Landlords expand portfolios despite price rises

Property investors looking to purchase homes for letting purposes paid nearly two per cent more in April than in March, according to Paragon Mortgages' latest Buy-to-Let Index. The specialist lender found that landlords continue to retain their confidence in the property market, expanding their portfolios and contributing to a price inflation growth rate of 4.7 per cent over the past six months. April...

RICS to revise advice for valuers

Consumers hoping to find UK property to rent out could benefit from new guidelines that will be given to property valuers. Members of the Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) have decided clarification of the current 'Red Book' guidelines is needed if a new build property's true value is not to be distorted. RICS valuers need to provide an objective estimate of...

Nationwide sounds caution over cooling housing market

Nationwide has described recent house price growth in the UK as "sluggish", reporting an average price increase of just 0.2 per cent in May. This compares with a similarly slight 0.1 per cent price rise in April but a much healthier 1.1 per cent in March. It leaves the annual rate of growth at 4.7 per cent for the year to May compared to 5.3 per cent at the end of March. Although house prices are still...

Thailand property prediction halved

The property market in Thailand has been tipped to grow by half as much as previously predicted. The combination of rising oil prices and interest rates led Manon Pongsathat, president of the International Property Association, to suggest a five per cent increase in the overall property market this year, down from the ten per cent figure estimated earlier. The number of new houses in Thailand will increase...

Morocco property show heads for Heathrow

Investors looking to buy property abroad could find useful information about the Moroccan property market at the first Essential Morocco Property Exposition to be held at London's Heathrow Airport. The show will include details of the new Plan Azur developments on the country's Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, well-suited as the site of a possible second holiday home as well as for overseas property...

Poland tops property chart

Polish capital Warsaw has topped a list of the best places to invest in property abroad. Prestige Group's International Hotspots Index is designed to provide a detailed guide to the top-ten overseas property hotspots, helping potential buyers to consider the different conditions in each country. The index takes into account stamp duty levels, the legal system and financing possibilities, as well as...

Spanish homes sold fully furnished

A leading Spanish property developer is offering the opportunity to Buy Spanish homes fully furnished and equipped to save buyers time and spare them unnecessary stress. TM Grupo believes it has hit upon an area where the service offered to overseas property buyers could easily be improved, removing the need to communicate with Spanish salespeople about the price of sofas and other soft furnishings. Often...

AMI offers advice for overseas property

The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) is introducing a new factsheet designed to provide guidance for people thinking of buying property abroad. Targeting those who will be selling mortgages to individuals tempted by the booming overseas property markets, the document will help mortgage intermediaries to advise their clients more effectively on property regulations in different countries....

Truro tops UK property rise table

The town of Truro has beaten off competition from some of the bigger cities to register the highest increase in residential property price per square metre (psm) in the UK. Although London remains the most expensive city to live at £3,582 psm, and Oxford comes second with an average £2,741 psm, Truro's property has rocketed by a staggering 262 per cent in a decade, according to Halifax Estate...

Specialist offers weekend viewings of Spanish homes

A specialist overseas property agent is offering potential buyers weekend trips to view luxury golf resort property in Spain's Murcia, just south of Alicante. An opportunity for Brits thinking to buy Spanish property, Villaminder is offering to pay for the overnight accommodation in hotels or apartments in the area, along with hospitality. Clients interested in overseas property would only need to pay the...