Housing market can be helped by not interfering, writes David Alexander

31/12/2010
House prices will not rise in 2011. The best existing home-owners can up for is values not to fall any further. Price rises are dependent on volume of sales and with looming job cuts in the public sector, an increase in VAT and new restrictions on mortgage lending, sales growth in 2011 seems highly unlikely.

The Guide Top Ten: Avoid the renting pitfalls to secure a happy home

11/12/2010
THANKS partly to the mortgage famine, the residential rental sector is booming. And it's not just young people - older age groups and families who are selling their home but are holding off buying a new one, or are unable to, are instead renting a new place. Rob Trotter, senior property manager at letting agency, D J Alexander, offers his top ten tips for new renters.

Sealed bid system has not afflicted city's rental market

03/12/2010
CONTROVERSIAL 'sealed bids' for rental properties - which are growing in prominence in England - are not on the scene in Edinburgh, letting agents insisted today.

Rent bills on the increase

29/11/2010
The cost of privately renting flats in the Capital rose steadily during the first nine months of this year, according to the latest Rental Tracker figures by DJ Alexander.

Buy-to-let up as rental demand grows

13/11/2010
By JEFF SALWAY DEMAND for rental accommodation in Scotland has reached unprecedented levels as home ownership loses its lustre, it has been claimed. David Alexander, owner of DJ Alexander letting agents, believes Scotland is showing signs of becoming a nation of tenants again, with demand at its greatest in his 28 years in the industry.

A GRAND GEORGIAN GEM

12/11/2010
IN one of Edinburgh’s most highly sought after residential areas is a new development which, even by the demanding standard set by well-off househunters, is attracting a lot of acclaim, writes Jenny Shields.

Property ‘gap’ prompts switch from commercial to residential

09/11/2010
By TOM HARDY. A surveyor from the Glasgow office of Colliers International has been recruited by D J Alexander, the Edinburgh- and Glasgow-based residential letting agent, to exploit what it regards as a gap in the house rental market.

Rental 'gazumping' on the up as demand rises

08/11/2010
Landlords are increasingly asking would-be tenants to submit sealed rent offers in a bid to get them to 'gazump' rivals.

The hard sell: how solicitors and estate agents are coping with the harsh new realities of the property market

01/11/2010
By JANE BRADLEY Estate agent David Alexander looks back on the halcyon days of the property boom with fondness. "You could go out and put a for-sale sign up on a flat and by the time you got back to the office, someone would have lodged a note of interest," he remembers. "Things have certainly changed

Burnett off to DJ Alexander

29/10/2010
A residential letting firm has hired from the commercial sector to help increase the number of houses available for rent.

My working week...

22/10/2010
Rob Trotter, senior property manager at DJ Alexander

PEOPLE

09/10/2010
Commercial hire

Heading home for a night in the office

03/10/2010
By NATHALIE THOMAS, Business Correspondent. THE buy-to-let market that produced a new generation of landlords before hitting the buffers of the recession is set to make a return.

Rentals defy the property gloom

03/10/2010
As would-be buyers fail to make it on to the ladder, JEFF SALWAY reports on the pressure now facing lettings

USP (Unique Selling Point)

30/09/2010
Carlingnose Way, North Queensferry

THE HEIGHT OF LUXURY AND STYLE

24/09/2010
The Daily Mail turns the spotlight on one of the more unusual of our rental properties

Why buy when you can rent?

23/09/2010
For increasing numbers, property ownership is no longer a priority, writes Kirsty McLuckie

Rented sector set for new period of expansion

11/09/2010
The private rented sector is set for a new period of expansion, according to one of Scotland's biggest residential letting agents

Lucky escape on Dundas Street

05/08/2010
Usually D J Alexander hits the media for all the right reasons but on Thursday, 5 August we were very involved bystanders to an incident which could have ended disastrously but from which – fortunately – everyone emerged unscathed.

Landlords' market posing fresh challenges for renters

31/07/2010
THE rental sector has become a landlords' market as demand has begun to outstrip supply, reducing the availability of new rental accommodation. David Alexander, owner of Edinburgh and Glasgow letting agency D J Alexander, shares his top ten tips for tenants looking for a good deal.

Selling lull sends rents higher for flats, lower for houses

17/07/2010
By Jeff Salway THE cost of renting flats in Glasgow and Edinburgh has jumped in the past three months as would-be buyers delay taking a step onto the property ladder.

City property rents rocket

15/07/2010
Rents in affluent areas of Edinburgh are shooting up thanks to the growing number of wealthy professionals without mortgages.

This shivering by the sea of cuts will leave us all wet

14/07/2010
DAVID ALEXANDER Tackling government debt north and south of the Border can be likened to the different ways people approach a dip in the sea..

‘No mortgage’ young professionals pushing up capital’s rental rates

07/07/2010
Houses and flats for private rent in Edinburgh’s New Town are being scooped up by cash-rich young professionals filling employment vacancies in the city.

