Recent Articles in Property prices and rents

Kate Faulkner - BBC Radio Coventry & Warwickshire
Apr 2, 2014

Kate was interviewed by BBC Radio Warwickshire and Coventry about what's happening to their local property market, and was asked that same question - 'are we in a bubble?', grrr, no we aren't and prices in these areas haven't even recovered to 2007 heights! The information is based on the Land Registry data, and shows average prices in February 2014 versus 2007/8 heights and checks prices right back to 2007.

Universal Credit: We talk to Rentify on how it can be made to work?
Apr 1, 2014

According to Rentify, the Department for Work and Pensions released figures that showed in November 2013, there were nearly five million people claiming Housing Benefit. Currently, the new way to pay people via Universal Credit is being implemented in a number of areas, for single people who have recently become unemployed. What it means is, that all other benefits stop – including housing benefit – and all payments are ‘lumped’ into one. Can Universal Credit work?

What's a normal market for London and is it really in a bubble?
Mar 31, 2014

The media headlines are full of headlines of house price bubbles, especailly in London, and the recent Evening Standard headline goes even further to say it's the biggest bubble ever. Unfortunately, they don't really back this up with any evidence at all. Kate Faulkner looks at the Land Registry data to show exactly what is happening, comparing prices to history when they were actually bubbling over to know if a market is in a bubble.

Are property rents really starting to rise?
Mar 27, 2014

Despite many a comment about ‘rents being at their highest’ or ‘crazy prices’ they aren’t. One thing we have learned from the credit crunch is even in areas where demand is higher than supply, unlike when buying, property rents are still very much linked to wages. As wages have hardly moved since 2007, neither have rents. Read my article to find out what why are some rental indices are recording increases.

Can you extend your home without planning permission?
Mar 26, 2014

Many people dont' know that almost every home is allowed to be extended without planning permission. If your property is in a Conservation area or if you own a Grade ll Listed property, then you may not qualify, but it's worth knowing what you can and can't do. To work out if you can extend your home without planning permission, then you need to understand something called 'permitted development rights'.