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With added pressure caused by Government changes, the majority of landlords are planning to increase rent this year, a new poll by Simply Business has found.

The poll, which was conducted before the Government released its recent white paper, found that of the 362 landlords polled, 207 of them intend to raise their rents this year.

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Government changes force landlords to up their prices

The last year has seen a number of buy-to-let changes introduced, with very few of them working in favour of landlords.

The changes to Stamp Duty mean landlords will now effectively pay a surcharge when buying new properties, while wear and tear allowance has been changed so that landlords can no longer claim an annual allowance.

In the Autumn Statement, Chancellor Philip Hammond announced the Government’s intention to prevent letting agents from charging tenants certain admin fees, such as the cost of reference checks. Though there’s been no move to enact this particular change, it’s something landlords need to keep in mind when considering rent reviews.

Longer tenancies could make rent reviews more difficult

However, while the Government has given landlords a number of reasons to want to raise rents, the housing white paper they released last week may make it harder to do so.

The paper urges landlords to consider longer term tenancies, ideally at least three years in length. While there are certain benefits to longer term tenancies, it will make it harder to review rent – especially if you don’t have a rent review clause in your tenancy agreement.

There are a lot of things to keep in mind when considering raising rent this year, but the good news is that rental prices are predicted to rise faster than house prices over the next five years, so if you are considering raising rents, you can worry less about pricing yourself out of the market.

Source: https://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/knowledge/articles/2017/02/fifty-four-per-cent-of-buy-to-let-landlords-plan-to-increase-rents-in-2017/

What a year 2016 was! Who would have thought last January that the UK would vote to leave the European Union, Donald Trump would win the US election and Leicester City would win the Premier League.

Allan Lockhart
What is even more surprising is that the markets liked these outcomes: the FTSE 100 and S&P 500 closed on 30 December at near all-time highs, even with the Italians voting ‘no’ to constitutional reform.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the UK quoted real estate sector, which significantly underperformed relative to the FTSE 350 Index.

Indeed, 2016 was the worst year since 2007 and the third worst for 20 years. Conversely, global real estate performed well, delivering a total return of 8.1% compared with global equities at 9.9% and global bonds at 2.9%.

But as Amos Tversky, the renowned cognitive and mathematical psychologist, said: “He who sees the past as surprise-free is bound to have a future full of surprises.” So could the UK-quoted real estate sector surprise the markets with a bounce-back in 2017?

Outlook doesn’t look great for US real estate
According to EPRA, North American real estate delivered a total return of 11.4%, Asia 9.3% and Europe (excluding the UK) 5.1%. In stark contrast, the UK delivered a total return of -8.5% in spite of its economy performing well last year. Clearly Brexit meant Brexit for UK real estate.

Moreover, according to the new narrative of rising US bond yields, higher inflation and higher interest rates, particularly in the US, the outlook doesn’t look great for real estate without higher growth in the economy – or mixed at best.

Specialists on top
For the past three years, I have highlighted the performance of UK-quoted real estate companies with predominantly UK-focused portfolios and a market capitalisation in excess of £100m. With the exception of Secure Income REIT, whose total shareholder return (TSR) performance was outstanding at 30%, the TSR for the companies highlighted in the table ranged from 15% to -36%.

Only 14 companies delivered a positive capital return, although taking into account dividends declared, 21 companies did so. Even then, only one company actually beat the FTSE All-Share Index.

Once again, it is companies that are either specialists and/or income-focused that occupy the top positions in the league table.

Companies that are more London-focused and/or development-focused and have benefited from significant development profits in recent years have been hit hard by equity investors.

But are the markets overstating the case for higher bond yields and interest rates? Research from the Bank of England shows that interest rates have been declining for 35 years. The main reason is the supply of savings far exceeding demand for investment, thus lowering interest rates as well as the cost of capital.

An ageing and more slowly growing population, income inequality and lower productivity are the main drivers for the savings glut and lower investment demand. These demographic trends are very likely to continue supporting lower demand for capital and thus lower interest rates for longer.

Attractive and secure return
Our basket of listed real estate companies currently returns a dividend yield of circa 3.6%, so in a world of excess capital I believe a sustainable income underpinned by recurring cash revenue streams from a diversified occupier base provides an attractive and secure return.

That leaves Brexit. Given the fall in the value of sterling, the effective price for UK real estate for international buyers is very attractive and perhaps this will support values, particularly for the London market. In addition, it is highly unlikely that the terms of the EU divorce will be apparent until well into 2018.

Many of the quoted real estate firms are well placed to face the challenges and likely volatility of 2017 given their high-quality management teams and conservative balance sheets, so perhaps the surprise of 2017 will be the outperformance of the UK-quoted real estate sector against the wider equity markets.

Allan Lockhart is property director at NewRiver REIT

The Property Industry Alliance is urging the government to capitalise on the opportunities Brexit presents to the UK property industry.

Summary

Property Industry Alliance urges the UK to focus on the positive opportunities Brexit presents
Foreign investors account for 28% or £135 billion of UK commercial real estate investments. The PIA has urged that this must not be put at risk by Brexit
Brexit opens a currency window to foreign investors especially those from the UAE
Bringing together leading representative bodies from the UK’s commercial property industry, the Property Industry Alliance (PIA) is urging the Government to consider the real estate industry when formatting its Brexit deals, highlighting that while Brexit poses some risks, it does also present opportunities to shape the real estate industry for the benefit of the UK.

Bill Hughes, Chairman of the PIA, commented: “The UK asset management industry is one of the largest in the world and a key contributor to the UK economy. Within it, real estate is a core investment asset for private and professional investors, both domestic and global. The ability of the industry to continue to undertake cross border activity from the UK is crucially important.”

With foreign investors accounting for 28% of UK commercial real estate investments, more if housing and student accommodation are included, overseas investment in UK commercial real estate is a highly significant driver of GVA and productivity.

Foreign property investment could be set to increase post-Brexit, as the plummet of the sterling exchange rate has rendered UK property investments significantly less expensive to foreign investors, especially to those buying from the UAE, who are able to make savings of up to 20%.

Should the government take the right steps to handling the post-Brexit property industry, 2017 should see an increase in the number of foreign investments, as well as increasing number of investors partnering with their UK counterparts and other organisations to ultimately drive the UK economy.

Source: https://www.selectproperty.com/2017/01/brexit-opportunity-improve-shape-uk-real-estate-industry/