News Review - Week ending 18th January 2009

Stay Informed with this Week's Press Review

Welcome to our second property news review of the year. I have been noticing for a while now how everybody I meet has their own entrenched view on the causes and solutions of the Credit Crunch. -who is to blame, when the economy will recover, should the government interfere etc. I am no different to them in that respect but I can't help finding amusement at the thousands of theories out there that people argue with such serious conviction.

We all seem to be Credit Crunch experts and this press review will in no way find peace between warring factions! However, we will continue to higlight to our readership the leading opinions out there based on common facts.

We begin this week with a short article that warns people who seek good property deals through auctions to make sure that they have the necessary cash reserves to obtain adequate finance. Despite the sharp increase in repossessions and properties being taken back by the banks, it is quoted that sales from auctions are 42.5% down from November 2007.

From our own experience at Complete Property Investment there are many people out there desperate to take advantage of lower property prices who are unable to find the deposit now demanded from the banks.

Following on the theme of mortgage difficulties, Phillippa Adam writes a very depressing piece on "eight scary facts" regarding the property market going into 2009. Apparently, the number of mortgage deals requiring a 25% deposit have risen from 54% to 60% in only one month. The other seven "scary facts" are equally as worrying.

However, I can't help thinking that we have already been inundated with these so called scary facts - we know the situation is bad but nothing I can see constitues any sort of proof that the figures are irreversable and that a recovery could not commence in 2009.

As I am sure most of you would have read over the weekend, Margaret Becket controversially suggested that there were "tentative signs of a housing upturn". The website, "Financialadvice" writes a scathing article in response to the claim. What particularly irritates the site is the fact that it comes just days after a business minister suggested she was seeing the "green shoots" of an economic recovery.

They deemed the comments to be offensive to the thousands of UK homes being repossessed each week. Comments like these are premature, but we should also note that when the "green shoots" do eventually arrive, there is bound to be still a lot of suffering. We ought not talk down or ignore any signs of improvement as to do so would be detrimental to bringing back necessary confidence.

As a counterbalance to the Nostradamusesque prophecies for the upcoming year, Landlord Expert published an article stating 7 reasons for an optimistic year ahead. According to their analysis there are "lots of reasons to feel good about Britain's housing market". They spell out just how much the market has spun around in favour of the buyer. Thank god this does not come from the mouth of a politician or heads would be rolling down the corridors of Westminster! Much of the article is true but it does over simplify a few of the issues. For example, yes, the base rate has dropped from 5.5% to 1.5% but banks are unable to pass all that on and have simultaneously toughened lending criteria.

A publication released on the very informative and well respected Property Invester News site, states the obvious in terms of the fact that buy-to-let landlords are taking a long-term view on their investments. What is surprising, however, is that it reveals that "long-term" in the minds of many investors is around the 20 year mark. It goes on to state that this group of buy-to-let investors have lower LTVs and average returns on investment totaling 10.59%. According to Ian Potter, head of the Association of Residential Lettings Agents', these very investors are helping to "guarantee the growth of the private rented sector and these are the people who provide the housing solutions for those hit by the current recession and into the future"

And now for some useful links

London Property Watch
This is a fantastic simple new London-based site that allows investors and existing landlords to search via postcode, map and property type on:

• House Prices
• Rental Prices and Rental Yields
• Historical Prices

Not only is this site updated daily with the latest figures, it also provides investors a clearer picture on the movements in the rental market across London. It highlights which areas are on the up and which ones are falling. A generalist view of an area perhaps, but can help when deciding where to buy as an investor.

Propertytalk.com - This site claims to be the world's first website to bridge-the-gap for property investors worldwide seeking below market value properties. They cover six regions offering the latest free property news, articles, discussion forums, calculators, gallery.

Up My Street - Slightly different to Globrix and Nestoria, this site provides a more complete all round service to local area searches. People can search their area for recent property sales but can also find out what local community projects are in place, nearest p[ubs, plumbers, estate agents, child care centres, etc ...the list is endless!

If you have something to say about any of this week's articles, click here to comment. The more controversial the better!