Clerkenwell property are fast becoming “hot property” by new first time buyers, as they are located in greater London, and they offer an excellent position for businesses and transport. Hurford Salvi Carr can find you the cheapest and also the most executive clerkenwell property available in the area. Clerkenwell is located of Finsbury, northwest of the City, Holborn and east of Bloomsbury . Clerkenwell is in the borough of Islington and resides under the postal code of EC1. Fews estate agents base in Clerkenwell area.

The area was once known as London ’s ‘Little Italy’ and is now known for having some of the best restaurants and pubs in London . Clerkenwell property is a trendy and up and coming place. Many media types live and work in Clerkenwell making it an ideal office location for media, Law and architect companies and other related industries. Clerkenwell property is fast becoming a trendy place and office space and serviced offices seem to be the best choice for businesses.

Clerkenwell and the City fringes have a diversity of office space and letting space available, this provides an alternative property to the more expensive areas of Soho and the West End allowing people and companies the opportunity to relocate.

Transport system is key to any London property area and its businesses. Clerkenwell has access to Farringdon/Barbican rail stations as well as a number of tube stations, Farringdon, Barbican, Chancery Lane and Holborn. Hurford salvi carr is leading Clerkenwell estate agents in clerkenwell.

According to the Nationwide House Price Index, house prices in the UK fell by a modest of 4% in the month of November, marking an annual decline of 13.9%, which is down from a 14.6% in the year to October.

Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide’s Chief Economist commenting on the figures said that prices fell by just 0.4% in the month compared with 1.3% in October, bringing the annual rate of house price falls to 13.9%, down from 14.6% last month. The average price of a house is now £158,442. This is about £25,000 less than this time last year, but is still about £25,000 higher than in November 2003.
This pressure will continue to be felt in the housing market due to the prevailing poor economic situation. The labour market too is weakening, which will inevitably hinder market demand, particularly when property remains expensive relative to earnings. There is also little incentive for new borrowers to hurry into the housing market, with prices falling at their current rate.

However, there has to be some measures which should provide some support to the housing market in general and help existing and potential homeowners in these difficult times. One such is the falling interest rates, ie. the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to reduce interest rates by 1.5% at their November meeting.

Although this decision is not aimed directly at the housing market, such a substantial shift in the bank rate will help a significant number of existing and potential homebuyers. Different borrowers will be affected in different ways by the rate cuts.

Borrowers on tracker mortgages will have benefitted one-for- one from base rate cuts. Some borrowers are on their lender’s standard variable rate (SVR), which do not change automatically when the base rate moves, most lenders have so far passed on a large part of the Bank of England’s 2.75% worth of base rate cuts since December 2007. Roughly, 50% of borrowers on fixed rate deals will not benefit immediately from rate cuts, but surely they will pay very much less when they come to the end of their deals.

More information Clerkenwell Letting Agents

According to the latest Nationwide House Price Index, UK house prices fell at a more moderate pace in November, easing by 0.4 per cent to stand 13.9 per cent lower year on year. The rate of decline is significantly less than that seen in last October when house prices fell by 1.3 per cent.
The Chief Economist at Nationwide, Fionnuala Earley said that the average house price was now £158,442, roughly £25,000 lower than this time last year, but still about £25,000 higher than the average price in November 2003. According to Ms Earley, with the present economy in recession conditions, it does not appear very favourable for a swift recovery in the housing market, although there is a moderation in house price falls recorded in November.

Ms. Early added that the labour market is weakening, leading to uncertainty about the stability of homebuyers’ future income streams and moreover, with house prices falling since late, the prospective buyers had little reason to rush into the market now. But, the estimated one-third of borrowers who are on tracker mortgages – where rates move in line with those linked to Bank of England rates – will benefit by the steep fall in bank interest rates in recent weeks.

