The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is an iconic western film, which starred the veteran Hollywood actor Clint Eastwood. A quick glance at the contents of this edition reveal articles which highlight some good, bad and ugly news trends now impacting property investors, landlords and developers. Let’s get some quite ugly news out of the way to start with in that our lead article on page 15 illustrates the sharp declines in the value of REITs listed on the London Stock Exchange. The reasons why this has occurred should come as no surprise given the recessionary outlook for the UK economy in the next 12 months. Is it time to go ‘bottom fishing’ assuming that’s where REITs values are now at is the obvious question.

The bad news for developers, homeowners and any readers looking to sell property in the upcoming months is underlined by our news item on page 9, one of a number of data-led reports in recent weeks which confirms the ongoing negative impact of the disastrous ‘mini-budget’ put forward by the less than dynamic duo of Truss and Kwarteng.

Despite the above, and having met and talked with a fair few experienced landlords and investors in recent weeks, there are some ‘reasons to be cheerful’, as Ian Dury and the Blockheads famously sang. Yes we are into a period of greater uncertainty for UK property investment and average sold values are trending downward, whilst there is no shortage of media commentators predicting doom and gloom. But unless as a landlord you are a forced seller then the news on page 51 should reaffirm that the residential rental market is in robust health with average rents for new lettings up annually by 12% according to another report from Hamptons.