Welcome to our November 2016 Newsletter
Well goodbye October and hello November! It’s been a cold start to the month and the boiler phone calls have increased for our Lettings maintenance department. Is it time to think about servicing that boiler? During our management visits over the winter period, we’ll be leaving our condensation booklet with our tenants which stresses the importance of adequate heating and ventilation. Wiping windows down first thing in the morning, and opening a window to circulate the air isn’t an option for some tenants when it’s freezing outside – but it should be done.
If you’d like a copy of our booklet emailed to you please contact us on 01455 636349 or email Hinckley@martinco.com
Steve completed his last Wolf Run of 2016 on a freezing cold November Sunday, and gained the Alpha Wolf status for having completed all four runs during 2016. He has raised a substantial amount for his favourite charity The Bamboozle Theatre Company who help autistic children and their families. He would like to thank everyone who has sponsored him. Well done Steve!
Have you seen a heat map before? The map created below shows average house prices in Hinckley (there’s one of Earl Shilton/Barwell next month). Where is your house on the map? How does is compare with other areas of Hinckley? Can you see the difference between Leicester Rd and Ashby Road? Or even John Street and Leicester Rd?
Detached properties have on average a sold price of £272,288 and terraced properties average of £135,196, with an overall average price of £190,322 (which is more expensive than nearby Barwell (£140,693), but cheaper than Burbage (£225,372) and Sapcote (£238,520).)
Homes on the first stage of a major new development between the M1 and M69 are already going up for sale despite a brick not being laid. A launch event offered potential purchasers the chance to gain a greater insight into how the new community will evolve. Set to grow over the next 15 years the first tranche of the 4,250 dwellings planned for New Lubbesthorpe will be delivered soon.
Government figures from the Office for National Statistics show average rents in privately let homes across Britain rose by an average of 2.3 per cent in the year to September. The ONS point out that official inflation over the same period was 1.0 per cent. Unsurprisingly southern England saw the largest rent rises – up 3.5 per cent over the year in the south east, followed by 3.0 per cent in the East of England region. The breakdown for the national regions shows that average rents grew 2.5 per cent over the 12 month period in England – Welsh rents increased just 0.1 per cent while in Scotland they actually fell slightly by 0.1 per cent.”Residential house price growth in Britain has typically been stronger than rental price growth, with an average 12-month rate of house price inflation between January 2014 and August 2016 of 7.3 per cent, compared with 2.1 per cent for rental prices,” says the ONS.
Why the housing crisis has very little to do with landlords (despite what the media may say!) Successive governments have failed to tackle supply, and renting has become a lifestyle for more and more people. In 2007, homeownership in the 30-34yr old demographic dropped to 65.8pc and renting rose to 18.7pc. In the latest figures, homeownership has dropped to 47.2pc and renting has risen to 33.4pc. The thirty-something’s may blame landlords for owning ‘their’ houses, but the fact is that the properties they would ordinarily be buying are the council houses that were sold off for huge discounts during Margaret Thatcher’s Right-to-Buy scheme – and not replaced. The selling of council housing in the 80s artificially grew homeownership but, as these people have become older, the following generations have not had the same opportunity to buy those council houses, purely because the older generation are still living in them. Thus, in the 90s, Noughties and 2010s we have seen increasingly mature adults being funnelled into a growing private rented sector. Unless local councils start building council houses by the acre (and hundreds more acres), private renting is in the UK is destined to grow, and grow, and grow.
Five tips to prepare your house FOR SALE!
LET GO AND DETACH YOURSELF! Think, “This is not my home; it is a house, a product to be sold.”
DEPERSONALISE! Buyers struggle to see past personal items, and you don’t want them to be distracted. You want them to think “I can see myself living here!” Put those beloved pictures in a box just before a viewing.
MAKE MINOR REPAIRS! Consider painting your walls neutral colours, especially if you have grown accustomed to purple or pink walls. (Don’t give buyers any reason to remember your home as “the house with the orange bathroom.”)
MAKE THE HOUSE SPARKLE! You may love your dog and cat, but do they smell? Odours are a definite no no. Hang up fresh towels, vacuum daily, clean those windows.
CHECK THE KERB APPEAL! Mow the lawn, sweep up the leaves. Stand outside and check for that important first impression!
As ever we are looking for more housing stock! So, if you are a Seller or Landlord please think of us. We offer excellent customer service for Sales and Lettings, and are a professional licenced ARLA Letting Agent.
Call us on 01455 636349 https://www.martinco.com/estate-agents-and-letting-agents/branch/hinckley