RENTAL TRACKER

07/07/2010
Average cost of private rented housing, Apl/Jun 2010

Steep difference in flat rents highlighted

25/06/2010
By CLAIRE SMITH FLATS in the most sought-after areas of Scotland can cost almost three times as much to rent as those in less popular areas, according to a survey of rentals across the country.

Half a sigh of relief as Capital Gains Tax rise isn’t as savage as feared

23/06/2010
By SIMON BAIN. Capital Gains Tax rises today to 28% for higher-rate taxpayers, but the rise is less than feared and basic rate taxpayers will still pay 18%.

Consumers fear 'big crunch'

19/06/2010
By Simon Bain. Consumer confidence is crumbling even before the chancellor stands up on Tuesday to spell out the reality of “deficit reduction” in his emergency Budget, according to a new report.

Turning their backs on HMO had advantages for some landlords

17/06/2010
BY DAVID ALEXANDER. A somewhat strange court case in Aberdeen has turned the spotlight back onto one of the most controversial pieces of housing legislation of recent years - Houses of Multiple Occupation, or HMO.

PROPERTY MATTERS

03/06/2010
Time running out for those hoping to avoid hike in CGT

Investors offload assets as worries over CGT strike home

29/05/2010
By JEFF SALWAY SCOTTISH investors are scrambling to sell their assets to escape an expected hike in capital gains tax (CGT), according to financial advisers and property companies. IFAs in particular are being bombarded with calls from clients worried about the impact of an increase in the rate of CGT of up to 50 per cent.

USP (Unique Selling Point)

20/05/2010
39 Inverleith Row in Edinburgh

Varied views of the capital

16/05/2010
HOME ECONOMICS - Tim Dawson

Lettingweb's iPad app aids property search

14/05/2010
An online letting portal is developing an application for the Apple iPad.

Capital rents cheaper than in Glasgow

10/05/2010
RENTING flats in Edinburgh is cheaper than in Glasgow, according to a new rental price monitor.

Keep an eye on rentals

05/05/2010
Scottish letting agency D J Alexander has launched a Rental Monitor that aims to clarify the cost of private rented housing in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Rental market offers a new opportunity for housebuilders

30/04/2010
By David Alexander. ONE of the most successful pieces of legislation of modern times was entitling council tenants to buy their homes.

Tracker launched to monitor rents in Scotland's biggest cities

24/04/2010
By Jeff Salway A LEADING Scottish letting agent has launched a price tracker monitoring the cost of rental property in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

D J Alexander launches quarterly monitor of private residential rental costs

21/04/2010
Edinburgh and Glasgow figures revealed in groundbreaking analysis

QUARTERLY RENTAL MONITOR

21/04/2010
Average cost of private rented housing, Jan/Mar 2010

Mortgage woes fuel move towards more long-term letting

27/03/2010
By JEFF SALWAY DEMAND is growing for longer-term rental tenancies as would-be buyers are forced by the continued shortage of mortgages to put their home ownership dreams on hold.

Tenant vetting and illegal use of rented property

27/02/2010
On 22 February, The Scotsman reported on a move by Strathclyde Police to crack down on criminals – mainly illegal immigrants - who take on tenancies of residential properties and then use them for growing cannabis, and on the force’s appeal to insurers to make the owners liable for any damage – something that could leave landlords facing huge bills if they allow their properties to fall into the wrong hands.

Hopes of a housing market recovery look distant as renters cling on

22/02/2010
By Jeff Salway , Personal Finance Editor. PROSPECTS of a housing market recovery remain distant as potential buyers are forced by a sluggish lending market to continue renting, property experts have claimed.

The new let set

07/02/2010
Would-be buyers and sellers are turning to renting and tenancies as a way to move on, writes TIM DAWSON

Forget the new kitchen, sort that ancient wiring

28/01/2010
RICHARD GARGARO If the Arctic-like conditions that hit Scotland during December and the early part of January did any good, it was to emphasise just how important maintenance is to keeping the home properly functioning.

Jumpy market still has jitters

25/01/2010
By STEWART McINTOSH. Two things drive the property market - liquidity and confidence. Which is a pity, since hope for a continuing recovery in the residential market could be dashed this year due to would-be buyers struggling to find the funds to purchase what they want and need. Meanwhile, others who do have the liquidity are afraid to dip their toe into the market for fear that values still have further to fall.

It's a good time to buy but be very selective

16/01/2010
DAVID ALEXANDER. With thousands of recently built flats across Britain having been repossessed during 2009 and many of the surviving landlords who rushed into ‘buy to let’ deep in negative equity, it might seem that only the brave will dare to venture into residential property investment in the next 12 months.

Market upheaval continues but ‘location, location, location’ still name of the game

14/01/2010
DJ ALEXANDER QUARTERLY UPDATE

Lettings agency hails its busiest December ever as fall in mortgages peps up rentals

03/01/2010
By Rosemary Gallagher. SALES of residential property failed to recover in 2009 but the year ended on a high note for the rental sector, according to the owner of Scotland's largest independent letting agency.