Nearly 20% of homeowners have said they would be tempted to put their house up for sale to test the market if they found that their neighbour’s property was getting a good price – even if they hadn’t previously thought about selling – according to a survey by the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA).

But - according to the NAEA - that's about to be a thing of the past. I'm afraid, it's all about HIPs again.

Peter Bolton King, Chief Executive of the NAEA, comments: “A significant percentage of sales that go through start with a seller 'testing the water'. The lack of ability to do this without paying for a HIP first is likely to put many sellers off. This will reduce the supply of houses available, cause the market to slow down and lead to additional house price inflation. Both these factors could adversely affect the economy.

Technorati Tags: estate agents, property, real estate, real estate agents

There was an interesting House of Lords test case last week, in which a 51-year-old father of four was awarded just 35% of proceeds from the north London semi he shared with his partner, after their 20-year relationship came to an end, even though the property was registered in both of their names. The calculation was based on the amount he'd contributed to the mortgage, and took into account none of the other issues that would have been key had the couple been married. The case should give cause for concern to any property-owning cohabitants. More here.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Did you see the Sunday Times Home section cover story explaining how the energy efficiency surveys work in practice and what most of us are likely to get from them?

Try to ignore the photo of a typical Hip surveyor from SSH in Hereford, an elderly man (possibly bored by retirement) trying to look professional and competent but actually staring vacantly into the middle distance while ignoring his client (who paid for the survey) and talking on his hands free phone.

It gives the example of a georgian farmhouse and among the proposals 'costing less than £500' is the recommendation that the homeowner spends £40 per m2 to insulate the walls to save £478 a year. Great but this looks like a detached house about 10m long x 5m high plus the same at the rear and, maybe half again on the sides - a total of £6000, not under £500. I very much doubt that this figure includes the cost of replacing all the cornices and skirtings in their new positions or the total redecoration that will be necessary. Whether the local authority would countenance such improvements to a listed building is very doubtful. Still, it seems a better bet than their suggestion that they could save £68 a year by installing photovoltaic cells at a cost of £10-18,000.

I'm surprised they didn't suggest that the homeowner put down the labrador pictured (at a cost of under £100) to save £500 a year on food and vets bills or put her children on a small treadmill to generate electricity.

Your last suggestion might - in particular - be worth further thought. Imagine the scenario... they're combatting childhood obesity and powering the drinks chiller in your La-z-Boy. Perfect.

Unfortunately, we can't bring Rat and Mouse readers the photograph you refer to. But we can bring you the feature... here. It was accompanied by a Q&A, here. Thanks for writing.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

The Law Society has expressed concern about offers of free HIPs, as made by estate agents such as Hamptons and Douglas & Gordon, pointing to lock-in clauses which might result in fines if vendors decide to take their homes off the market or instruct a different agent.

Deputy vice-chairman Paul Marsh said: "Say you go to an estate agency and they agree to pay for the HIP but you want to move to another agent — you ought to be able to take it with you for nothing, not pay a £500 exit fee.

Can Mr Marsh really not foresee a possible circumstance in which such a system might be open to abuse? If not, the Rat and Mouse recommends he gets in touch immediately, since he's exactly the kind of guy we can do business with.

[via Daily Mail]

Technorati Tags: estate agents, property, real estate, real estate agents

There's an interesting piece in the Telegraph that purports to show exactly how "living in a quiet road or cul-de-sac; near to convenient public transport; garden; patio; roof terrace; balcony; sea or hill views; near a field or golf course; conservatory; double glazing; and number of bedrooms, bathrooms, garage spaces and parking spaces" might cost you money in a council tax reappraisal.

Special codes have been created to log the inspections of homes - including physical "internal inspections made from within the curtilage of a property".

These codes are then entered into an American Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal database, which calculates how much extra tax that home owner should pay.

The 80-page manual is illustrated with photographs of every type of home, including architectural styles, brick, thatch or stone fascias, sash windows, age periods and house dimensions.

