The prime central London residential market continues its upwards path according to Savills. Their central London index covers central areas from Mayfair to Holland Park and Chelsea to St Johns Wood and shows a 2.8 per cent rise in values so far this year.

'The level of price growth seen in the first quarter was unexpected and our forecast for 2011 of one per cent price falls across prime central London now looks bearish.'

'Clearly, stable real estate markets like London's are attracting purchasers in the face of global uncertainty and investment market volatility. Prime central London dwellings can act as a store of global wealth in the face of unexpected global events."

Estate Agents - Shop Around!

A new Which? report reveals the importance of shopping around estate agents with regards to valuations and fees. Valuations can vary significantly; as we all know. The estate agents' valuations ranged from ?500,000 to ?650,000 for one particular, out-of-the-ordinary house. The average variation was 13 per cent.

When it comes to fees, there was a difference of as much as 1.75 per cent between agents' selling fees. Fees ranged from 0.75 per cent at an independent estate agency to 2.5 per cent at some branches of Foxtons' estate agency. The national average is 1.8 per cent. Shop around!

BTL Mood Is Upbeat

A new survey by The Mortgage Works suggests a positive mood exists with regard to BTL - the majority of brokers feel the number of new landlords will rise in 2011 and that existing landlords will add to their portfolios. 'The positive outlook of the first-time landlord market is also reflected in the professional landlord market.'

'The overwhelming majority of brokers believe that most professional landlords will either maintain their stock or buy more properties in 2011, indicating a stable and improving market place. Either way, we think we can all be encouraged by this optimism, which is further supported by the fact that only 3 per cent of brokers surveyed believe professional landlords will sell some of their properties.'

'BTL lending is up from ?8.5 billion in 2009 and is expected to rise again in 2011. This suggests that the buy-to-let market is steadily on its way back up, which is great news for landlords and brokers alike.'

Warning! Land Scams

Which? has come out and damned, better late than never, these land banking schemes we've raged against for so many years. 'We believe the land banking model can never work. Dividing land into individually-owned plots makes it less likely to be built upon as no developer would want to deal with hundreds of separate owners.'

The best advice for anyone looking to buy into land for speculative investment is to ask the local planners at the local council how likely it is that a developer might want to build there. ('Ha Ha Ha' is the usual response with these land banking offers). Note that many of these land banking scams are from overseas. The FSA at www.fsa.gov.uk has a list of companies suspected of contravening UK law. Do a search for 'unauthorised overseas firms'.

Beware The Brown Stuff

It's recently been announced that about half a million properties could be built on ex-industrial, brownfield sites over the next 10 years. According to new research from LV=, some 125 million square metres of redeveloped brownfield land, earmarked for these properties, are at risk of flooding or contamination.

John O'Roarke, managing director of LV= home insurance, cautions, "It is vital that we continue to protect greenbelt land and that new uses can be found for brownfield sites, especially where there is a shortage of affordable housing. However, with many new properties being built on second-hand land, it's vital that potential buyers carry out adequate checks to find out what their new property is built on so they are aware of the risks."

"Regardless of when the property is built, it's always a good idea to get a structural survey when purchasing a property and to discuss any potential issues with the insurer to ensure they have adequate cover for their new home." More to come on this story.

Iain Maitland

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