Furthermore, Ms. Early comments that, “one particularly acute feature of the current housing market is that its turnover has fallen to historic lows, even below the levels in the 1990s when economic conditions were worse than they are today,”

In the fourth quarter of 1990, the interest rates were 14 per cent and the number of unemployment that time was almost doubled, despite these facts, a greater proportion of owner-occupiers were taking out mortgages to move house and 60 per cent of first-time buyers were taking out mortgages worth 90 per cent or more of the purchase price.
Ms. Earley is of opinion that caution among lenders may be a factor in limiting turnover.

Find out more information from clerkenwell estate agents

House prices have fallen by more than 15 per cent since their peak in August last year, according to Halifax, and some experts say they could fall by a total of 35 per cent. According to recent figures that activity in the housing market, which plunged to record lows since last August, has picked up slightly as investors snap up bargain properties. London Property Price

Due to the severe economic crisis more and more properties are being auctioned – many of them repossessions. Latest figures from the Financial Services Authority show the number of homes seized in the three months to June was 71% higher than in the comparable period last year.

Potential first time buyers, are wondering whether prices have fallen enough to make now the time to take the first step onto the ladder. They begin the search by browsing web-sites and looking in agents’ windows, but soon begin to realise there could be another way: buying at auction. The auction catalogues provides a large choice within each buyer’s price bracket. Full Article

I don’t need to tell you things are bad—the 1.5% rate cut says it all and although the feeling is that the banking situation is solved, this cannot be taken for granted.

The banks & building societies are not out of the woods yet, and the overspill to other industries and financial institutions is only just beginning.

The question we must ask now is not how much more pain a government devoid of reserves and totally reliant on borrowing can take—it’s how the knock on effects will hit us and the economy as a whole.

With house prices set to fall further, and inflation heading to zero, and perhaps below, interest rates could fall to 2% or less in the coming months.

Fortunately for landlords the rental market has held up very well, though increasingly unsold houses are adding to the supply, with the danger that rents will be pushed down.

On the commercial scene, increasing business failures will lead to more voids, and it absolutely beggars belief that a government should impose full empty rating charges at a time like this—when these properties, if vacant, will be very hard to re-let.

The policy is already resulting in landlords and developers demolishing perfectly good buildings, moth-balling developments and in extremis—going bankrupt.

The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is now a legal requirement for commercial and domestic properties—prior to selling or renting.

It’s early days yet as the requirement for domestic rentals has been in force all-but two months, but landlords are slowly coming to terms with this.

As two environment related bills just completed their passage through Parliament—The Energy Bill and the Climate Change Bill—both of which will present significant changes and challenges to landlords—we review the initial impact of EPCs and the new environmental challenges.

The heating and air conditioning of buildings are by far the most thermally intensive uses of energy in the UK—much more so than with vehicles.

This means that property developers and owners will be targeted in the near future.
Developers will be expected to produce carbon neutral houses by 2016 and commercial buildings by 2019 - compulsory for new builds.

These new measures and their energy tax implications will in turn put pressure on landlords with existing properties to improve their building’s energy efficiency, if they are not to lose out when competing with new-build properties for tenants.

These new laws will give a clear legislative framework for the future of estate management. All-party agreement means that their main provisions are here to stay; they can be relied on not to change fundamentally.

So it’s well worth while studying these requirements now in the knowledge they can form the basis of your future planning.

from - LandlordZONE

The British buy-to-let market is extremely competitive for both houses and flats and is creating a dog-eat-dog scenario, according to Landlord Action.

Offering an advice service to property investors with non-paying or difficult tenants, Landlord Action made the claim at a property show in Birmingham.

Referring to the buy-to-let market, Paul Shamplina told landlords: “It’s very competitive, it never used to be but there are more landlords now.

“Also in cities - like Birmingham and Manchester and city centres - there’s a lot of competition,” he added.

He said that those worrying about keeping up with their buy-to-let mortgage on a property that has been empty for a few weeks should not attempt to “cut corners” by quickly finding tenants.

Mr Shamplina said carrying out proper referencing was essential and the best way to do that was to get an estate agent to handle the situation.