A little creepy, isn't it? The point of the Telegraph piece is that the Government has ordered the Valuation Office Agency to start work now, updating people's records, even though any reevaluation was officially delayed until after the next general election... suggesting that a Labour victory might mean that bigger bills are just around the corner. Full story, here.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

In the Telegraph today... why a rate rise next Thursday is inevitable, and back-to-back a very real possibility. In the Times... why, although a rise on Thursday is inevitable (you won't find anybody disputing that), back-to-back rises are less likely after a doveish turn by an MPC Hawk.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

London - like Ancient Rome just before the fall? [Times]
Second home owners to double by 2010 [Guardian]
Buy-to-let mortgages worth £90 billion [Letting News]
Brent Hoberman backs MoveMe home move portal [Renthusiast]
If I had to live in Scotland, I'd choose a nuclear bunker, too [BBC]
Repossessions to rise [Guardian]
Forty per cent of fixed rate loans to end before autumn. Ouch. [City Wire]

The Rat and Mouse - it's about your house

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

Way back when the Rat and Mouse was just a little start-up, long before we even had premises and a receptionist, let alone valet parking, we drew readers' attention to the irony that Bob the Builder creator Keith Chapman was having something of a hard time getting his builders to finish work on his four-story house in Putney. Chapman had invited the Telegraph over to survey the damage. Well... today, they're back, and the house is on the market for £2.25m.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

It's with Savills, listed at £3.2m... a warehouse flat in Clink Wharf, SE1, overlooking the Thames, with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, one reception room and a balcony... and it was the setting for the Hugh Grant/Renee Zellweger big pants scene in Bridget Jones's Diary. Particulars, here.

[via Daily Mail]

Technorati Tags: celebrity, London, property, real estate

Yesterday's reader's question continues to attract comment and opinion. Our view is that it isn't entirely clear... that it will take a test case to really define "action" when it comes to marketing a property. But - here's some more information from Jim, of Properties Direct:

The actual regulations are more specific about the transitional period (June 1 - December 31) and state:

Exception - transitional arrangements

34. --(1) In this regulation, "transitional period" means the period starting with 1st June 2007 and ending with 31st December 2007.
(2) This regulation applies in relation to a property where--
(a) the property is put on the market by or on behalf of the seller before 1st June 2007;
(b) action taken at any time during the period starting with 1st June 2006 and ending with 31st May 2007 by or on behalf of the seller, made public the fact that the property was on the market;
(c) such action was taken with the intention of selling the property before 1st June 2007; and
(d) such action was sustained to a reasonable extent after it was put on the market, during the period starting with 1st June 2006 and ending with 31st May 2007.

Although your reader is OK under a) and b) they fall foul of c) AND d) unless they actually take active steps to sell the property. Incidentally, Estate Agents will probably be more likely to insist on the ECR for new instructions during the interim period because the latest proposal is to increase the fine to £500 for non-compliance by Estate Agents. This is because the original £200 was seen as too low compared with their potential fees for the sale(!) It is proposed to remain at £200 for private sellers but will be reviewed after June 1.

Thanks, Jim.

On HIPs - a question for our readers [April 25, 2007]

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Remember the celebrity-endorsed Save Sloane Square campaign? Well, looks like it's been saved.

[via Londonist]

Technorati Tags: celebrity, London

That's compared to 0.5% in March, leaving the April-to-April figure at 10.2%. The three-month figure, however, was down to 2%. More here.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

According to this, the first phase in Barratt's Lockhouse canal-side development in Camden's Oval Road has sold out in a single day. Anybody have any idea as to the number of apartments released?

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

... is falling mainly on the housing market. Or - rather - it's falling on the share prices of property businesses listed on the Spanish stock market. More here. Interestingly, BBC News 24 is giving the story a UK spin by asking... what does this mean for all the British owners of homes in the Spanish sun?

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

This, from a Rat and Mouse reader:

Really enjoy your blog.

I see many benefits to the market with giving potential buyers the expectation that searches, contract etc will be immediately available to inform their decision but think the compulsory addition of the environmental report is ludicrous. To pay however many hundred pounds for a report stating that I could save money using low wattage bulbs does not give me anything I don't already know. Far better for the government to spread the message through advertising.

I would be interested in the views of your readers on my plan to sidestep this lunacy - I have a number of let flats that I may or may not wish to sell later in the year. The legislation exempts properties on the market prior to 1st June (until the end of the year) so I propose placing a single ad in a cheap local paper to place them on the market (however ineffectually) before that date. Would this work?

Regards,

**********

Which - I guess - boils down to what does it mean to have a property on the market? My guess is that if our reader decides he later wants to advertise them with an estate agent, he'll have to cough up for a HIP. But I can't give a technical answer to his question. Can you?

