As the housing market continues its recovery, the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has released statistics about the home extensions which are most likely to add value to a property.
Research conducted as a part of NAEA’s latest monthly housing market report revealed that almost half of estate agents say adding an extra bedroom – usually by converting loft space – is the best way of adding value to a property.
While an additional bedroom fundamentally changes the description of a property, other less drastic changes can also have significant, positive effects on value, according to
HSBC's latest report reveals that rental yields in Reading and Brighton are the fastest growing in the UK as young professionals move out of London, but that Southampton is the number one opportunity for investors seeking rental income, with 8.73% yields available.
Dan Johnson of Themovechannel.com writes that returns have soared in Reading and Brighton by 12.8% and 12.6% respectively in the past year, but stand at 5.48% and 6.17%, far below those of Southampton.
The city’s standings is helped by the relatively inexpensive house prices, as well as strong rental demand driven by its position on
Loans to first-time buyers in Wales have risen by 30% compared to the same time last year, latest figures show.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders said the change was significant, and the figures suggested the upward trend would continue.
Overall lending for all types of buyers was up by 22% compared to the first quarter of 2013. The figures showed a fall compared to the last quarter of 2013 but were an "expected seasonal dip", the CML said.
The typical loan for first-time buyers in Wales was £98,000, significantly lower than the UK average of £118,750.
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Five seaside towns in Aberdeenshire have recorded at least a doubling in house prices since 2004, a report by Halifax has found.
Fraserburgh experienced the biggest rise with a 141% increase - from an average price of jut over £53,600 in 2004 to more than £129,000 in 2014. Cove Bay, Peterhead, Inverbervie and Stonehaven saw the next biggest gains.
In the UK as a whole, house prices in seaside towns have risen by about £500 a month over the last decade.
But Halifax found that coastal living was still significantly cheaper than property prices across Britain generally.
A house whose previous owners are buried in the back garden has been snapped up in a well-heeled area of London for around three-quarters of a million pounds.
The four-bedroom property, which also needs completely refurbishing, is likely to be worth an estimated £1 million once it has been spruced up, according to estate agent Gascoigne Pees, which has had the task of selling the house.
The two former occupants of the house in Teddington, south west London, were thought to be artists and their last wishes were to be laid to rest in their large back garden.
A bunker built to house Scottish Office staff in the event of a nuclear attack has been bought by a technology firm. The bunker at Cultybraggan Camp, near Comrie, has been sold to online service company Bogons Ltd for £150,000.
Built at the end of the Cold War but never used, the bunker was bought along with the wider camp by the Comrie Development Trust in 2007. The money raised in the sale will go towards paying off loans taken out to purchase the camp.
The bunker is thought to be the last of its kind built in Britain, having been completed in 1990 at a cost of £30m. It would have served as
Northern Ireland house prices are rising, according to new figures covering the first months of 2014.
The Residential Property Price Index records growth of 7% on this time last year. For the time of year, sales - at 4,200 - were their strongest since 2007.
According to the data compiled by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, the index calculates the average residential property price at £102,000. Prices grew by 3% between October 2013 and March 2014.
Stormont's Finance Minister Simon Hamilton said the statistics were "further evidence of steady, balanced growth from the low
The North Yorkshire spa town of Harrogate the spa town famous for ‘healing’ mineral waters, has been crowned as the happiest place to live in Britain in a report which asked people how contented they are with their home and local community.
The survey of nearly 50,000 people by property website Rightmove also suggests that it's not so grim up North after all, and that someone living in Hull or Preston is generally happier with their surroundings than someone residing in Twickenham in London or in Oxford.
Inverness in Scotland was ranked second in the "happy at home" index, while Taunton
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