To Rent! A characterful and freshly refurbished one bedroom ground floor apartment, situated in a quiet gated development with a communal outdoor area and access to Regent’s Canal. Take a video tour below…
Interest rates will not rise until 2014 “at the earliest,” experts have suggested, after the Bank of England said it is unlikely to change its monetary policy stance soon.
The July minutes of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) showed members voted seven to two to hold rates at 0.5%, with it saying that recent economic data makes it unlikely it will raise rates in the near term.
The news came a day after Woolwich launched its cheapest mortgage deals for 15 years, reducing rates on a third of its fixed and tracker mortgages.
Situated on the fourth floor of an impressive period building (with lift) on Berners Street, Fitzrovia (just north of Soho), this stunning two bedroomed apartment boasts a huge loft style reception / kitchen area. Excellently located only minutes from Charlotte Street, Soho, Marylebone and Mayfair.
The property comprises two large bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen with full range of appliances and excellent storage.
Berners Street enjoys a prestigious location in Fitzrovia within easy reach of Soho, Charlotte Street and the West End.
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As expected, the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee left its benchmark rate at a record low of 0.5% for the 27th month in a row. It also left its £200bn quantitative easing programme unchanged.
It was the first meeting for new MPC member Ben Broadbent, a former Goldman Sachs economist, who replaced arch-hawk Andrew Sentance.
City economists have put back the likely date for the first increase to this autumn, but many think it won’t happen until next year. A November rate rise is seen as a 60% probability, while markets are not fully pricing in a rate rise until next April.
Source: Guardian
The London Evening Standard is reporting further rent rises this year…
Tenants in central London should brace themselves for rent rises of up to 10% this year, property consultant Cluttons said today.
It is not as steep as last year’s record 19.1% jump in rental costs but it is still more than double the rate of inflation, heaping more pressure on stretched budgets.
The worst squeeze on rents is being felt in lower-budget properties of between £250 and £650 a week, which remain in short supply as tenants bid to cut their outgoings and look further afield.
Residential lettings partner Lynn Hilton said: “Tenants are really feeling the pinch and are being forced to widen their search areas to secondary locations and beyond.”
The pressure on existing tenants looking to renew contracts is less because they face smaller rises of around 4%, as landlords concerned about the economic outlook opt to retain quality tenants rather than take the risk of leaving their properties empty.
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Source: Evening Standard
There’s an interesting note in today’s Lex column in the FT saying that buy-to-let investors are the winning due to high inflation and the increase in people renting rather than buying…
Housing market: renting on the rise
A large earthquake is usually followed by aftershocks as the earth finds its new equilibrium. In the same way, the housing markets in the US and UK are taking a while to adjust in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Lending is tight, and many sellers are unwilling to accept comparatively low prices. So it is no surprise then that renting has become more popular. In the US, almost 10 per cent more households now rent compared with the peak of the property boom.
The wacky thing is, people should be tripping over themselves to become homeowners. For the first time since at least 1981, the median monthly rent in the US is now higher than the median monthly mortgage payment, Capital Economics points out. In the UK, the interest rate on many mortgages is lower than inflation. Yet the opposite has occurred. US home prices in the first quarter fell 2.5 per cent compared with the previous quarter, almost as much as falls during the middle of the recession, and rental vacancy rates have fallen about 15 per cent since the start of the crisis. UK prices have stayed essentially flat.
Homebuyers have been scared away by a combination of high unemployment, economic uncertainty, and a lack of finance. In both the US and UK mortgage lending sits around half the pre-recession level. Indeed, two-thirds of non-homeowners in the UK believe they have no prospect of buying a home, according to a study sponsored by lender Halifax.
The winners are buy-to-let investors. The rental yield on a US house is creeping towards 5.5 per cent, the highest level in a generation. If home prices fall further, yields for new investors will increase accordingly. Sounds great, but the profits are reserved for those with plenty of cash reserves.
LONDON — While the West End has been the traditional haunt of luxury-residential developers in London, soaring property prices have pushed companies to look east for more lucrative opportunities.
New development has been creeping along the Thames, toward the City, with large-scale residential and mixed-use projects like the Shard and NEO Bankside bringing high-end space to an area that many believe has been underperforming for too long.
“The City borders, from the South Bank to Tower Hill, are seeing interest from developers who have prime residential schemes in mind,” said Cassandra Elliot of the real estate agency Knight Frank.
Source: New York Times
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Speedster
This stunning one bedroomed penthouse flat is situated on the third floor of a small, private, secure block and offers superb luxury accommodation in a great location on Moscow Road, 200 metres from Hyde Park.
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The arrival of Crossrail in Whitechapel in 2018 will further define the area, making it an important transport hub serving Crossrail, District and Hammersmith & City lines and London Overground services.
Crossrail will provide Whitechapel residents with new fast and frequent train services, easier access to the West End, north and south London and for the first time, a direct rail link to Heathrow airport.
In addition, the existing Whitechapel station will be extensively modernised with stepfree access between the street and all of the station’s services.
The remodelled Whitechapel station has been designed to enhance the historic features of the old station while incorporating natural light. The station will maintain the entrance from Whitechapel Road . The station will also have a pedestrian walkway
from Durward Street to Whitechapel Road.
The new ticket hall and concourse