UPDATE - FROM HENRY PRYOR OF PRIMEMOVE.COM:

The Housing Act 2004 defines the meaning of "on the market" in section 149 (2) as "A residential property is put on the market when the fact that it is or may become available for sale is, with the intention of marketing the property, first made public in England and Wales by or on behalf of the seller." As such, "the Responsible Person" (usually an estate agent but in the case of a private sale the seller) must prepare a HIP - including the EPC if the property is first marketed after 1st June. Estate Agents up and down the country are advertising to the public that by instructing them before 1st June will mean that until the end of the year, they will not require a HIP. By advertising the properties (and I mean all of them) before 1st June they should qualify for the exemption. BUT.... your reader may not be aware that from 1st October next year all rental properties will require an EPC. I suspect that the Government have got you both ways!

Thanks, Henry. And notice Henry says, "until the end of the year"... this is a short-term plan, with a cut-off to the exemption (see the comments, below).

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

The Daily Mirror sent a mystery shopper out into the mortgages market to separate rumour from reality and find out just how generous the lenders are prepared to be. The mole was 27-years-old, with a notional salary of £25,000, and a confusing bonus of £1,000, which wasn't guaranteed and so shouldn't have been included in salary figures... but often was. The Northern Rock offered him a loan of 5.3 times salary, which would have left him with repayments of £911 a month. L&C's response was surreal:

It told our borrower he could get an extra £12,000 if his salary was just £1 higher. At £25,000 it was prepared to lend him £120,000, 4.8 times his income. But the broker said: "If your income is above £25,001 then you can get 5.3 times. That's just the way it works." This would give the buyer a mortgage of £132,000.

It's an interesting read. Find it here.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

The Daily Mail - a long-standing critic of Home Information Packs - is reporting a last-ditch attempt by the Conservatives to kill plans to make them compulsory from June. The Rat and Mouse would be surprised if they get anywhere with this, but we are constantly shocked at the chaotic, fractured and hostile environment in which the Government seems happy to introduce radical plans... and the way private companies are prepared to invest money (even base their own raison d'être) on those plans long before they're made law.

Friday morning linkage - HIPs and endowments, expensive cock-ups [July 28, 2006]
Pro-HIPs Haarts urges boycott [July 24, 2006]
HIPs fiasco - Rightmove first casualty [July 19, 2006]
HIPs - one giant embarrassing shameful cock-up [July 18, 2006]

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

London home to six of world's top restaurants [This Is London]
City exodus - new homes buyers go north [24 Dash]
All-time high for £2m homes in London [This Is London]
Arizona v Zillow [Renthusiast]

The Rat and Mouse - it's about your house

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

We cannot guarantee that the next ten years will be so 'nice'.

That's a comment taken from a memo submitted to the Treasury Committee by the Bank of England. "Nice" is in inverted commas because it's referring to "non inflationary consistently expansionary"... the unusually benign state of economic affairs we've enjoyed for the last few years. The message is clear - expect a tussle with inflation, with interest rates, and house prices, on the front line.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

If we're to believe the estate agents, the market has gone crazy for sealed bids. And yet surveys suggest that, for a lot of people, the process just adds another layer of distrust and suspicion. Are all the bids being passed along? Are they really sealed? Here's a new website aimed at banishing some of the uncertainty. Agents or private vendors sign up. Their property's listed on the site, which then provides secure software for the sealed bid process. Bidders sign in and submit their maximum bids, which are date stamped, kept secret and gathered together until the deadline. Agents/vendors can see how many bids there are but - until the deadline passes - they have no idea of figures. Nice. I've tried to find a problem with this but I can't... other than a general inertia regarding new technology from both agents and vendors.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate, Web, Web2, web2.0

Colour and pattern are back. And we're warned, by Home Stagers, not to fall for the keep it simple, paint it magnolia message we get from the TV, if we really want to get a maximum price from a property.

Tina [Jesson] says, "Interior design trends come in and out like high street fashion. For homes and interiors this cycle runs for 5-7 years. Now that we are in 2007, we are on the cusp of a trends change. Colour and pattern are definitely coming back. Thanks to the TV programmes, many home owners think that all they have to do is "clear the clutter and paint it all magnolia" to help them get a sale - but that is NOT what professional home staging is about. I see far too many properties with the wooden floors, leather sofas and neutral walls and all property for sale now looks the same."

