Festive Greetings Humans of Landlord Broadband,
Thank-you for subscribing to our quarterly newsletter that keeps you updated on what we have been getting up to, and what has been moving and shaking in our industry. We hope you find it informative and a useful check-in. We look forward to hearing from you in the New Year.
What big changes have occurred over the last year?
During the last year we have seen several significant changes in Letting Agents fees and Data Protection laws, Housing Association funding and the economy amidst Brexit negotiations.
What has occurred in our sectors this year ?
Landlords: Over the past year we have seen an increasing number of Landlords waiting to see what impact Brexit and regulatory changes will have on the buy-to-let market before deciding whether to invest in any more properties.The most recent data released by LSL shows that from January-September, the number of buy-to-let mortgages dropped 13%. In contrast, the number of mortgage loans to first-time buyers was up 0.4% year-on-year. Analysis of the buy-to-let market by Shawbrook Bank earlier this year suggested that the buy-to-let market could remain subdued until 2021 as a consequence of tax changes and tougher mortgage lending standards.
Letting Agents: Rents in major regional cities are growing significantly faster than both London and the UK average, according to data from buy to let lender Landbay. It says UK rents rose by 0.03 per cent in November and 0.97 per cent over the full year. This is fractionally better than at the same point in 2017. It’s hard to escape the fact that we’ve seen a slowdown in the property market due to Brexit uncertainty and recent tax and regulatory changes for Landlords. In this context, these growth figures show just how resilient property continues to be as an asset . As with all investments, it is advised by numerous professional buyers to have a diversified portfolio – as can be seen in the case of buy-to-let by London’s recent fall and revival alongside strong performances from cities including Leeds and Manchester. This years figures are surprisingly positive for Letting Agents ahead of what will likely be testing economic times with Brexit and further interest rate rises expected.
Serviced accommodation: The recent developments across numerous serviced accommodation providers are proving an overall success for the sector and we have seen numerous developments open over the course of this year. Serviced accommodation had a 75 percent occupancy rate in April 2018, six percent higher than in the same period a year earlier. The trends predicted for next year’s consumer business include trips to locations in regions away from the main business locations (such as London, and New York). Group business trips will continue to rise, and it is expected that these trips will go to historic locations and picturesque hot spots.
Housing Associations: This year we have seen Theresa May’s announcement of an extra £2bn in longer-term funding for new developments. The prime minister told the National Housing Federation (NHF) conference in London that the money would fund schemes over the next decade. In addition to this Housing Associations were given the option to offer fixed-term tenancies under the Localism Act in 2012, replacing the previous position where all tenancies in the social housing sector had been for life. The next year will see more internet access than ever in Housing Associations addressing Universal Credit and digital inclusion together.
Property Technology: This year has been a big year for interest in Prop-Tech, with a KPMG survey of 300 global developers revealing that 93% of them plan to invest in Prop-Tech in the future. We have also seen a number of new domestic products enter the market, these are providing technologies which developers could soon be including in their properties. We are hard at work developing smart products, particularly for portfolio level smart heating. We are currently testing the technology and researching where it fits in the sectors we operate in. We would appreciate it if you could fill in our survey to help us see how interested you would be in this technology. (Click here to fill it in).
Merry Christmas and we wish you the best of luck for the New Year,
Landlord Broadband
(The champions of Wi-Fi friendly accommodation)
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Christmas cracker one liner: We are releasing a holiday song called, ‘All I Want for Christmas Is My Next door Neighbors Crazy Fast Landlord Broadband Wi-Fi Password’ – LOL!