London Property Market Trends You Should Know About

London has experienced a heavily disrupted 10-year property cycle. Prices in the capital capped out in July 2017 and have been declining slowly ever since. But healthy economic growth along with an insulated lettings sector suggest the market may not depress for much longer.

London property prices decreased for the sixth month in a row taking more than £15,600 off the value of the average home since the market peaked 18 months ago. Vendors are also holding back, hoping to achieve a higher price later in the year after political uncertainty has subsided. Despite this, the same report highlights a 5% increase in home-hunting, showing prospective buyer interest.

The market for first-time buyers is nonetheless relatively healthy– this could be an advantage for London buyer with an eye out for lower prices. Of course, Brexit is not the only factor at work here: lack of affordability, sharp increases in stamp duty and land tax, the possibility of a fresh general election, as well as Brexit-related job uncertainty all play a part.

London lettings are also affected, steered by similar factors.

While landlords may have wanted to offset the government’s tax regime by raising rents, uncertainty surrounding Brexit seems to have forced the vast majority to forfeit this to maintain a steady income. However, like the sales market, the limited supply has insulated the lettings market from more severe changes. This lack of supply has meant that, despite the political climate, rents are actually still increasing.

On the other hand, millennials are leaving London behind. Millennials relocating outside of London have fuelled rental growth in Manchester, Leeds, and Birmingham, with house prices in Birmingham rising twice as fast as the national average. Nevertheless, buoyed by healthy economic growth and the continued scarcity of new homes in the capital, the market is unlikely to depress much further. Indeed, spurred by younger buyers and renters, the market outside of London is already showing strength.

Check back soon for more news from the UK property market. Read the latest property updates on the Junaid Iqbal Memon website here. Connect with property developer Junaid Iqbal Memon on Crunchbase and get the latest property news on the Junaid Iqbal Memon Twitter page here.

What will Brexit mean for house prices?

Much has been written about the impact of the UK’s housing market that leaving the EU without a deal could send house prices tumbling by a third. Some regions have boomed, while foreign investors continue to keep faith in the UK.

In today’s blog, we bring you the insider’s guide to what expert from the estate agency think will happen over the coming months.

Many business leaders and financial experts have expressed concerns about the potential consequences of a no-deal Brexit. House prices did stagnate for a while. This could well have been down to the usual pattern of prices growing in spring and plateauing over summer, which we also saw in 2017. But, with Brexit looming ever closer, house prices suffered a bigger post-summer dip than usual in 2018, dropping from a peak of £232,797 in August to £230,630 in November.

Looking at year-on-year house price change over the longer term can be another useful way of understanding what the market’s doing. It has continued to decrease in England ever since However, there was more significant growth in Wales and Northern Ireland.

It’s worth bearing in mind that, even if the rate of growth has decreased, house prices themselves haven’t – and many argue that the slowdown in England is simply a long-overdue market correction.

Another way of judging the health of the housing market is to look at transaction volumes and Two commonly used measures of how the market is performing for sellers are stock per branch – which is the average amount of properties on each estate agency’s books – and time to sell.

Housing expert, Kate Faulkner said: ‘We’ve definitely seen a stagnation in the market over the last year in areas such as London, the South, and East (which had all overheated) and this slowdown has spread to other areas over the last few months. Buyers are holding back in the hope that prices will fall. But it’s not only demand that’s dropping – supply is, too, with many people battening down the hatches until we have a clearer picture of what’s going to happen. ‘This can limit the likelihood of decreasing house prices, but also mean that few moves, as there’s little choice on the market for would-be sellers.

However, if you’re considering buying somewhere for the short term it’s more complicated. Transactions are likely to drop over the next few months and it’s possible that interest rates could jump back to their pre-credit crunch levels of 6-7% if a no-deal Brexit causes issues.

In terms of the buy-to-let sector, demand from landlords has already reduced so it’s unlikely we’ll see further falls this year. And, while tenant fees are being banned from June, rents are likely to rise further due to lack of stock, meaning now isn’t a particularly bad time to be a landlord as long as you really understand your objectives and whether the deal stacks up both now and in the long run.’

As it stands, the only thing that’s clear is that nothing is clear, and you’d be justified in having no idea whether now is the right time to buy, move, invest or remortgage.

