5.2% Rise For UK House Prices

Welcome to the Gilson Bailey March newsletter.

A Tenant’s Guide To Moving Out

Your tenancy has come to an end, and now there are a lot of different tasks you will need to juggle before you can successfully leave the property. Take a look at our guide to moving out.

Round off all your bills

Unpaid rent is the most common reason for tenants losing their deposit, so it is a good idea to check with your landlord or property manager before you move to make sure you’ve paid the correct amount.

You should also give your energy suppliers plenty of notice before you move so that they can organise a final bill. Make a note of your meter reading on the final day for reference – this will prove useful, should you be billed an incorrect amount.

You could also consider having your mail re-directed to your new address and you should inform any of your service providers such as TV, Internet etc. that you will be moving to a new house.

Give the place a good thorough clean

Landlords will need the property to be ready for the next tenant, so there will likely be a clause in your contract that stipulates that you will need to clean every nook and cranny of the property before you move out. If the property isn’t spotless, you could lose some of your deposit to a cleaning bill.

Spruce up the garden

The garden will also need to be in the same condition as when you moved in. Pull up any weeds, mow the grass and dispose of any garden waste properly. If the gardening tools belong to the landlord, ensure you leave them behind for the next tenant.

Thoroughly check the property for a final time…

Moving out of your rental property is a different proposition to moving out of your parent’s house or a property you may have owned. For the duration of your tenancy, you have essentially played the part of guest and caretaker of someone else’s property, so a good deal of the process will be focused on the condition of the property when you moved in vs when you left it.

To help avoid any issues, it’s a good idea to do a walkthrough of the property and compare it to the condition report and/or any pictures you or the lettings agent might have taken before the move. It’s also a good idea to take new images before you leave.

… and review the inventory

The inventory you received at the beginning of your tenancy will detail any items that the landlord had in the property, for example, gardening tools, small items of furniture, kitchen appliances etc. You will need to check that all these items are still in the property and that they’re all in working order, or you might face losing a portion of your deposit.

What Perks And Features Are Included In The Nation’s Dream Home?

A new survey from Direct Line Home Insurance has quizzed Brits on what features would make up their dream home.

Over 2,000 members of the British public took part in this research, detailing their dream home and what it would include, and it appears that plenty of us would like a beachfront property, as 26% of respondents desired a home located next to the sand and sea, making it the most desired aspect of a home in terms of location.

Being close to the sea seemed to be a reoccurring response, with 10% of survey participants looking to live on a private Caribbean island and 9% preferring to live on a cliff overlooking the sea. There were also 0.9% of survey participants that dream of a home that is floating at sea.

The research also found that the 2 features that were tied for first place were an infinity pool and a giant hot tub, both were must-have features for 22% of those who took part.

Following closely behind was a fully-equipped gym at 21% with many looking to stay in shape without having to leave their home and after they’ve worked out, 18% would like to sit back and relax in their own cinema room.

Some of the more outlandish features in a fantasy home were helipads (2.8%), a rollercoaster (3%), bowling alley (7%) and some even wanted their own shark tank (2%), although it is hard to imagine where all of this stuff would fit in.

An incredibly lucky 8% of respondents said that they already own their dream house. The majority of those who don’t say it is due to financial reasons (56%), with a smaller portion of people (16%) stating that their dream home simply does not exist

Direct Line also added that a home that included all of the most desired features would cost approximately &2,500 a year to insure.

The full list from the survey can be found below.

The Nation’s Dream Home - Location

Beach front (26%)
Private Caribbean island (10%)
Cliff overlooking the sea (9%)
Forest (8%)
Town (8%)
Capital city (7%)
Mountains (7%)
Disneyland (3%)
Lapland (1%)
Floating at sea (0.9%)

The Nation’s Dream Home - Features

Infinity pool (22%)
Giant hot tub (22%)
Fully-equipped gym (21%)
Cinema room (18%)
Sauna (15%)
Secret passages (14%)
Wine cellar (12%)
All technology to be controlled by artificial intelligence (10%)
Waterfall (9%)
Steam room (9%)
Bowling alley (7%)
Indoor rainforest (6%)
Un-floodable bathroom (5%)
Giant slide in place of doors (4%)
Giant water fountain (4%)
Moat (4%)
Lake (4%)
Drawbridge (3%)
Waterbed (3%)
Rollercoaster in the garden (3%)
Helipad (2.8%)
Shark tank (2%)

Predictions: How Much Will The Average House Cost In 10 Years?

