Property market "as good as it gets" for sellers
Sellers of property are benefiting from a drop of around ten per cent in the cost of moving in the past year, according to a new report from Woolwich.
The firm says that selling a home now costs £4,666, compared to £5,181 last year.
Property prices have risen by 11.1 per cent during the period, meanwhile, which is good news for landlords seeking capital appreciation who are now thinking of selling.
The lack of property on the market and strong demand from buyers means that sellers are able to negotiate deals with estate agents and to some degree, solicitors, the firm said.
Head of mortgages for Woolwich Andy Gray said that for sellers moving into rented accommodation or abroad, things were "as good as it gets" at the moment.
He explained: "Sellers not only have the advantage of there being more demand for property than is available, thus driving up asking prices, they are also squeezing the professionals for every penny they can to cut the costs of moving."
A shortage of property on the market was cited as one factor pushing up house prices in a recent report from Halifax.
Wales named as hotspot for landlords
Those thinking of becoming buy-to-let landlords could do worse than investing in Wales, a new report indicates.
Wales was identified as a hotspot in a Paragon Mortgages' latest Buy-To-Let index, with rents up 33 per cent over the past quarter of the year and property prices rising by 18 per cent.
The firm reported that rental yields were also looking positive, with Wales the only region of the country where yields exceed seven per cent. Average total returns stand at 25.6 per cent, compared with 12.9 per cent for England and Wales as a whole.
Managing director John Heron said that the astute landlord who had invested in buy-to-let in Wales at this time last year will have achieved almost twice the national average total return.
He commented: "While the national picture remains strong, residential property investment looks particularly attractive in Wales. Trends in the local economy are very positive, creating new jobs and causing an influx of workers into the area, which in turn fuels tenant demand."
The latest figures from the Land Registry show that Wales experienced the strongest house price growth of any region in March, at 4.8 per cent, compared with an average for England and Wales as a whole of one per cent.
Landlord Mortgages comments “Landlords are active in Wales but many areas offer good investment opportunities. In recent years a more localised market is emerging, it is no longer whole towns that are offering good prospects but more so an area within a town.”