Stay up to date with the developments in the property development market by reading about Junaid Iqbal Memon online here. You can also follow the Junaid Iqbal Memon Twitter page here.

Will rents stay affordable in Dubai this 2019?

2019 will be a pro-buyer property market in Dubai. Due to ample existing and recently delivered supply, sales prices are likely to remain under pressure in 2019. Prime residential areas, which saw relative resilience in 2018, may continue to see some improvement. Capital values for some high-yielding mid-affordable areas may experience downward pressures as a result of burgeoning supply.

In the rental market, the older centrally built stock will be unable to retain its novelty, with the occupier preference partially shifting to outer areas where newer and competitively priced options increasingly become available.

“Citywide rents are anticipated to see further softening, particularly in areas with handovers of long overdue projects, mostly located within the E311 corridor and including projects such as Living Legends in Dubailand, The Villages in Dubai South, Damac Hills in Dubailand, Hayat Townhouses in Town Square and Mudon Villas in Dubailand,” the ValuStrat report said.

Junaid Iqbal Memon is a seasoned property developer with several properties and businesses in Dubai and London. Keep yourself updated with the latest developments and news in the property development and real estate market by reading about Junaid Iqbal Memon online here. Show your support online by following the Junaid Iqbal Memon on Twitter here. Join our professional network by connecting with the official Junaid Iqbal Memon Linkedin page here.

Dubai Real Estate Market Outlook in 2019

Dubai’s property market will most likely remain weak and in a recovery mode until 2020, many local experts believe that the prices will hit the bottom in 2019 or 2020, mainly due to a further increase in supply and with weak demand.

Real estate prices will decrease by additionally 10 – 15% to 20200. However, there are plenty of positive signs that indicate fast recovery and positive growth in the next few years as well. UAE economy is stabilizing as the oil prices start to rise again. With the recent sanctions on Iran, the oil prices are expected to rise further, that can significantly improve Dubai’s real estate market, as the overall economy grows. With the caps on borrowing and loan payments, the market turns into a more mature market
There’s still demand among foreign buyers, mostly from India, Saudi Arabia, UK, and Pakistan, though not as strong as in the past. We also see increased interest among Chinese investors. Chinese investors climbed to a 6th spot in the first half of 2018, compared to 8th in 2016. In addition to the above, the Dubai Land Department has announced that it will create a smart digital platform called Real Estate Self Transaction (REST) by 2020. It aims to eliminate the need for paper documentation for both renting- and sales of property and to help cut costs for investors.

For those who want to invest in Dubai property, my recommendation is to wait for one or two years as the prices will further decline in 2019 and 2020 most likely.

Junaid Iqbal Memon is a property developer based in Dubai and is always on the lookout for profitable development ventures. Read more about Junaid Iqbal Mohammed Memon online here. Connect with Junaid Iqbal Memon on Crunchbase and join our network here. Follow Junaid Iqbal Mohammed Memon on his official Twitter page and keep up to date with our latest posts.

Junaid Iqbal Memon City of London finance review

Junaid Iqbal Memon started Cloud 9 Group back in 2014. Coming from a family with a prolific business background, he decided to use his knowledge and experience as a businessman and entrepreneur to carve a path for himself in real estate development. Always known to look out for exciting business opportunities, he founded the company three years ago establishing ventures in Dubai, India, and the UK. Below he shares about the UK’s oversized financial sector that has cost the economy £4.5 trillion in losses.

A new report reveals that UK’s oversized financial sector has cost the economy £4.5 trillion in lost economic output between 1995 and 2015 equivalent to £67,500 for every person in the UK, or 2.5 years of economic output.

The report finds that the UK economy would likely have performed much better in overall growth terms if its finance sector was smaller, and if finance was more focused on supporting other productive areas of the economy.

Professor Andrew Baker, co-author of the report and Professorial Fellow at the University of Sheffield, said: “The ‘too much finance’ problem has been identified in previous studies.“UK economic strategy in a post-Brexit world needs to make addressing this the central challenge, recognizing that where finance is concerned, more can sometimes be less, and less could be more,” he added.

Junaid Iqbal Memon Reveals Property Speculators are Heading North

London Market Slump Causes Flippers to Look Beyond Capital

Read the latest Junaid Iqbal Memon blog. Junaid is a property developer that has been in the business for several years. Based in Dubai and London, he has properties and businesses in both cities. Always on the lookout for profitable opportunities, he made the decision to venture into real estate to diversify his investment portfolio. To date, he has successfully completed several development projects both in London and Dubai. Below he reveals how property speculators are going to the north due to London’s property market slump.

