Homemaker Properties

⚽️ The World Cup officially kicked off this week – and this year it’s the biggest tournament in history, with 48 countries heading to the US to take a shot at glory.

⚽️ The last time a home nation lifted the trophy was 30th July 1966, when the average UK house price was just £3,558. 🦁🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

⚽️ Since then, property prices have never stopped scoring. Rising around 77x, the average UK home now costs £274,930.

⚽️ The 2026 prize pot is a record-breaking $727 million (£541m) – enough to buy 1,968 average-priced UK homes. Now that’s a result.

Could this be the summer it finally comes home? ⚽️🏆

Source: Dataloft by PriceHubble, Nationwide

🏡 Coventry & Warwickshire Property Investor Network 🏡

Last night, Alison McMullan from Homemaker Properties attended another excellent property investor networking event, bringing together a fantastic mix of landlords, investors and property professionals from across Coventry, Rugby, Leamington Spa, Warwick and the surrounding areas.

With so much recent discussion around the Renters' Rights Act and the changes affecting landlords, Alison decided to take a different approach and revisit a topic that remains just as important – tenancy deposits.

The presentation covered key deposit regulations, best practices for protecting deposits, and practical tips for managing deposit disputes effectively. Understanding the rules and maintaining clear documentation can help landlords avoid unnecessary disputes and achieve better outcomes for everyone involved.

These networking events are held on the second Thursday of every month and provide a valuable opportunity to learn, share experiences and build connections within the local property community.

A huge thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to the discussions. The knowledge and experience in the room never disappoint. 👏🏼

If you're a landlord, property investor or simply interested in the local property market, we'd love to see you at next month's event. All are welcome.😊
https://propertyinvestorsnetwork.co.uk/meetings/coventry-and-warwickshire/

🏡 SOLD – TENANTED PROPERTY 🔑

A fantastic result all round on this successful sale completion. 🥳

✅ The vendor retained rental income right up to completion
✅ The buyer benefits from rental income from day one
✅ Most importantly, the tenants can remain in their home with no disruption

This is exactly how a tenanted sale can work when managed correctly — creating a smooth transition for everyone involved. 👍🏻

If you're a landlord considering an exit from the market but concerned about vacant possession, lost rental income, or impacting your tenants, there may be another option.

Get in touch for a confidential conversation about selling your investment property.

🔗 Link in comments to schedule a call with our team.

🏡💰MORTGAGE APPROVALS💰🏡

🏠 Mortgage approvals, an indicator of future demand, reached 63,531 in March, up 1.3% from February and the highest total since November 2025.

🏠 Despite higher mortgage rates driven by global uncertainty, mortgage approvals are just 0.8% below last year, pointing to underlying market resilience.

🏠 New buyer enquiries are down just 2% on last year, although the picture remains fairly cautious.roperty professionals reflect this view, with 42% reporting that buyer confidence is broadly in line with three months ago.

Source: Dataloft by PriceHubble (poll of subscribers), Bank of England, Zoopla

✨🏠 LET AGREED 🏠✨

Really pleased to have found a tenant for this beautiful ensuite room with its own kitchenette facilities.

It’s always rewarding seeing a great space matched with the right person, especially when so much care has gone into creating a high-quality home.

A big thank you to our landlord client for trusting us with the process. 🙏🏻

If you’re a landlord looking for a bit of support with filling rooms or finding the right tenants for your property, we are always open for a chat! 👋🏻

📞 Schedule a discussion now - Link in Comments ⬇️

🏠📈 ECONOMY UPDATE 📉🏠

📊 The UK economy grew by a stronger-than-expected 0.6% in Q1, helped by a resilient services sector. Timing also played a role: the conflict in Iran, which began in late February, had not yet fed through into the data. This marks a sharp improvement on the three preceding quarters, each of which delivered growth of just 0.1 to 0.2%.

📊 However, the strong quarter did little to lift the annual growth rate, which current sits at 1.2%. The stronger quarterly growth did lift forecasts for the year though, consensus forecasts have been revised up to 1.0% growth for 2026, from 0.6% a month ago – a modest upgrade.

📊 Q1 does likely represent the high point for the year. Higher energy costs will weigh on the growth outlook for the remaining quarters.

📊 The strength of the relationship between economic growth and house price performance has been well-evidenced over decades.The implication for housing is overall low single-digit price growth. As ever, there will be scope for regional and localised variation, driven by where buyers have more room to absorb higher borrowing costs.

📊 One potential upside to the economic outlook is AI-driven productivity gains. The timing of any such gains remains difficult to predict, for now consensus forecasts point to a slowdown but this is a genuine swing factor worth watching.

🔗 Source: Dataloft byPriceHubble, Nationwide, ONS, HM Treasury Consensus Forecasts

📈 RENT REVIEWS 📉

🏠 With the arrival of Renter’s Rights on the 1st May, market evidence becomes the currency of rent reviews and rent setting.

🏠 There are 5.5 million households in the private rental sector. For all these tenancies, market evidence should become a central part of the annual rent review process. Not all will necessarily have an annual review, but the lionshare will.

🏠 In terms of new lets, of which there are an estimated 1.3 million each year, market evidence is now critical for rent setting.

🏠 Formalising market evidence and placing it front and centre of rent reviews and new tenancy negotiations is a shift for the industry. Ensuring it is part of the process will help prevent referrals to tribunals.

🏠 Another shift, is that achieved rents – not asking prices – are the critical anchor to this evidence led framework.

🏠 Research by PriceHubble shows the margin between asking and achieved rents can be significant and varies through the rental cycle. The expectation is the gap between the two will widen under Renters' Rights.

🔗 Source: Dataloft by PriceHubble, ONS, English Housing Survey

Think online property auctions are only for distressed homes or bargain buys? Think again.

The Modern Online Auction process is reshaping the way sellers achieve speed, security, and competitive pricing — while challenging some long-held myths about auctions.

In our latest blog, we separate fact from fiction and explain what sellers really need to know.

✔️ Are auctions only for cash buyers?
✔️ Do sellers lose control of the sale?
✔️ Can auctions achieve strong market values?

Read our myth-busting guide here:
📖 https://www.homemakerproperties.com/modern-online-auction/

Interested in finding out if auction could be the right route for your property sale? Explore our auction service here:
👉 https://www.homemakerproperties.com/auction/

🏡🌿 ENERGY SAVING HOMES 🌿🏡

💡 Energy bills are one of the biggest pressures on UK household budgets right now – and the home you live in has a huge bearing on what you pay.

💡 New build homeowners spend £420 less on energy each year than those in older properties rated EPC D – making them 27% cheaper to run.

💡 The gap widens to £618 a year, or 39%, when compared against the least efficient homes rated EPC F or G.

💡 Nearly all new builds carry an EPC A or B rating, yet fewer than 5% of older properties reach the same standard.

💡 For those in older homes, the quickest wins are loft insulation (saving up to £390 a year) and cavity wall insulation (up to £420) — small steps that can each move your EPC up a band.

Source: Dataloft by PriceHubble, HBF Watt A Save 2026, based on a 90m² property