London market comments from the RICS Residential Lettings Survey Q2 2008:

Pelham Street
Richard Cotton BSc FRICS, Cluttons
“There was a good level of demand in May and June, but this has dropped since July, as have the rental prices. Many applicants were looking for studios/one bed and two bedroom lets. There has been lots and lots of property available since the end of June, at all levels. There have been lots of new instructions from clients who cannot sell, or where sales have fallen through.”

Pimlico/Westminster
James Gubbins MRICS, Dauntons
“It is a struggle to rent some properties on market this year at higher prices ― applicants are becoming increasingly demanding and expect higher quality for their money.”

Pimlico
Edward Reeve BSc FRICS, Edward Reeve
“In the last two months there seems to be less demand for expensive flats with rents in excess of £600 per week.”

Richmond
Andrew Jourdain, Chancellors
“The number of properties available is significantly up on this time last year. Applicant numbers are consistent, therefore applicants have slightly more choice.”

Belgravia
Christopher Ames MRICS, Best Gapp & Cassells
“Fewer people are moving due to fear of commitment. There will be stagnation until the new year.”

Knightsbridge & Belgravia
James Wilson DipSurv MRICS, FCIArb W A Ellis
“Supply is increasing across the board and demand for the expensive 2-3 bed units has decreased rapidly. The 1 bedroom market has picked up, and the larger house market is still strong.”

Stanmore
Andrew Cummings, Chancellors
“Many households have sold their family homes and moved into rental accommodation for 6-12 months in order to asses the market before re-buying.”

North Finchley
Jeremy Leaf FRICS, Jeremy Leaf & Co
“The rise in cost & security of mortgages has prompted an increase in demand for rentals and even led to gazumping for certain properties. As a result, some first time buyers, who had previously taken refuge in the lettings market, have found purchasing may offer better value for money over the longer term — if they can find well priced property as well as mortgages! Conversely, betterfunded buy-to-let investors have also been attracted back into market by a rise in rents, so that overall letting activity is likely to remain strong.”

Wandsworth
Nik Madan Esq, John D Wood & Co.
“The market for flats is extremely busy with increasing tenant demand, mainly from first-time buyers who are unable to get a mortgage and are looking to rent in the interim. In addition, many people who have funding in place are renting whilst waiting for a further expected drop in sales prices. With fewer proceedable buyers, increasing amounts of stock is shifting from the sales market to the rental market as vendors look to “mothball” their properties on the lettings market for a year or two whilst waiting for the sales market to pick up.”

Clapham
Ben Temple BSc MRICS, Temples (Clapham) Limited
“We have noticed in the last two weeks a large increase in the number of landlord enquiries, which are up by over 100%. This seems to indicate that some landlords are struggling to source tenants and certainly the vacancy rate has increased. Rents are remaining firm as tenant demand remains good, although we are concerned that the large increase in supply may start to have a negative effect on rental growth, which would be highly unusual for this time of year.”

London
Mark Wilson MRICS, Globe Apartments
“We don’t care what we read about how robust the letting market is. We are seeing rents fall and our money says it will continue.”

Read the full survey HERE (*pdf)

The rental market boomed as housing sales in July diminished, says the RICS Lettings Survey.

- New instructions to let increased at the fastest pace in the survey’s history as many would-be-sellers found that becoming a landlord is a better option than selling in the current climate.

- Surveyors report that frustrated vendors have been placing their property in the market to let as they have been unable to agree sales due to a lack of demand in the housing market.

- Demand for family homes remains stronger than for flats.

- Many would-be buyers have been forced to rent as the route to mortgage finance has been blocked.

- Rents have continued to rise while house prices fall, driving gross yields upwards. Rising profits have kept landlords committed to the market.

- Rental expectations fell slightly.

Read the full survey HERE (*pdf).

See also RICS Residential Lettings Survey Q1 2008.

Going to the loo at night could soon be forbidden in London, too!

A council tenant in Wales faces being evicted from her home after repeatedly flushing the toilet during the night. The neighbours complain about loud shouting, persistent running up and down stairs, banging of doors and cupboards as well as the persistent flushing of the toilet.

Read more from BBC.

Student rents have risen by almost 20% in the past 4 years, reports AccommodationForStudents.com. The average cost of a week living in London is now £102.65 (£445 per month).

Via Telegraph

A well known socialite has moved to The Dorchester hotel after thieves broke into her Mayfair rental apartment. She is suing her landlord for £700,000, alleging that its failure to properly secure the property led to the theft of antiques, jewelry and cash worth more than £500,000. The agent is blamed as well – for not paying attention to the tenants needs from the very beginning.

Via Independent Photo dorchestercollection.com

August and September are the busiest months in London’s accommodation rental market. Experts say that this year the supply of the rentals exceeds the demand. All thanks to new landlords – the owners who cannot sell their property and are forced to rent it out.

- Landlords are forced to slash prices because of over-supply, reports ThisIsMoney.

- “We have noticed a huge increase in stock in the last three to four months,” says Tim Hyatt of estate agent Knight Frank to MoneyWeek.