Flippers are looking outside of London as the price for houses continues to rise. Property speculators in the country who are in the business of buying and selling properties in quick succession are now shifting their focus towards the north of the market as it seems that the south-east and the London housing markets start to slump.

Of the 15 destinations that are most popular with people in the business of flipping homes, 11 were located in the north of the country. None of the 15 was located in the capital, which is quite a stark contrast to the preceding years.

Growth on house prices in London slowed down even almost to a standstill last year. It even managed to move to negative territory around summer this year. However, the price of housing in other regions across the country is rising.

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Burnley in Lancashire is the top flipping destination. Of all the homes that were sold within the year, 6% were successfully sold again and at such a rapid rate too. It also remains as the local authority in the country that is cheapest to purchase a home, where the average is pegged at $81,352.

However, the market seemed to be less buoyant nationwide which offers speculators not that many opportunities in terms of quick profit. As a result, many have decided to reduce the amount that they are willing to commit when it comes to buying houses intended for rapid sale. About £4.1 billion worth of houses were successfully sold at least two times in a year in both England and Wales for last year. These figures are down by £200 million from the numbers accumulated for 2016.

A number of speculators have also been discouraged by the fact that the 3% stamp duty surcharge for second and any additional home. However, some of the areas in the north are more resilient. When the property prices are lower, some of the properties that the flippers may have bought will likely fall under the threshold of £125,000 for stamp duty.

Buyers that choose to flip home often want to take advantage of the rapid growth of house prices. Sometimes, they might choose to perform some improvements on the property. Recent data shows that among the most popular flipping destinations include Burnley, County Durham, Redcar and Cleveland, and Middlesbrough.

Stay up to date with the developments in the property development market by reading about Junaid Iqbal Memon online here You can also follow the Junaid Iqbal Memon Twitter page here.

Junaid Iqbal Memon Reveals the Most Affordable Places to Rent in London

London Areas that Would be Worth Looking into if You are Renting

Junaid Iqbal Memon is a property developer that has been in the industry for many years now. With London and Dubai his considered bases, he is the man behind the Cloud 9 Group. He first started by learning the ins and outs of business from his business-minded family. Over the years, he decided to establish his own until he decided to foray into property development. To date, he has completed several development projects and has businesses that he owns and manages in London and Dubai.

London is never known for its cheap rents. But you will find that there are areas in the British capital that tend to be more affordable than others. If you are planning on relocating here at some point, and you are looking for a place to rent, it pays to know which areas to look at to find the best-priced properties out there.

According to a new report, the cheapest place to be renting a place at would be the Bexley borough. There is a catch to this, however. It is only going to be the cheapest if you will rent a place with three other people. A property with four bedrooms in Bexley will be rented out at an average of £1,633.52. If this is going to be divided between four people, then the rent costs that everyone is going to have to pay is significantly shaved down to just a mere £408.38 each. Based on the report, this is 35% cheaper than the usual costs that one must cover if he were to rent just a room in the capital, which could cost an average of £629 monthly.

The best ways to rent if you are living in various other areas in the capital are also detailed in the report. For instance, if North London is where you are most interested to rent a place at, you can get the cheapest rate there is at Enfield where, when shared with three other people, the monthly rent would just amount to £521.84. For South London, Croydon would be the best part where the average would be £508.41. If you want to stay in the west part of the capital, the monthly rent shared between four people would be at £498.44 and £895.85 is what you will need to cover if you share renting a house in central London with three people.

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If you are not interested in living with as many people, then you would want to look into boroughs such as Sutton, Merton, Hammersmith, Fulham, and Ealing. These are places that might work for you because it would be cheaper to rent a property here if there are three of you sharing the costs. If you would prefer to share the property with one other person only, Kensington and Chelsea, Camden, and Westminster would be ideal.

The latest data reveals that rents in London are fast becoming stretched. One way for them to reduce the costs involved with their monthly rents would be to try and examine costs based on having flatmates to share the costs with. Also, if one was wise enough to move to the right borough, then it can have a profound effect on the costs involved in property rental. If done right, then it can potentially help one save some very notable amounts with the difference being only just a few miles.

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