"Home Staging is all about deriving the maximum 'perceived' value from your property to help it sell. Estate Agents value property based on actual value; the number of bedrooms, the square footage and the location all help derive at actual value. But it is 'perceived value' which actually sells property. People need to see that the property not only meets their needs but creates a lifestyle better than the one they are leaving behind. If your property doesn't deliver this aspirational lifestyle, you'll just not sell."

Feature walls with bold colours or large print wallpapers are recommended.

Technorati Tags: design, interiors, property, real estate

Remember this?

Dec has bought a £1.9 million house just 150 yards away from Ant in Chiswick. It's a mock-Tudor mansion, which style-icon Dec intends to demolish as soon as possible and replace with a mock-Edwardian mansion, identical in every way to Ant's home. And to achieve this, he will be employing Ant's architect, Stuart Hemingway.

Looks like his neighbours have spoken...

Technorati Tags: celebrity, London, property, real estate

A new report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation - called The Social Value of Public Space - criticises architects for foisting fancy-schmancy 21st Century designs on the dowdy and banal people of England.

"Most public spaces that people use are local spaces they visit regularly, often quite banal in design, or untidy in their activities or functions, such as street markets and car boot sales," the report said.

The point the report makes is - if disappointing - a serious one... that functional community spaces grow organically through use. And if functional design is good design, then draw your own conclusions. The architects are, however, fighting back:

Deborah Fox, head of standards at Cabe Space, rejected the report's view that mundane spaces could work. "We feel that banal spaces are essentially failing people," she said "The report talks about design prescription but I sense that where design fails it is not due to too many design guidelines but because these guidelines have been misinterpreted."

[via Building Design]

Technorati Tags: architecture

Mortgage lending breaks March record [Guardian]
UK home loans growth slows as higher rates bite [Reuters]
Mortgage lending is still booming [BBC]
UK mortgage demand continued to slow in March - BBA [Interactive Investor]
UK March mortgage lending highest ever for the month - CML [Interactive Investor]

That's cleared that up.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Average home over £100,000 - everywhere [Guardian]
A hot commuter belt [Times]
Cowell's Holland Park mansion burgled [Contact Music]
Third World War - for London land [Observer]
Extension, going up and down [Easier]
London - more important than the UK [Telegraph]

The Rat and Mouse - it's about your house

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

FTBs risk it all [Metro]
Gazumping scares us [HotProperty]
Quarter of lenders offer 100% mortgages [Telegraph]
The London Marathon - in property prices [Easier]

The Rat and Mouse - because Londoners think about property every three seconds

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

... says Jesus, in a comment, here:

Lewisham... the Son of God's choice.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

Lee Grandin, of Landlord Mortgages, tells Lorna Bourke, of Citywire, why he believes landlords might be on the point of raising rents by as much as 20%:

According to Lee Grandin, managing director of Landlord Mortgages, the largest buy-to-let broker in the UK, many property investors who have been on two- and three-year fixed rates will be coming back to the market to remortgage.

‘This move is likely to force them to increase the rent they charge as the base rate has increased from 4% to 5.25% over this time period,’ Grandin says.

He believes landlords will pass on the increased mortgage interest costs to tenants and rents could increase by as much as 20% over the coming year. ‘The market is buoyant and in some areas there is real competition among consumers for good rental accommodation. This trend is likely to mean that landlords can pass on the increased cost of financing to their tenants,’ he says.

The estate agents, however, tend to disagree. They point out - very sensibly - that it's during times like these that landlords fear voids, and might actually end up preferring renewals or competing with each other to attracts tenants.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

The BBC are looking for potential vendors considering selling their homes privately... in other words, without assistance from an estate agent. Experts will - apparently - be on hand to guide you through the process. If you're interested call Jim on 0845 2578646.

Technorati Tags: property TV

The Kuba bath, by BC Designs, it's modern and made for two. (Or one really fat person, I suppose, but somehow that doesn't say winning ad campaign.)

Technorati Tags: design, interiors

Ah, the romance of it. We were approached a little earlier with this:

Savvy players such as B&Q with their diy.com, British Gas with their gas.co.uk or Lloyds TSB with their insurance.co.uk domains have for many years reaped enormous rewards and marketing kudos from owning THE prime generic domains that define their respective industries. Nothing in the mindset of the public is more memorable than a domain that "does exactly what it says on the tin"!

