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future
Saturday, September 24, 2011
PROPERTY 9
Rents on the rise as demand continues
SIGN OF THE TIMES: Rents are rising as would-be buyers remain frustrated
SOFA STYLE: This outdoor sofa is from www.sixinch.be furniture which focuses on architectural, sculptural value rather then comfort. “Because we live in this climate, we spend an awful lot more time looking at the garden furniture than sitting on it,” he says. “Therefore it’s important to make it
OUND HERE: A huge stainless steel here, from www.outdoorlivinguk.co.uk
Things to do this week ● As stakes and canes become free from cleared crops, remove them and clean and dry them before storing. ● Take cuttings of currants and gooseberries, selecting healthy wood from productive bushes. ● As the rate of grass growth diminishes, ease up on mowing the lawn. There’s still time to seed bare patches. ● Plant out spring-flowering annuals and biennials in their flowering positions to give the plants enough time to establish themselves before winter. ● Collect seeds from later-flowering plants and ensure they are dry before storing. ● Continue to plant spring-flowering bulbs including narcissi and hyacinths. ● Clematis cuttings propagated under glass in spring can now be planted out in their growing positions. ● Check dahlia supports are secure as the flowers will now be large and making the plants top-heavy. ● Protect ripening plums and cherries from birds and squirrels if you can.
as beautiful as you can possibly manage.” Never a truer word spoken. ● Grand Designs Live Birmingham, NEC, October 7-9. Order tickets online at www.granddesignslive.com or call the booking hotline on 0844 854 1348.
Grow Your Own Spinach IT’S one of those vegetables which can be eaten hot or cold, wilted or creamed, lightly dressed or just served a la mode. And if you grow different varieties and protect it with cloches in the cooler months, you can be harvesting spinach virtually all year round. However, perpetual spinach or spinach beet, not annual spinach, tends to do better because annual spinach tends to bolt in hot summers, whereas perpetual spinach and Swiss chard seldom do. Perpetual spinach prefers a little shade and moist soil, although it will tolerate drier conditions than true (annual) spinach. It’s best sown once in spring and the leaves harvested regularly, then again in mid to late summer, which will produce plants to keep you in leaves all winter. Spring sowings should be made indoors in modules, then planted outside when the soil is warming up. Alternatively, wait a few more weeks and sow direct outside, in rows 45cm (18in) apart, with 38cm (15in) between plants. Be patient, because germination can take a few weeks.
RENTS recorded their largest monthly increase in a year during August, says the latest buy-to-let index from LSL Property Services. In August, the average rent in England and Wales rose by 1.2% to £713 per month, which is £27 higher than in August 2010. On a monthly basis, rents increased fastest in Wales and south-east England, where they rose by 2.1%. The next biggest increases were in London and south-west England, with rises of 1.5% and 1.3% respectively. Rents have only declined in the Midlands since July, falling by 0.4% in both the West Midlands and the East Midlands. In the last year, London has seen stronger rental inflation than other regions of England and Wales as rents hit a new record high of £1,025 per month in August, up by 6.6% or £63 per month during the past year. The next biggest
annual increases were in the West Midlands (6%) and the North East (4.3%). In the last year, average rents have risen in all regions except Yorkshire and the Humber (-0.5%). David Newnes, estate agency managing director of LSL Property Services, says: "We are in the thick of the busiest time of year for the rental market, and red-hot demand for properties is driving rents up at their fastest monthly pace in the last 12 months. "Recent graduates moving for their first jobs exaggerate the long-term and growing demand from frustrated buyers. In the last two years, average rents have risen by more than £50 a month. With a big rise in number of hopeful buyers able to get a mortgage unlikely in the foreseeable future, competition for rental accommodation will not drop and further rent rises remain on the cards."
Homeowners who ‘gazang’ buyers HOUSE-HUNTERS are more likely to be “gazanged” than “gazumped” because of a growing trend of owners deciding not to sell their home at the last minute, according to a report. Research by property legal website In-Deed suggested that thousands of sales had fallen through this year because home-owners decided to stay put. A survey of 1,000 adults showed that one in four of sellers changed their mind because they could not find a suitable
property themselves, while others got cold feet because of concerns about the state of the housing market. Commenting on the findings, TV property expert Phil Spencer said: “In such a volatile market, it’s not that surprising that many more sellers are changing their minds at the last minute, especially when there are so few suitable homes available.” In-Deed coined the phrase gazanging to describe how buyers were left “hanging”.