There always seems to be new forecasts on how property prices will perform across each year, but new research has aimed to predict how much it will cost to own or rent 10 years from now.

Financial comparison site money.co.uk has analysed data from the Office for National Statistics that details personal finance data across the previous 80 years, with the aim of estimating how much our costs will rise to by 2028.

According to their estimations, the average property price in the UK will jump by almost &50k by 2028, as the current average stands at &208,318 and will rise to &255,292 over the course of the next 10 years.

One of the headline figures from this research was how much homes will have grown in price over 25 years. In 2003, the average price of a home was &127,246, half the price of what the expected cost of a home will be in 2028.

The study has also forecasted a slight fall in homeownership, as the 14.6 million British homeowners are expected to fall to 14.4 million a decade from now.

Similar changes were also predicted for the rental market as generation rent continues to grow. Money.co.uk has suggested that we will see a 10% increase in rental rates by 2028, rising from an average monthly rate of &925 to &1,017.

Editor in Chief of money.co.uk, Hannah Maundrell, commented on the results of the research, she said; “It’s really hard to save a deposit while you rent. If buying a property is on your bucket list, you need to seriously work out how you are going to achieve it. Getting a handle on your outgoings and incomings is the first step to budgeting for your life. It sounds daunting to budget for life events that feel so far away. However, with prices evidently on the rise, it will take you far longer to save up to achieve your life goals.”

Maundrell went on to say “The figures we’ve predicted are based on trends in Government data. We expect certain external events may have a large impact on future finances, such as large political milestones like Brexit or wage freezes in the public sector.”

5.2% Rise For UK House Prices

The latest official index from the Land Registry has revealed the annual performance for house prices throughout the UK in 2017.

According to recent data, the UK saw overall growth of 5.2% from December 2016 to December 2017 and an increase of 0.4% month-on-month, meaning that the average price of a home now stands at &226,756.

While this is a slight slowdown in the growth seen in the previous year, with the average remaining around 5% in 2017, it does show signs of stability for the UK property market.

When looking at some of the more detailed statistics, it seems that Scotland has experienced the highest average increases in house values, showing strong growth of 7.7% taking property values to &149,000.

Wales and England took 2nd and 3rd place, showing similar growth of 5.4% and 5%, respectively, with the average Welsh home now valued at &154,000 and the average English home valued at &244,000.

Northern Ireland recorded the smallest increase, but still saw a rise of 4.3% to an average of &130,000.

As expected, the capital remains at the top for the highest average price of a home by region, as typical London house prices stand at &484,000.

The South West recorded the biggest increase across the year, with a huge 7.5% increase in 2017, closely followed by the East and West Midlands, both showing a 6.3% rise in average prices.

While the rise of property values is always good news for homeowners, it does create an affordability question for prospective buyers.

Senior Economist at PwC, Richard Snook, spoke on the statistics stating that it “shows that house price growth has outpaced average earnings growth for the fifth consecutive year, further ratcheting up the affordability challenge. Cumulatively, house prices have increased by 22% more than earnings between 2012 and 2017.”

Sales and Marketing Director at OneSavings Bank, John Eastgate, had similar comments regarding the latest index, he commented; “Today’s surprisingly robust figures will not be welcomed by those looking to get a foothold on the housing ladder. The absence of wage inflation means that affordability continues to get tougher and, with many forecasting an interest rate increase in May, the resultant increase in mortgage rates will be a further barrier. It would be fair to expect house price inflation to soften through the year.”

Other financial experts have stated that the market remains competitive, however, now may be the time for buyers to make their move.

This is also the opinion of the CEO of the online mortgage broker Trussle, Ishaan Malhi, he said “By the end of 2017, the average house cost &12,000 more than it did in December 2016. The shortage of homes for sale has kept the property market competitive.

“If you’re looking to buy in the coming months, it’s worth keeping an eye on the mortgage market. The cost of borrowing is expected to rise, as certain bank subsidies fade away and interest rates climb. In such an environment, locking in a competitive five-year fixed deal will keep your repayments stable for the next few years, while the country comes to terms with an increasingly uncertain economic future.”