So what are they selling? It's DampCourses.co.uk - yours for just £795+VAT. If you're interested, let us know, and we'll forward your details to the vendor.

Technorati Tags: Web

London - more idyllic than a village [Washington Times]
Lenders get cautious [Home.co.uk]
Terraced houses - the Judi Dench of property [Daily Telegraph]
Fixed-rate mortgages pulls hurriedly from market [Daily Telegraph]
The new, rent-a-room mortgage [Guardian]

The Rat and Mouse - it's about your house

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

No sooner do we report this, than this happens.

Abbey head of mortgages Nici Audhlam-Gardiner says: "Our customers tell us that moving home is among the most stressful and expensive things you can do in life. Our market leading range of 'no upfront costs' mortgages - which unlike other banks' no fee's deals, cover legal fees as well - will benefit movers who want to minimise the costs associated with moving home, while still enjoying great rates on their mortgage. Abbey’s new deals enable movers to minimise their upfront costs and avoid the added worry of sourcing valuation and conveyancing services. We are able to be first to market with this offer through an exclusive agreement for the period of this campaign with Legal Marketing Services (LMS) who will be providing the legal services package to our customers.”

Abbey say they'll cover mortgage valuation, booking fees, legal fees (including, apparently, those associated with the sale as well as the purchase), and they'll offer discounts on removal costs, plus a cashback deal on contents insurance. Exactly how this will tie into the new HIPs system... we've absolutely no idea.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

According to a survey by London Development Research, inexperienced developers have been paying as much as 30% above realistic land values, leading to a bottleneck situation, in which they're being forced to hold back finished stock in the hope that rising property prices will cover their reckless spending. But - as we all know - they can't wait forever. They're risking a vicious circle, in which rising interest rates will force them to sell... to a market weakened by rising interest rates. More here.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

And the Rat and Mouse wonders how many other estate agents will be following suit shortly.

Oh - yeah - just a note in case anybody's thinking of pulling a fast one. From the T&Cs:

Fees may apply if you choose to withdraw your property from sale within 12 months from the date of instruction.

Very sensible.

Technorati Tags: estate agents, property, real estate, real estate agents

He's Bromley Councillor Simon Fawthrop, and he had hoped to be the Tory's next Mayoral candidate... but something makes the Rat and Mouse think that's a little less likely after this clumsy bit of electioneering. He's out to discredit London's planning laws, which allow an individual to make applications for land they don't own. He believes that, as a result, London's gardens are in danger. Ironically, Ken Livingstone might do very well in the unlikely event the planning permission is granted. More here.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

Yesterday, I was contacted by an animator with a link to one of the most beautiful and intelligent and involving short animations I've ever seen. Go here for a sorry tale of tenant-landlord relations. And you might want to explore the rest of the site - because Jerry's a genius.

Technorati Tags: animation

Yesterday's Bank of England letter to the Chancellor - on the subject of runaway unexpectedly high inflation figures - has been published to the web. Gordon Brown's reply is here. There's nothing unexpected in either... but it's quite interesting to see them in pdf form... I think.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

$15,000 income. $720,000 mortgage. Sub-prime? No shit.

[via Patrick.net]

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

What's that? Something about inflation? Something about the dollar? Anyway, news is that Jordan's house-hunting in LA. (First we learn we're losing Posh and Becks, now Jordan and Peter... what are we going to do for entertainment during the dark days of 13% interest rates?) Quoted here, Jordan's typically discreet:

"We're not like Kelly Brook or Rachel Stevens who say they're going to break the States and then don't. We're not mucking about. I think they'll see that we're real," she said.

Technorati Tags: celebrity, property, real estate

According to a survey by Redrow... which purports to demonstrate the advantages enjoyed by people who own three-storey homes:

1. Less conventional family units (what with older people living until they're 120 and younger people unable to afford to leave home) make different demands on houses. Three levels offer more privacy.
2. An extra set of stairs keeps you fit.
3. Homeworkers can easier separate home life from work life.
4. Greater flexibility - three-storey homeowners are more likely to think differently about which room serves which purpose.
5. Oh yeah - from a developer's point-of-view... you can squeeze more skinny homes onto one expensive plot of land.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

"A mistake to be young in new Labour Britain" [Times]
First the Independent. Now the Mail. Everybody's invited to Meg Mathews' [Daily Mail]
Trouble ahead for buy-to-let? [Telegraph]
At home[s] with the Candy brothers [Independent]

The Rat and Mouse - it's about your house

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

According to DCLG figures - which are usually as reliable as they are late - the average house price in the UK fell in February by 0.1%. However, year-on-year inflation rose from 10.9% to 12.1% (16.7% in London). The accompanying DCLG statement is interesting in the way it demonstrates how clearly the government department's experts see price trends tied in to property types:

The small fall in UK prices between January and February can be attributed to falls in average prices for bungalows (1.1%), terraced houses and detached houses (both 0.5%), only partly offset by a rise in the price of flats (0.9%) and semi-detached houses (0.1%).