According to the Residential Landlords Association, more than one million rental properties will be empty by the end of the year.

From - estateagenttoday.co.uk

Spread the cost of renting by sharing with friends: see the latest rental list from LONDON’S LETTING AGENT.

The ludlowthompson Tenant Sharers Property list features a sample of larger properties across London suitable for sharers. Stephen Ludlow comments: ‘In this current economic climate, we recognise that tenants will be looking at ways of making renting cheaper. One way of cutting costs is to share a rented property with friends, which means you can also split the household bills. As LONDON’S LETTING AGENT,we’re dedicated to innovative measures such as the competitive electricity tariff we can offer tenants when they rent with us.

The ludlowthompson Area Offices cover a wide area so we can offer tenant sharers a large choice of properties across the capital - many within 10 mins walk to tube or train.

As an ARLA agent, ludlowthompson has to ensure that these properties are all safe and comply with regulations. Many of the larger properties are very attractive inside and sharing offers a chance to enjoy a higher standard of property than might otherwise be affordable by oneself.’

Top Tips for making looking for rented property easier & quicker:

Do the following at ludlowthompsoncom -

* Sign up for free Email & Text Alerts to recieve details & photos to your mobile phone
* Book a viewing online to save time - simply click on the link in the rental details
* Send potential flatmates your favourite properties via the tab for ‘Email A Friend’
* Use the search options that suit you best: choose from: map, tube, station, postcode, school, area
* Use the free My Account facility to save your favourites, rate and make a final decision.

To see sample properties suitable for tenants sharing:

** Properties can let quickly so if you see something you like ask us as we might have something very similar **

From - ludlowthompson

East Homes are pleased to announce the first customers, to benefit from their ‘Rent Now, Buy Later scheme.

Keyworkers, Alex Ferraby and his wife Corianne , initially looked into various subsidised housing options, in an effort to get on the housing ladder. Keen to buy a home, but anxious about the uncertainty of the market - a friend recommended that they contact East Homes to find out about the New Build HomeBuy, part-buy, part-rent scheme.

On contacting East Homes, they also learned about ‘Rent Now, Buy Later’ - an innovative ‘try before you buy’ option, which allows first time buyers to rent a brand new home at 20% less than private rent, with the opportunity to buy a share in the property within three years.

“The beauty of Rent Now, Buy Later, is that it provides the best of both worlds. We can enjoy the flexibility of renting, with the option of buying later – if we choose” said Alex.

Both teachers, Alex and Corianne found living in a privately rented apartment block in Bow expensive. Now as East Homes’ tenants, they pay a monthly rent of £958 a month, on a two bedroom, two-bathroom apartment at the East Homes, East One development in Stepney. Alex said: “Our new flat is more spacious and costs slightly less overall. East One seems more community minded, as there’s a mix of people and facilities. It’s a nice location, as it’s right next to the canal and more secure – with underground parking”.

Rent Now, Buy Later is a quick and easy process. “It took about two to three weeks from when we first viewed our apartment, until we moved in – it was very slick! Anita – Sales Consultant for East One, was very helpful and professional. We genuinely felt that she wanted to cover all basis, not like private renting where they just throw the keys at you”.

Centrally located in Stepney, East One offers excellent transport links. Alex cycles via the Greenway, to his place of work in Beckton and Corianne takes the tube, to get her connections to Romford, where she teaches.

“Corianne and I find comfort in knowing we have the future possibility of buying through New Build HomeBuy at a later date. Renting is nice and flexible and ‘Rent Now, Buy Later’ has genuinely given us a foot in the door for the future”.

From - East Homes

A rare opportunity to purchase a Grade II listed Georgian house in the heart of the City. The property is currently used as offices, but has planning permission to convert back to a single residential dwelling. The house is one of three which are all available to purchase. Call us now for further details.

MAIN FEATURES

* Development Opportunity

Development Opportunity

* 2,238 sq ft / 208 sq m

* One of 3 houses for sale

* Prime City Location