I’m sure everyone is now aware of the knock-on effect of what’s happening in the Middle East and its impact on fuel prices. However, what some may not be aware of is the impact this is having on mortgages, in particular the fact that hundreds of mortgage products are being withdrawn as lenders react to rapidly rising swap rates. We’re going to press just before the Bank of England’s latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting and it will be interesting to see what action they take, if any, and what impact that will have on the market going forward.
Now, on to this month’s issue itself. Everyone will be fully aware, wherever you are based in the UK, of the amount of rain we have been receiving since the start of the year (despite it being glorious sunshine outside PIN towers as I write this), we’ve taken an in depth look at what this means for the UK property market and the effect it can have not just on homeowners but property developers as well. You can find this article on page 12, with Adam Lawrence also offering his thoughts on the subject on page 28.
On page 18 we have an article on the state of the SME sector and how planning has become a bottleneck for regeneration led SME developers looking to build homes on urban sites, and what reforms are needed to ensure they can continue, as without them the housing targets will never be met.
Lucia Piccinini has analysed on page 20, how and what you should be doing to locate high ROI sites and areas before the rest of the market does, to ensure you’re ahead of the wider market.
Our location report this month looks at Milton Keynes, on page 32, and as its one of the original ‘new towns’ we look at what is happening with the current and planned development projects there, plus of course the general state of the property market.
There are of course many more articles in this issue, and as the Renters Rights Act is on the horizon, with the bulk of the legislation coming into force on 1 May this year, we have several articles looking at what you need to be aware of.
On page 36 Peter Littlewood looks at the amount of compliance landlords need to be on top of at the moment, while on page 44 Maxine Fothergill highlights that landlords really need to be reviewing rents before the Renters Rights Act comes into force and what they need to be aware of under the new rules that are coming in.
Finally, on page 42, Des Taylor has talked about the tornado of regulations and how the landscape for property investors has shifted from passive income to active compliance management.
