August 2011

Net migration to UK up 21% – Housing shortage worsens

Net migration into the UK rose by 21 per cent last year to 239,000 on the back of a significant fall in people leaving the country and a net increase in migrants from eastern Europe, according to the Office for National Statistics.

This is compounded by the news that the housing shortage in England is set to worsen during the next three years as data reveal planning permission approvals have fallen to the lowest level since the start of 2009.

All of this will surely add up to increased pressure on the rental market in central London.

Property gold rush is in doubt – buying near London’s Olympic site is not failsafe

The FT ran an interesting story over the weekend advising investors to be cautious about investing in buy-to-let property near the London Olympic site, especially Stratford.

Findlay Property have been advising clients along these lines for several years – investors are much safer around east central London (postcodes EC1, E2, E8, E9, N1, N16) than around the Olympic site. East central London will get all the benefits of the Olympics and will weather any storm because of the central location.

FT – Olympic Gold Rush

Olympic Village

Average rents in London top £1,000

New data shows the London rental market is in rude health as potential first-time buyers struggle to find a deposit to purchase property amid soaring rents and living costs.

London saw the greatest annual rent increases in England and Wales, hitting a new high of £1,009pcm, an annual increase of 7.1 per cent.

London rents rise

More here

‘UK rates likely to remain on hold for some time’ – FT

The Bank of England has signalled that interest rates will remain on hold for much longer than previously believed, as it forecast lower economic growth and inflation over the next two years.

In outlining the Bank’s new forecasts, governor Sir Mervyn King emphasised that they did not take account of worst-case scenarios from the eurozone debt crisis.

Sir Mervyn declined to commit to holding interest rates, currently set at 0.5 per cent, for a set period. On Tuesday, the US Federal Reserve indicated that short-term rates would remain at their current level for two years.

“The current market expectation of where Bank rate would be in 2012 is very close to where it is now,” he said. “So expectations have already got to that point without [our] having to make a specific commitment.”

Mervyn King. Click for full story from FT.com

SOURCE: FT.com

UK interest rates remain on hold at 0.5%

UK interest rates have been kept at a record low of 0.5% by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

Economists had expected interest rates would remain unchanged due to the subdued economy. GDP figures for the second quarter showed growth of 0.2%.

A majority of economists polled by the BBC expect interest rates to remain unchanged until next year.