Is this the start of a slowdown? Possibly, but one that, in our opinion, is unlikely to really manifest until autumn.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

This time it's Rightmove, reporting a 3.6% rise in house prices in April... the highest monthly rise since April 2002 (when they reported a 4.5% gain). The annual house price inflation figure reaches 15%. The drivers? Seasonal factors, and a rush to beat the forthcoming introduction of HIPs. (The report itself hasn't reached the Rightmove website yet. When it does, I'll return with a link.)

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Just in, this from ForexTV:

Shareholders in UK property agency Countrywide PLC have approved an improved offer from US private equity firm Apollo, ending the long-running takeover saga.

At an EGM this morning, shareholders gave the green light to Apollo's improved offer of 530 pence in cash and 0.16487 Rightmove PLC shares per Countrywide share, tabled yesterday after Countrywide received a tentative approach from a third party, believed to be private equity firm 3i.

Technorati Tags: estate agents, real estate agents

Or Daily Mail hot air?

Here's the Mail, with the revelation that some lenders are giving out nine-times-salary mortgages. It's the beginning of the end. An average salary would extract a £207,000 mortgage, but repayments would leave just £46 a month to spend on servicing the Audi, buying Classical Gold compilation CDs and prostitutes. But take a closer look... their information comes from "Muhammed Uddin, branch manager at the independent broker First Solution, in Cambridge". What is this... a Daily Mail ruse? Have one of your reporters approach an Asian without wearing a pitch helmet and he'll be so shocked he'll say anything. (In any case, what he actually says is, "There have been cases where my clients have been offered more than nine times their salary.") Ray Boulger, of John Charcol, adds some perspective.

Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at mortgage broker John Charcol, said it was possible to borrow nine times' salary, but only in special circumstances. One example could be a couple who had sold their property but not yet completed and had found another home to buy.

Will the Daily Mail readers read between the lines. Go straight to the comment section to find out.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

This one originated, apparently, in yesterday's Daily Mirror. The story is that Bad Girls actress Antonia Okonma tried to pull a fast one when offered something in the region of £800 and a bit of publicity to appear on the hideous in every way Through The Keyhole... a TV quiz in which the camera snoops around a minor celebrity's home and you have to guess whose it is and what they're misguidedly trying to say about themselves by what they've artfully left lying around. Except in this instance, Okonma left somebody else's apartment lying around. Ambitious to look like a person with a career, she had contacted an estate agent friend, who left her the keys to a trendier apartment, knowing the real owners was away. Okonma went through the apartment, scattering scripts and plastic Oscars... but a friend of the actual owners spotted the apartment on television. Okonma was told to clear off twice... first by the owners of the flat, and then by the BBC:

A spokesman for the BBC, which airs the show, said the broadcaster was "very disappointed that she behaved like this and, in doing so, spoiled a very popular show."

More here.

Technorati Tags: celebrity, London, property, property TV, real estate

New figures from the Halifax are leading the news this morning. According to survey, public sector workers such as teachers, nurses, police and firemen are unable to afford homes in 70% of UK towns. The Halifax used regional property prices and average wages to create an affordability index, defining a town as unaffordable if its average house cost more than 4.46 a key worker's average wage. There's a BBC News "Have Your Say" comment thread developing here.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

There's a really interesting piece over at This Is Money that puts faces to financial trends by looking at ten stories from the London property market, including a twentysomething living at home with her parents (although, why they chose a student isn't clear); a copywriter living in a shared house in Bow; the family man stretched by an expensive interest-only mortgage; an amateur developer focusing on Hoxton; and a trainee teacher living in Leyton Town Hall to keep out the squatters.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

According to Henry Pryor of Primemove.com the market is about to be flooded by properties. Easter's always busy, but information coming into Primemove suggests the volume may be up on last year by as much as 13%. According to Pryor:

