Mortgage holders 'could see price of home drop' Written by Simon Whittaker

It remains to be seen if the rising unemployment figures in the UK have an effect on the price of property, according to Selwyn Lim, director of online property information portal Mouseprice.com.

Those with buy to let mortgage products and other types of home loan could yet see the value of their assets weaken in the coming months, it would seem.

Mr Lim said that those who think unemployment will have an impact on the value of housing are "pessimists".

"Unemployment is one of the lagging economic indicators with regards to economic cycles," he explained. "Typically, if the past is anything to go by, it is the last indicator that tends to keep heading downwards while there is a turnaround in other indicators."

The industry expert added that there have been a number of reports citing an upturn in the property market, but some observers are waiting to see what rising jobless figures will do to the sector.

Earlier this month, official statistics showed that unemployment in the UK had surpassed 2.4 million.
 
 
 'Higher rents on the horizon' for buy to let landlordsWritten by Jeni Browne

Landlords with buy to let could be set to benefit from higher rental incomes in the near future.

According to the managing director of landlord website Smartlandlord.co.uk, Keshav Thukaram, there will soon be an increase in the ratio of prospective tenants to available rental properties.

Consequently, rents can be expected to "rise considerably", the industry expert suggested, before warning landlords of the importance of having rent guarantee insurance in place in case their tenants lose their jobs and cannot pay what they owe.

Reflecting on the buy to let industry as a whole, Mr Thukaram said: "The private rented sector has a major role to play in pulling the housing market out of the current slump and in housing people in years to come."
 
 
Buy to let landlords can join NLA list

Written by Michael Aglony

Landlords with buy to mortgages have the opportunity to sign up for a special mailing list to keep them up to date with a forthcoming industry event.

Those who want to keep abreast of the news concerning this year's National Landlords Association (NLA) National Conference 2009 can head to the organisation's website and sign up.

Running from Friday November 20th to Saturday November 21st at the Holiday Inn in Birmingham city centre, the gathering will involve workshops and networking opportunities.

Speeches from government and industry figures will also take place, while the two-day event will also provide the chance for landlords to debate the latest political proposals affecting the private rented world.

One hot topic is sure to be the government's plans to introduce a landlord register in England, which has not been welcomed by associations working in the sector.