What Does 2012 Have in Store for Property?

As another tough year for the housing market draws to a close, many experts are taking time to predict trends for the coming twelve months. While some will paint a predictably gloomy picture, others have provided a more positive outlook for 2012.

The Telegraph have had their say this week and their predictions offer a mix of positivity with a hint of caution for the year ahead.

Rental properties are constantly in the news and while demand is high, it’s suggested that Landlords will be charging higher monthly rental charges in order to cash in on the current state of the market.

That would seem a logical conclusion but it is at odds with a recent suggestion that rental prices are experiencing a slight fall. A survey by LSL Property Services claims that prices fell by 0.4% in November – the first drop for ten months.

“Following their relentless march upward throughout the year, rent rises have taken a pause for breath,” said LSL director David Newnes.

Elsewhere, there are predictions of a rise in innovative schemes such as the Taylor Wimpey Family and Friends advantage where friends and relatives of the property buyer put money into the overall purchase and earn interest on that figure.

With new buyers turning to parents and anyone with sufficient collateral to help them fund a deposit, a rise in similar schemes could be evident in 2012. In addition, the growth of shared equity and shared ownership schemes is also expected to rise over the course of the next twelve months.

Those that are able to secure a mortgage could well be in a stronger position than ever before when it comes to buying new homes. With demand showing a slight increase, tempered by a strict mortgage market, it’s felt that those buyers who can secure a home loan will be holding out for greater discounts as well as bonuses such as an increase in fixtures and fittings.

Other predictions include more aggressive marketing from estate agents as they battle to take their share of the current situation. A single advertisement in the shop window will no longer be enough as vendors demand that their agent works harder for their commission.

Overall, the survey isn’t making any bold predictions in what promises to be another tough year. Small changes are promised here that could benefit the housing market slightly, while avoiding any drastic improvement or the alarming slump that some are predicting.

We are officially a Top 100 Real Estate Blog – Technorati

We were really pleased this week to discover that we’ve  made it in to Technorati’s top 100 Real Estate blogs – worldwide! As the name suggests Technorati is the Web’s leading  authority for blogs and attaining the upper ranks is no mean feat in the today’s rich blogosphere.

Thebigpropertylist.co.uk blog started out on Blogger nearly two years ago and has gone from strength to strength, attracting guest writers from all over the property blogosphere such as Ollie Cornes, professional Landlord and owner of Landlord software company Juicy Property and Sharon Crossland, tenancy expert and blogger of Leasehold Life.

Visitor numbers and contributions have continued to rise on a weekly basis and we have been really pleased by the positive and supportive emails we’ve received from readers in that time.

Our aim is to continue to bring you the latest UK property news as well as property articles on a range of useful and entertaining subjects.  We will shortly be moving the blog to the prettier design that we employ on the main website as the property portal is finally getting close to launch (horaah!).  Originally planned to be a ‘For Sale by Owner’ property sales portal thebigpropertylist.co.uk will offer an altogether different type of property search. The website has been delayed whilst we surveyed the market (especially in the wake of the Tepilo launch and while we finished other projects) and planned our next move.  So, you will just have to wait and see what the final site brings!

In celebration of making it to the top 100 Real Estate blogs and as a nod in the direction of our fellow property keyboard tappers, here’s a list of our favourite property blogs elesewhere on the web:

• Housing Dabble –  Property Marketing, Brand Building and Social Media from Ben Harris
• Agent’s Diary The weary musings of a time-served estate agent (realtor) somewhere in the UK
• Modern Estate Agent –  Brain food for the modern estate agent
• Facts Not Headlines –  Kate Faulkner, author of Which? property books and consultant to the industry tells the REAL stories in the property market
• Landlord Law Blog – Tessa Shepperson, a solicitor and specialist in residential landlord and tenant law

Happy reading…