past year bought in the Midlands and North, up from just 14% in 2015 and 4% in 2010. Read more.
A landlord’s guide to coronavirus: your questions answered: Thousands of landlords are facing an uncertain future. Coronavirus has caused some tenants to lose their jobs, meaning they may struggle to pay rent. The Telegraph answers some key questions affecting the rental market, from whether landlord insurance covers coronavirus to when running a buy-to-let counts as being self-employed. Read more.
The power of rental assurance in a market downturn: Rental assurance is something that we’re committed to offering our investors; we offer our clients some of the longest and strongest rental assurances available in the residential investment market. The surety provided by a rental assurance can prove invaluable, no time more so than in a market downturn. Read the full article here.
