2014 has started where 2013 left off with high levels of demand in the lettings market. To deal with the sheer numbers of potential tenants; landlords and lettings agents are increasingly turning to block viewings, open days and “sealed bids”. And new website – auctionlets.com – is hoping that the busy market means that their concept of pitching tenants...

For Landlords there are many steps to safeguarding your investments, firstly there is specialist landlord insurance which will protect your property against standard perils such as flood, fire, storm and damage. You should also make sure you get your tenants fully referenced to ensure that they have a good history of keeping up with their financial commitments and have...

  The outlook for the UK commercial property market continues to improve in 2014 driven by the strengthening of the UK economy, says Fiona Rowley manager of the M&G Property Portfolio. Factors include continued growth in GDP (0.7% in quarter 2 of 2013), increasing house prices and falling unemployment. The traditional high street remains fairly subdues with retailers trimming...

The average price of a British home increased by 8.4% in 2013 after an end-of-year surge which saw £40 a day added to the typical value, according to Nationwide building society. A typical home ended the year worth £175,826 after increasing in value by 1.4% in December – the largest monthly rise since August 2009, said the society. The...

Analysis by the Residential Landlord’s Association (RLA) has found that rents in local authority controlled homes have increased six times more than in the private sector over the past eight years. Local authority housing average weekly rents in England increased by 42.5% from £55.27 to £78.78 between 2005/06 and 2012/13, according to recent figures published by the Department for...