London property

S

salla

I am looking for information re the current status of RE in and around Central London. Does anyone know of authoritative websites where I can find what property last sold for, areas to research, maybe an excellent RE agent, info about mortgage lending, in fact, anything about investing in London?

Thanks in advance.
 
Hi salla,

If you want information on the sale prices of properties in London, you can try this website:
www.ourproperty.co.uk

You can register for free to access properties sold in London by the street names.

For listing of properties in London or in other parts of UK, you can go to:
www.findaproperty.co.uk

There are mortgage advisors you can contact in the UK, but not sure if it will be easy to secure a mortgage if you are not based in the UK. You can check out Alexander Hall's website to get an idea on rates, etc.

Are you looking to buy in Central London?
Let me know if you need further information.

Cath
 
Thanks for the info Cath. I am a UK resident and have a daughter based in London. I am looking in Central London for best CG and rental return. What are your thoughts on the vacancy rates at the moment and possible areas to concentrate on? Thanks again.
 
I don't know the exact vacancy rates at the moment in London. What size are you looking for? studios, 1 bedder, 2 bedders? A lot of development is happening in Stratford in zone 3 because of the Olympic site and the Westfield shopping centre. I think it is a pretty area to check out. Kings Cross in zone 1 is undergoing a lot of regeneration and is very central. It should not be too difficult to have your IP rented out. Of course these are my personal opinions, other forumites might be able to provide more information.
 
catlib01 said:
A lot of development is happening in Stratford in zone 3 because of the Olympic site and the Westfield shopping centre. I think it is a pretty area to check out.
Click to expand...

Stratford upon Avon = pretty place but a long way from London
Stratford in East London = dodgy as! I lived in East London for 12 years, and although I'd agree that there's potentially a lot of upside there from an investment point of view, it's far from pretty!

I'm a big guy - over 100KGs and close to 2m tall, and there isn't an area in Australia I wouldn't walk through at nighttime, but you wouldn't catch me outside Stratford station after about 8pm!
 
Jonathon, point taken, but think of all of the dodgy sites, that existed in australia, and how exclusive they have become now, redfern, Kingston, narrabundah, to name but a few.........;)
 
more examples..

craigb said:
Jonathon, point taken, but think of all of the dodgy sites, that existed in australia, and how exclusive they have become now, redfern, Kingston, narrabundah, to name but a few.........;)
Click to expand...

may plus Richmond, Fitzroy, Collingwood, Footscray, Coburg and so on....

Bad reputation, but huge CG happening recently ....:eek:
 
tab said:
try www.propertysnake.co.uk
Click to expand...
Propertysnake is great the way it tracks the falling asking prices on individual properties. Reminds me of the UK TV show "Property Ladder" that had to change it´s name to "Snakes and Ladders".
http://www.channel4.com/4homes/on-tv/property-ladder/

Another good site: http://www.mouseprice.com/

Buying in crappy areas can pay off in London, but I think Stratford had already trippled up to the bust, don´t know how much it´s fallen since the peak.
 
Jonathon,

I wouldn't like to bump into you on a dark night, but Stratty isn't that bad........

Surprisingly, prices in Stratford (I think) are still reasonable, due to the correction it has had in the last year.

I got in and bought a place in Stratford a couple of years prior to the Olympic Games being decided upon, so due to the recent volatility and negative house price growth over the country, I am about back to where I started from.

The good thing is that it is CF+:).......... only just...........Rents to rise though in a couple of months....yippee.....

Salla,

I would love to purchase an investment property again, but deposit and mortgage rates are too high for BTL's. If you are buying it for your daughter (and assume the docs would be under her name, and she is first time buyer, then I would think it would be quite attractive).......especially using property snake and getting up to speed with the large discounts being offered.

I get an email every week or so from a company called Choices Aquisitions. (They are a buyers agency and a bit of other stuff I think). Haven't used them, and am not recommending them, but they are another group. There emails look quite enticing.......(they give last sold and new purchase price info and there are huge savings to be had if you have the money / leverage.)

Good luck
 
Tim,

I know that Woody and Inala are on the lower side of the socio economic scale, but I wouldn't suggest that these areas are anywhere close to becoming exclusive.

From a guy who went to the infamous Woody High, and spent my years growing up in the area, I would confirm that they were / are dodgy, but far from exclusive. (I am out of the area now, so haven't kept a close eye to the latest reports available).

But to confirm with you that if the area gets 'revitalised' soon, it will only help property prices in the area........I can remember playing cricket at high school against Runcorn, and that place was also a bit on the less desirable......now I am surprised at some house prices in that area...:)

Cheers,
 
Thank you for your help with my interest in London property. A question for Fudge, why do you think that interest rates are too high to invest at the moment - HSBC has just released a 1.99% loan fixed for 2 years. Agreed, the 40% deposit required is steep, but wow, we can't get a rate like that in Oz! Also, can you advise if there is a first home owners advantage in the UK ? I can't find many references to it and my daughter would qualify if it existed.