Another day, another scam.

Here’s the reply the tenant received for another E-mail today:

Thanks so much for getting back to me and i really appreciate for having interest in my flat and here is the address Regent St London, W1B 5SP,(oxford circus),the flat is just 5 minutes to the nearest station in oxford circus station.Rent is £1200 per month include all bills with council tax and the security deposit is £1000.Utilities include:  double glazed windows, low voltage lighting, wooden flooring throughout, luxury fitted fully furnished  kitchens with integrated appliances, bathrooms with power showers, balconies,fully fenced yard, these apartments are available furnished,electricity, gas,internet access.security cable phone, ideally located with 2 bedroom king size and cable TV and fully  equipped with TV, VCR, DVD and stereo. There is a fully equipped kitchen with refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, coffee maker, pots pans and crockery is available for light cooking. There is a full size washing machine and a dryer.private flat not share FEATURES::Central Heating,Double Glazed,Laminate Flooring,Available Now Furnishing: Furnished apartment situated in Regent St London, W1B 5SP,(oxford circus):its fully furnished and fenced arround, DG, GCH, bath/wc, its laminated flooring, 24 hrs Security and Porter Service available and entry phone and intenet access in the flat.You can get back to me if you are still intrested so that we can proceed asap
Thanks

In addition to the odd description, the pictures above were attached to the E-mail. Yes, in that exact size. Yahoo.com E-mail account is another sign that says there is no doubt – this is a scam.

The first ad was gone the next day and we’ll not bother to look for this one.

Makes me sick to my stomach thinking these fraudsters are walking freely on the street.

We’re browsing letting agents’ websites.

We’ve just got our hands on a classic scam E-mail from the “landlord” of the flat that sounded too good to be true. Apparently our tenant (who has been browsing through listing every day during this past month) stumbled on a £250 Sloane Square flat on Gumtree…

Here’s the first reply from the landlord:

Hello,

Thank you for your e-mail.
My name is Louisa and i am from Wien,Austria.
I had an aunt in London and after her death she left me her apartment
from London a few years ago.
Till last mounth the apartment was rent by some stutdents from Germany
and now they left and the apartment is available again for rent.
The price i want is 250 UK pounds per week and i do  not work with any
agency because they have big comision.
About the advance it is the price for the first 2 mounths.

If you want to rent it and you have the money i could came to London to
meet you in a few days but you must be sure you want to rent it.

I will wait for your
e-mail.

After asking for some additional photos/information, the second E-mail arrives:

Hello,

Thank you for your e-mail.
Flat location is Sloane Court East, Sloane Square and it is fully
furnished and bills are included.
As i said i live in Wien and i must came to UK to meet you and see the
flat and i want the rent for the first 2

mounths in advance,that is 2000GBP.
If you have the money i could came in the next few days to make the
contract with you but first you must be sure

because 2 weeks ago a person from UK told me he is really interested and
he asked me to go to London to meet him

and sign the rent contract and when i arrived there no person showed up to
rent my place and i lost time and money

for nothing.
Please note that i am a deaf person and i could comunicate only via
e-mail and i can not afford to came again to

London for nothing,i do not want anybody to make again a stupid joke.
If you want i will send you more pictures of the flat to make your
decision but i want you to be sure you want to

rent it and i must be sure you have the money and you are a serious
person.

Also,i could came to meet only in the weekend,i could buy a fly ticket
for a friday night and i will be in London

to meet you on a Saturday.

I will wait for your answer,have a nice day!

***

The landlord is obviously working towards getting a payment before showing the apartment. Which doesn’t exist…

You might know this is a scam but hundreds of people are fooled every year, especially those who are new to London, don’t know the language so well, and need a place fast.

We’ll report the ad to Gumtree, who has warned users – If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Clown photographed by =alexander=

Our studio search, which has now lasted more than a month, has in the meanwhile smoothly transformed into a 1-bed search. The tenant decided she wants to be able to have somebody over occasionally, and in that case – there is just not enough room. Especially since the studios close in West/Central London, in her price range (up to £250pw), are mostly as small as your average closet:S

So we’re glad she started looking at the ads online 2 months prior the move. This has helped the tenant be more prepared, she’s had time to think before wasting time running from one place to another. The only problem with looking online, is that you cannot get the feel of the location. It’s very difficult to decide by the area, you’ll have to be familiar with the street to really tell if it’s safe or suitable for you.

Alright, time is ticking – we have till 27th, when she actually arrives in London, can view the falts she has chosen, and move in right away, if possible. The price limit to £300pw and we’re looking at the 1-bedroom flat ads. The locations we are looking at are West, South West – Bayswater, Marylebone, Paddington, Notting Hill, Chelsea, Fulham, Kensington, etc.

(c) Knight Frank

Pink chandelier – nice touch!

Even the fridge is pink in this 1-bedroom apartment at Leeds Place in Mayfair W1K, near Hyde Park. Available for £650 per week.

See the ad HERE.