SPRING NEWLSETTER 2009
March, April, May

LETTINGS

Jeffersons is aware that many investors are uncertain how to proceed in the current economic climate.  We hope to assist by offering a realistic overview of the current rental market.  Yes, this is a challenging time but equally an excellent opportunity to achieve substantial rental income.  Our research shows that properties are generally being rented with minimum void periods.  Whilst the price of purchasing a property has dropped considerably, rental incomes remain high enough to offer a profitable return therefore new investments can provide higher rental yields.  Over the past few months, we have noticed a high demand for rental properties in the £250 - £500 per week properties, dependent upon area.

Rents achieved in London have fallen over ithe last 6 months; the market is saturated with new properties due to a lack of property sales together with employment cuts.  Areas such as the Docklands and City of London which service the corporate tenant market especially the financial services industry have been particularly hard hit.  Kensington & Chelsea still continue to be popular but rental yields are down by up to 6%.  These areas of London have seen the biggest falls in asking rents.

Good news - tenants are not leaving London but scaling down to the more affordable either by asking for rent reductions or expanding their property search to achieve lower rents.  Properties in this bracket have seen rental asking prices rise by up to 6.5%.  London has now become an attractive rental market to global tenants due to the weaker pound.

Jeffersons would be pleased to offer expertise on realistic achievable rents.

Jeffersons understand how the credit crunch is affecting our clients so our aim is to give a little bit back.  We are offering a SPRING DEALto all new and existing landlords on any new instruction we take in March, April and May 2009.  For any new property that we take on, we will free management for the first 2 months OR  a free inventory.

SALES

Now could be the best time in many years to invest in London property.

After months of famine, properties are trickling onto the market and tales abound of dramatically reduced asking prices.  Price cuts of about 25% are seeing a resurgence in London house sales which sends the strongest signal yet - the 'buyers' market is back.  In addition, the value of Sterling has fallen in the same period by about 30% against many foreign currencies including the US, Singapore and Hong Kong Dollars making it an opportune time for foreign investors.  For UK investors, property is a lot more affordable now if you have the money and interest rates are the lowest they have been in living memory.

All of this makes selling a London property unattractive at the moment but what better time to add to your portfolio!  Deciding when property prices have fallen to their minimum is virtually impossible and normally by the time people have decided this 'en masse', it means that the time has been missed an prices are on their way up again.

With savings rates so low and the stock market being so volatile, this could be the ideal time to add to your property portfolio.  Rent returns on property investments are increasing and you can take advantage of the 'feel good factor' which will no doubt positively affect London values in 2012 with the arrival of the Olympics.

At Jeffersons we can offer you a property finding service second to none and tailored to specifically for any individual budget and area of London.  We very much value our business relationship and you can rest assured that we will be looking after your best interests.

There has already been a 20% rise in buyers registering to buy in London so now really is the time to take advantage of the best opportunities.

For further information, please contact Michael, our Sales Manager at michael@jeffersons.uk.net or 020 8369 5584.