It would seem that many sellers are keen to beat the 1st June introduction of the ill conceived Home Information Packs. With many estate agents now encouraging vendors to commence the marketing of their property before this arbitrary deadline we can expect even more to do so over the next six weeks.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Its latest survey of its members shows the market rising in March, for the 17th consecutive month. New enquiries continue to fall, but at a slower pace than last month. I never really know how to rate the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors figures... since they're effectively really a test of estate agents' opinions, and while it seems fair to say the market is still rising, I have a feeling that when it stops, the agents will be the last to admit it. More here.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

DNA India thinks it has found London's first "Millionaire's Row for a single ethnic minority"... Astons Road in (almost London) Northwood:

Homes worth over 1 million pounds on Astons Road are being snapped up and then demolished to make way for mansions worth up to five million pounds, complete with indoor pools, sweeping marble staircases and extravagant landscaped gardens.

However...

According to Sheetell Halai, who runs Savills’ India desk: “The question (for Indians) used to be, ‘How big is your house?’ Now it’s, ‘How many do you have?’” She says the majority of her clients are looking for flats, with a budget of 1 million to 6 million pounds

.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

According to this in Reuters, 60% of men and 40% of women aged 20-24 were living at home with their parents in 2006. The reason? House prices, of course, which have risen by 204% since 1995.

Elsewhere, estate agents Knight Frank report a massive monthly gain in the prime posh sector fuelled by an influx of wealthy Russian and Middle Eastern buyers. March saw a 3.1% gain, leaving the annual gain at 32% (the highest in 28 years). And yet this guy's managed to screw up. The typical house in prime central London sector has apparently risen in value by £100,000 a month for the last 12 months. Read more detail - if you can stomach it - here.

And research by Halifax Estate Agents reveals that 30% of postcodes in England and Wales now contain homes valued at £1m or more. That's up from 16% in 2001. More here.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

Thanks to a Rat and Mouse reader for pointing me in the direction of this. Apparently, Cantor Spreadfair have seen the number of punters gambling on the house price market double in the last two months. There are two elements to this story. An increase in trades does tend to suggest coming volatility... and there have been a number of recent reports into affordability that point toward a slowdown on 2008, maybe sooner. Fine... but what about the Cantor bookie broadcasting that he's "going short" on the market? Would you accept a tip from a bookie? And let this be a warning.

Hedge your bets [May 30, 2006]
Spread-betters - what do you think about the housing market? [March 3, 2006]
Bears with burnt fingers [August 23, 2005]

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

According to Hamptons' Lesley Cairns, the effect of extortionate London house prices on would-be first-time buyers has seeped so far through into rents that Londoners are now in danger of being priced out of the rental market too:

"For example, a recent applicant initially seeking a property in South Kensington for £550 per week has ended up taking a property for £1,000 per week - almost double their original budget."

[via Hot Property]

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

Guy de Havillande - the man who buys-to-let on a £100m scale through his company de Havillande Holdings - is, according to the Sunday Telegraph, having problems with his mortgage repayments. De Havillande owns luxury property in some of London's most expensive neighbourhoods... and has owned some very sweet locations for a number of years, so it's hard to work out how he could be in any kind of trouble. Yet his lenders are blabbing to the press with an eagerness the Rat and Mouse finds surprising (aren't there rules about privacy that stops this kind of thing?):

Derbyshire Building Society told The Sunday Telegraph: "Obviously we are looking at the matter at the moment - it's with our lawyers."

Skipton Building Society said: "We are in discussions with De Havillande about his properties."

A source at one building society said: "We have a couple of million of his £100m portfolio. Until Christmas he [De Havillande] had been a very regular payer, then payments just stopped all of a sudden."

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

London - less healthy than Chernobyl [Londonist]
2012: the cheerleaders win [The First Post]
Interest rates - no movement, for now [Guardian]

The Rat and Mouse - it's about your house

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

The headlines are that in the three months to end of March, house prices were 11.1% higher than the same period in 2006... that's the highest... er... quarterly... er... annual rise in two years. However, the monthly gain was just 1%. More here.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Anybody who's been following the US property market crisis will be familiar with the fact that the "sub-prime" mortgage market (lending to borrowers with less-than-ideal credit ratings) has taken the brunt. Yesterday, credit rating agency Standard & Poor described our own sub-prime market as "showing stress". More here.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Walkie-talkie tower architect Rafael Vinoly beat off Fosters and SOM to oversee the latest version of south London's biggest ever vapour-development. More here.