BTL loans are harder to get I understand, is that right? There seem to be a bewildering array of mortgage choices in the UK. And so many properties for sale! There is a huge choice. I am addicted to property shows on Foxtel and the number and variety of properties is mind blowing. Very exciting.
Thanks again everyone.
 
Hi Salla,

For myself, as I am an Aussie, I bought a property in Stratford when I was working over there a few yeas ago.

If I was going to buy another property, it would be an investment loan and would be done through a Buy to Let mortgage.

If you are able to get mortgage rates of 1.5%, I would say go full steam ahead.

I realise if you were buying a PPOR, the mortgage rates are better. I was planning a trip to London a few months ago to purchase another property, but pulled out after finding out the the BTL rates were much more than the PPOR rate.

For example, I can only go through one mortgage lender, as my current property is with them. (As the banks don't like too much risk dealing with foreign investors at the moment, so since I have one with a particular lender, I might be able to get through their doors for a second one?? All other banks have refused.) The difference between their PPOR rate and BTL rate was about 5%. (I think off hand the PPOR was 2.5% and the BTL was 7.7)

I found it very frustrating.

Also, as you point out, I had to come up with a 40% deposit.

I do think though that some pockets in London are going for a steel, and unfortunately, I cannot go playing in that sandpit for a while, until at least the BTL rates come down

With regards to a first home buyers incentive, I thought I received a small discount for something. To settle this, maybe do some google searches regarding this matter.....or maybe your daughter might be able to speak with some friends / real eatate agents.

Regards:)
 
As I'm a Brit, I'll see if I can offer a few thoughts.

The UK economy strikes me as being in a bit of a mess right now, due to the financial crisis that hit last year. Interest rates have been slashed to 0.5% and a lot of money (£175 billion in quantitative easing) has been pumped into the banks.

It seems that the banking sector is now reasonably healthy due to the above, but other sectors are a mess because the banks aren't lending in a big way. Unemployment is rising, but there's a view that it won't hit 3 million, as was feared.

House prices peaked around September 2007 and fell sharply through 2008 by around 15%. They started rising again in the early part of this year, though there is talk that this might be reversing again.

What seems to have driven the rises is a combination of cheap finance (if you have a big deposit) and a shortage of property for sale. A lot of would-be sellers are "waiting for the market to recover", and sitting out until prices hit 2007 levels. Others are renting out properties instead of selling, which has helped put downward pressure on rents.

My thoughts?

Housing is extremely expensive in the UK against most historic measures, and rental yields are pathetic. It's significantly cheaper to rent than buy in many areas.

Unemployment is still rising, and so will taxes next year due to the rather parlous state of public finances. I'm taking a dim view of the British economy, and think that the country could have a difficult climb out of recession.

In terms of house prices, I'd expect them to go much lower. But they continue to confound my expectations. :confused:

I'd also suggest looking at towns just outside of London. St. Albans is about 30 minutes from the centre by train, whereas an outer suburb like Wimbledon is 40 - 50 minutes by tube. It might also prove cheaper.
 
Graemsay said:
Housing is extremely expensive in the UK against most historic measures, and rental yields are pathetic. It's significantly cheaper to rent than buy in many areas.
Click to expand...

you are talking to aussies who think nothing of paying twice as much to own than rent! this is the historic norm

I had a great flat in London but the term sof the lease hold made it unsuitable to hold long term. it was 74 years remaining and that was 8 years ago... they say at 50 years they are virtually worthless as banks won't fund them?
 
Thanks for all the insight from the Brits out there. Local knowledge is invaluable and I appreciate your comments very much.

I have to agree about the negative gearing culture that we have become used to in Australia, quite foreign to other investors - see for instance the article in the Australian Property Investor by Gill Fielding (pp 24-26). She regards -ve gearing as "wacky" and, after forking out much more to own a property than we ever get back in rent/tax/depreciation over the short term, I have to agree.

Flipping or renovating properties for a profit here is tricky - taxes and entry costs are so high. In the UK, providing a buyer has a healthy deposit, the new low interest rates (and currency exchange for us) make it very attractive for buyers. And I would hate to see how much stock forumites think is adequate if their opinion is that now there is not much on the market! I am amazed at the huge number of properties for every purpose, location, price range, taste or any other criteria you can think up - everywhere in the enormous UK market.

If I had time, I would love to have a go at buying at auction there - the system is streamlined and, again, the number of properties and information online is vast. Have any of you expats had experience purchasing property this way?

Love discussing this idea - any other comments or advice are very welcome, thanks again for your input so far. Finance is on the agenda today, meeting with a couple of experts in the field to get some clarification about the terms of leasehold vs freehold and all the different types of tenancy agreements and mortgage options. It is refreshing to see a range of products and ease of doing business. After investing in the teeny tiny Sydney market (by comparison to London) and seeing the same small number properties appear in Domain each week, I am like a kid in a candy store when I scroll through Zoopla's many pages of stock.

Yes, I hear you -caution and research. Always.
 
Wow, UK prices have sure come down from when I was living there a few years ago.

You can get a nice 2 bedroom flat in St Johns Wood opposite Lords for 400k quid, almost enough to tempt me back there if not for the weather!
 
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