Acton, London -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/30/2010 -- Recent reports from the Halifax indicate further decline in house prices. November saw a 0.1% drop which is indicative of the recent trend property supply outweighing demand, Davis & Gibbs http://www.davisandgibbs.com can confirm this trend as we were achieving better prices on in the first half of the year on similar property’s that we are putting under offer now. This trend is making some homeowners reluctant to sell at present which may help the short supply in the lettings sector which is seeing the opposite trends to sales. Because of the decline in prices Davis & Gibbs are predicting a slight increase in first time buyer levels at the start of 2011 which should start the year off with a bang.
In regards to lettings Increased demand and a fall in the supply of new properties have led to a rise in rents in the past three months, Davis and Gibbs are currently achieving rents around 10% higher than this time last year in some areas. This statistic is further illustrated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Across the UK, London saw the biggest increase in rental prices, and at the same time, new landlord instructions went down for the fifth consecutive quarter, meaning that fewer existing landlords intend to sell their properties. The outlook for rents remains stable and many people feel that rents will increase rather than fall, as the lettings market has become increasingly strong over the past nine months, in contrast to the housing market which continues to slow. More landlords are now also looking to add to their portfolios, especially as there has been a rise in the number of providers willing to offer investment mortgages in recent months. This will result in agents like Davis and Gibbs benefitting from increased supply of new properties coming onto the market.
For further information contact:-
Brian Gibbs – Managing Director
Davis and Gibbs,
94 High Street,
Acton, London,
W3 6QX
Tel: +44(0)208 752 3040
Mail: briang@davisandgibbs.com
Website: http://www.davisandgibbs.com
Brian Gibbs is Managing Director of DavisAndGibbs a pioneering company providing a service to rent and buy property in London, Balham, Oval, Acton, Clapham and Tooting.