Welsh Student Property - Next Property BOOM

STUDENT property is predicted to be the next boom in the property market, according to a residential consultant.

With applicants to Welsh university rising this year - in contrast to England - it seems the property market will also see growth as a result.

Speculators who may have been put off buying a second home to rent out because of the dip in the property market may be tempted to invest instead in student lets rather than family homes.

University of Wales, Newport, has seen a 12% rise in applicants, as has the University of Glamorgan while University of Wales, Swansea, has had an increase of more than 9%.

Welsh universities will be able to charge top-up fees of up to £3,000 from 2007, as in England.

read the rest of the articles as the story continues

House Valued have trebled in the past 10 Years

HOUSE values have trebled in the past ten years according to a recent study by Halifax.

In addition to this, the findings, as reported in the Scotsman, concludes that the north-south divide in house prices has significantly narrowed in the past five years.

Other interesting comments include the fact that despite this price gap being bridged, seven of the ten wealthiest areas are in London and the “inner west pocket of the capital has a housing stock worth more than the entire north of England - despite being just 110 square kilometres in area compared to the north's 8,592 square kilometres”

For more information or snippets from this Halifax study, please read the Scotsman article.

Prime London market begins 2006 'with a flourish'

Property prices in prime areas of central London have achieved growth in the seven months up to February.

The PrimeLocation property index, says that prices rose by five per cent during this period, creating an average value of over £930,000.

It cited the high bonuses recently paid out to City workers as one of the reasons for growth.

The website for estate agent's report shows that demand for property in these areas is high, with prime property available for sale held by London estate agents having fallen in number by over 21 per cent since last July.

The index also suggests that the prime London property letting market has grown by around five per cent since September 2005.

In the last year, significant growth has been experienced in the house rental market (up 11.3 per cent) compared to an increase of 2.7 per cent for flats.

PrimeLocation's chief executive, Ian Springett, said: 'The prime London property markets in residential sales and letting have certainly begun 2006 with a flourish. Here, the competition is fierce due to favourable domestic conditions and continued interest from overseas.'

Law changes for HMOs

IN less than six weeks, we will witness a turning point for property investors who may have to deal with more regulatory measures. From the 1st of April 2006, Houses in Multiple Occupation or HMOs will have to be licensed.

A HMO is a property that has three or more storeys, and is shared by five or more unrelated persons, sharing a bathroom and kitchen.

However, it is not just property investors as the new regulatory regime affects landlords, tenants and property management companies in the private sector, as well as local authorities and housing associations in the public sector.

The crunch line is that the new regulations means the law will require a single person to take responsibility for a HMO as of the 1st of April. Are you aware of all the latest up and coming changes for this year? Read this press release to find out more.

Ryan-Air Moving into Real-Estate

RYANAIR has struck a deal with property developer Majestic to sell Spanish and Portuguese villas over the web.

The budget airline hopes the push will generate more money away from flight sales. It already makes millions through car hire, travel insurance and hotel booking.

Ryanair boss, Michael O'Leary, said: "This will allow passengers to receive expert advice when buying abroad."

The first 50 Investors to purchase in the La Condesa de Mijas Golf development, won't have anything to pay on their mortgage for 18 months as part of a promotion. Read more here

How To Raise Buy-To-Let deposit out of Nothing

"credit cards are not recommended... well, normally"

UNDER normal circumstances, recommending Credit Cards isn't something we usually do. A recent Report by the Motley Fool has come up trumps with a card that betters interest rates offered by the typical mortgage products. For the report, 319 cards were analysed, showing how you can borrow at 4.9% for life!

what does that mean as a property investor?

You can now borrow the deposit to purchase a buy-to-let property at 4.9% APR using one of these credit cards, with interest only payments.. just like a buy-to-let mortgage.

what do I do when the bill is due?

Transfer your debt to a "lifetime balance transfer" card that charges a very low rate for as long as it takes you to pay off your balance. You can setup a monthly Direct Debit or Standing order, which takes out a monthly payment

what other benifits should i be aware of?

Unlike typical mortgage products, paying off your credit card will not have any penalty charges or maximum payment limits.

what other things are there to look out for?

You should note however that if you make any purchases using this card or use it to withdraw money, the transactions will attract interest at a standard rate. Look at the following table for the best rates.

Credit Card	Lifetime Balance (Transfer Rate %pa)	Typical APR (%pa)	Minimum Income (pa)
Amex Platinum	4.9	8.9	£20,000
British Airways Amex	4.9	19.9	£12,000
Lloyds TSB Advance	5.5	11.9	None
Amex Nectar	5.9	12.9	£12,000
Morgan Stanley Platinum	5.9	15.9	None Listed

Property Investing in Emerging Markets

Have I missed the boat?

Although property are still doing relatively well in the UK and Europe, most of these countries have seen a decline in growth over the past few years. Finding an investment in these countries on a short term investment basis is becoming more and more difficult, and not recommended by many professional investors. In slow markets it often takes 1-3 years to make back the fees incurred when buying a property. These fees, ranging from 4%-12% of the purchase price include government, legal and financial costs.

Investing in Emerging Markets on the other hand offers great opportunities and you don't have to tie your money in for too long. Bulgaria and Romania will almost certainly join the EU on January 1st 2007 making an investment in these countries very attractive. Currently property prices are still low, with interest rates being relatively high. History has proven property prices to rise substantially when countries join the EU, with interest rates normally going down to follow EU interest rate trends. The increase in rental return together with 2-6 years guaranteed rental offered by countries like Bulgaria gives investors peace of mind and the opportunity to buy into a self financing apartment.

Several articles and tv documentaries have been seen lately on these countries with romania being named as no 1 of 20 best places to make the most money on channel4. Bulgaria was named top 10 british tourist destination in the financial times and the telegraph

Several specialist companies offer exciting opportunities in both countries. Many companies provide free investment guides to benefit investors. Using these guides not only give investors quality information on the area but also outlays the processes to follow when making an investment. A few of these companies are Lets Talk About Property and Investment Romania

Do you want to live the Buy-to-let lifestyle?

Buy-to-let lifestyle on the rise

One in five landlords uses their rental income to give them the freedom to live the life they want, according to new research from Standard Life Bank. No great surprise there of course. Indeed, as more and more people start to realise the potential that renting out a property can offer, the bank is predicting an increasing trend in a 'Buy-to-Let-to-Lifestyle' with landlords using their properties to embrace a more flexible way of living. Please read more on moneyextra

Buy-to-let mortgages are also much cheaper than it used to be a few years ago, differing from normal mortgages which used to be cheaper and now are more expensive. Homes Online now offers buy-to-let mortgages from as little as 3.49%. Please read more on homes-on-line

House prices rise at fastest rate in 18 months

There was confirmation on Tuesday that the housing market was enjoying a return to health as the country’s largest building society said house prices in January rose at their fastest rate in 18 months.

The survey from Nationwide showed a monthly increase of 1.4 per cent, bringing the annual rate of growth to 4.4 per cent. Please read more on financial times