Battersea Power Station: a scandal of waste [February 2, 2007]

Technorati Tags: architecture, design, London

It was great, thank you very much. Apparently, annual inflation in the London market reached 20.9%, reduced transaction volumes are just building up demand and prices, and the rental market is quietly booming, with landlords taking advantage of a lack of properties to push up rents and repair yields damaged by rising interest rates. Which led to big smiles all round, especially from Neil Chegwidden (pictured).

Technorati Tags: estate agents, London, property, real estate, real estate agents

Zillow - the US's premier property portal - has added an interesting new innovation... a kind of specialist Q&A feature along the lines of Yahoo Answers. The idea is that you can type in the address of a property, then post a question, or view questions and answer them (if, say, you're the agent, or the owner, or just somebody who's viewed the property). Very nice.

Start marketing your home before it's for sale [March 30, 2007]
Clever search engine developments at Nestoria [March 20, 2007]
The Rat and Mouse Monday interview - Lockhart Steele of Curbed.com [March 19, 2007]

Technorati Tags: property, Zillow, real estate, Web2, web2.0

According to new figures, homeowners' equity (the difference between the value of a house and the remaining loan) has increased by an average of 37% in the last two years, leaving homeowners with more than half their wealth tied up in assets, primarily their homes. This doesn't come as a surprise to the Rat and Mouse... although the casual way in which homeowners are happy to dip into a pot that isn't at all guaranteed - especially against a background of rising interest rates - does surprise me, continuously. From This Is London :

Industry figures published earlier this week show homeowners released £14.6billion of the wealth locked up in their properties in the final three months of 2006. That was up by £2.4billion on the previous quarter and £ 3billion on the same period the year before.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

We're expecting the DCLG to announced plans, today, to reduce red tape surrounding microgeneration installations and (according to Miliband) "make it as easy to install a wind turbine as a satellite dish". The new rules are expected to come into force from October, too late for Cameron.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Couch-surfing, it's a trend [Observer]
HIPs + rate rise = price fall? [This Is London]
Digging deep for frost-free driveways in Kensington [Earth Times]

The Rat and Mouse - it's about your house

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

Thanks to the Rat and Mouse reader who points us in the direction of this, and suggests a neologism:

I thought we might be able to copyright the terms Rent to Grow and RTG before the big agents like Foxtons latch onto the trend?

RTG... I like it. Can't copyright something like this... but we can encourage its use and then repeatedly remind people where it came from.

Bad taste TV - Honey, I &%$ed up the landlord [July 6, 2006]
Merton's Mary-Jane farmers to get smoked out [March 16, 2006]

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

DO YOU have a story to tell? Have you been gazumped? Are you finding it impossible to buy a house? Is it costing you a fortune? If so please get in contact. We are seeking interviewees for an article on gazumping and the overheated London property market. Please contact: Sophie Kernon, reporter, Bloomberg News, skernon@bloomberg.net, +44 207 673 2535, or Brian Swint, bswint@bloomberg.net, +44 207 073 3444.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

On Plashet Road, in Newham.

[Photo by Nicobobinus]

Technorati Tags: estate agents, London, real estate agents

Westminster Council have awarded Ridgeford Properties consent to build more high-end flats and penthouses at 10 Weymouth Street in Marylebone. Ridgeford will be employing Ken Shuttleworth's Make practice, Work will start as soon as October and is scheduled to end in March 2009. Environmental features were said to be at the fore of the application, and include a "green meadow roof" and a ground source heat pump.

Technorati Tags: architecture, London

It happened on Saturday - apparently - and there's been an arrest.

Technorati Tags: estate agents, London, real estate agents

What is it with these guys? When they launched, as Opromark, a couple of years ago, it coincided with RICS figures suggesting the market was toppling over into the abyss. Since then, Opromark has become The Property Investment Market. The idea remains the same... you can invest as little as £1 in shares in a range of managed buy-to-let properties, exposing yourself [not as dirty as it sounds] to capital appreciation [perhaps not as likely as it sounds] and a little income. TPIM was in the news on Saturday with the announcement that it's expecting approval as a regulated alternative trading system... which will apparently throw it open to foreign investors, too. Just in time for this.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate