Zoopla paints the town purple…with taxis…
Zoopla branded cab on the streets of London
We’ve decided to paint the town purple and have launched hundreds of Zoopla-branded cabs onto the streets of London.
Our branded London taxis, part of a multi-channel marketing campaign from Zoopla which also includes national TV (see below), print and radio, follow the campaign’s ‘smarter property search’ theme with each cab uniquely branded with different property data for various areas of the capital, giving Londoners the information they need to make better-informed property decisions.
Let us know if you spot one or take a ride in a Zoopla cab!
Here’s our latest TV campaign, in case you’ve not yet seen it:
Buying beats renting in 94% of UK towns
Renting now 15% more expensive than owning on average across Britain
Our latest research shows buying a property is more cost-effective than ever compared to renting, however many potential buyers aren’t able to take advantage because they can’t access mortgage finance. The shortage of financing, especially to first time buyers, has pushed demand for rental property through the roof. But for those lucky enough to be in a position to get a mortgage, there may never have been a better time to buy.
Our latest Rent v Buy Index shows:
- Buying property more attractive than it has ever been compared to renting
- Renting now 15% more expensive than owning on average across Britain
- Swansea, Plymouth and Bournemouth only places where renting rules
- Renters in London pay £6,888 p.a more on average than homeowners
High rental demand, due to the difficulties would-be buyers face in getting financing, coupled with low mortgage rates has made buying property in Britain more attractive today than it has ever been in comparison to renting. Buying now beats renting in 47 of the 50 largest towns across the country, according to our latest analysis.
The figures also show a significant increase on this time last year, when it was better to buy than rent in only 40 out of the same 50 towns. The continued mortgage drought and the rising demand for rental properties has led to renting now costing 15% more on average than buying, up from only 10% more this time last year.
Swansea, Plymouth and Bournemouth are the only 3 locations on the list of 50 towns where it remains cheaper to rent than buy today. In contrast, Milton Keynes comes top of the list of locations where buying beats renting and where renting is 36% more expensive than owning, leaving renters £2,436 per year worse off on average. Warrington and Walsall also feature highly on the list of locations where it is cheaper to buy than rent, at 33% and 32% rental premiums respectively.
In London, where the average asking price for 2-bedroom flats currently stands at £442,036, buying also trumps renting by a big margin. With average monthly rents in the capital at £2,416, renting is 31% more expensive than the cost of ownership, leaving renters paying an extra £6,888 annually on average compared to owners.
Full list of the top Zoopla.co.uk 50 rent/buy locations
To compare the cost of buying versus renting, Zoopla analysed the current asking prices and rents of over 78,000 two-bedroom flats currently on the market, comparing the rental cost to the cost of ownership based on servicing an interest-only mortgage at 5% p.a.
Locations where renting rules over buying
| Rank | Location | Avg. Monthly Rent* | Avg. Asking Price* | Rental Discount** |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Swansea |
£653 |
£172,871 |
-9.3% |
|
2 |
Plymouth |
£618 |
£158,693 |
-6.6% |
|
3 |
Bournemouth |
£756 |
£192,456 |
-5.7% |
- Source: Zoopla.co.uk
- * Based on 2 bedroom flats on the market for sale/rent in November 2011
- ** % variance between monthly rent and interest-only mortgage payment at 5% pa
Top 10 locations where buying beats renting
| Rank | Location | Avg. Monthly Rent* | Avg. Asking Price* | Rental Discount** |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Milton Keynes |
£756 |
£133,217 |
36% |
|
2 |
Warrington |
£601 |
£108,604 |
33% |
|
3 |
Walsall |
£507 |
£92,031 |
32% |
|
4 |
Coventry |
£582 |
£105,850 |
32% |
|
5 |
Northampton |
£587 |
£106,925 |
32% |
|
6 |
York |
£866 |
£158,127 |
31% |
|
7 |
London |
£2,416 |
£442,036 |
31% |
|
8 |
Wolverhampton |
£505 |
£92,590 |
31% |
|
9 |
Swindon |
£597 |
£110,574 |
30% |
|
10 |
Birmingham |
£706 |
£130,937 |
29% |
- Source: Zoopla.co.uk
- * Based on 2 bedroom flats on the market for sale/rent in November 2011
- ** % variance between monthly rent and interest-only mortgage payment at 5% pa
Methodology
- Mortgage payments are calculated assuming a conservative mortgage rate of 5% p.a. to provide an effective comparison to renting.
- We use an interest-only mortgage rate in the comparison as the interest on a mortgage is the effective cost of financing living in that home.
- We assume a 100% LTV ratio to do a fair and simple comparison of the cost of financing versus the cost of rent.
Zoopla Purple Plaques – has someone famous lived in your home?
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Today we’ve launched a very exciting initiative called Purple Plaques – a scheme where we identify and recognise properties across the country where a celebrity/famous person has lived in the past.
First to be honoured under the scheme are the former homes of David Cameron (West London), Gary Barlow (Northwich), Liz Hurley (Basingstoke), Lewis Hamilton (Stevenage) and Chris Evans (Warrington) – you can see them here.
Zoopla Purple Plaques will be an ongoing scheme and one where we want you, the general public, to help us identify these homes where you know a former celebrity once lived – you can tell us here.
Inspiration for the scheme was taken from the Blue Plaques presented by English Heritage to properties associated with notable figures of the past – providing they have been dead for at least 20 years. The Zoopla Purple Plaque scheme will honour living celebrities and pay homage to the council flats, terraces, suburban semis and picturesque pads where they have lived across the UK…and unlike Blue Plaques, celebs don’t have to be dead for 20 years to qualify.
Today’s household names come from all walks of life and many are proud of their humble property beginnings compared to their penthouse suites and gated mansions of today. Cheryl Cole‘s childhood home in Heaton, Newcastle, where the average property value is £145,671 according to Zoopla.co.uk is a far cry from Hurtmore House in Oxshott where she lived with Ashley Cole and valued at £3.5m.
Our hunger for anything celebrity-related has as much impact on the property market as it does fashion, food or anything else. A property is more than just bricks and mortar and a unique history can improve a home’s marketability. Where Blue Plaques honour names of the past such as Sir Isaac Newton, Sir Edward Elgar and Lord Byron today’s buyers are just if not more interested in where Sir Elton John, Katie Price and Stephen Fry once lived.
We will be awarding many more plaques in coming months and years and would encourage homeowners treading the same boards that a star of stage once did or kicking a ball in what was the garden of a Premier League superstar are invited go to www.zoopla.co.uk/purpleplaques to apply for a Purple Plaque.
Here are the former homes of…
Chris Evans…
Former Warrington home of Chris Evans honoured by property website Zoopla.co.uk with a Purple Plaque
David Cameron…
Former London home of David Cameron honoured by property website Zoopla.co.uk with a Purple Plaque
Gary Barlow…
Former Cheshire home of Gary Barlow honoured by property website Zoopla.co.uk with a Purple Plaque
Lewis Hamilton…
Former Stevenage home of Lewis Hamilton honoured by property website Zoopla.co.uk with a Purple Plaque
Liz Hurley…
Former Basingstoke home of Liz Hurley honoured by property website Zoopla.co.uk with a Purple Plaques
REVEALED: Inside the Junior Apprentice house
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This year’s Junior Apprentice has been rebranded as the Young Apprentice, but the compulsive viewing and competitive element still remains. Quick synopsis for those who may not be avid viewers – a group of 16-17 year olds are put through their paces by Lord Sugar as they compete in various tasks to prove themselves worthy of a £25,000 prize that will help them up the career ladder.
In case you didn’t know, we’re a little curious here at Zoopla and more interested in the property side of things. Earlier this year we revealed where The Apprentice (Junior’s big brother) house was located – and we’ve struck gold again thanks to the Zoopla Property Archive and bring you the Junior Apprentice house which is located on Hamilton Terrace, London, NW8 where average property values are £1,591,377.
It’s a significant property that’s had a serious refurb a few years ago. No expense has been spared on the refurbishment which provides 6,900 sq ft / 641 sq m of exceptional living space and features a 110 ft south west facing garden. What is interesting is that according to the Zoopla Property Archive we are able to tell you that the property was listed for sale back in February of this year with a hefty £15,750,000 price tag. What we’re not sure of is whether it actually sold – we’ll try and find out.
The property features include:
Lower Ground - His & hers studies, Kitchen/Breakfast area, Cinema, Sitting Room, Laundry
Ground Floor - Dining Room, Drawing Room, Sitting Room, Wet Bar (can anyone help us with that), Staff bedroom (ensuite), Garage
First Floor - Dressing Room, walk in wardrobe, Sauna, Master Bedroom with balcony
Second Floor - Four bedrooms – all ensuite
So, what do you think of the property? Let us know in the comments below.
Buying now cheaper than renting across 90% of Britain
Average renter pays 13% more than an owner with a mortgage at 5% p.a
With house prices down, low interest rates and sky high demand in the private rental sector, buying has never been a better option for those able to secure a mortgage. Couple this with owners reducing prices further in order to achieve a sale before Christmas, there may well not have been a better time to buy in recent times.
Falling house prices and increasing rental demand has made it cheaper to buy a property than to rent one in 45 of the 50 largest towns across Britain. The cost of renting is now 13% higher on average than the cost of owning, according to our latest Rent v Buy Index.
We analysed the asking prices and rents for all two-bedroom flats currently on the market, comparing the rental cost to the cost of ownership based on servicing an interest-only mortgage at 5% p.a (see methodolgy below).
Milton Keynes topped the list of locations where buying beats renting with current rents more than 39% higher than the cost of owning, leaving renters on average £2,544 per year worse off. At the other end of the scale, renting remains more cost-effective in Aberdeen, where it costs 9% more to own compared to rent, leaving owners on average £936 worse off.
In London, where the average asking price for 2-bedroom flats currently stands at £430,608, buying still beats renting by a significant margin. The average monthly rent in the capital today is 28% higher than the cost of ownership, leaving renters paying an extra £5,964 annually compared to owners.
Please note: the research looks at the asking prices of two-bedroom flats currently for sale and to rent in the 50 largest cities and towns around the country and mortgage payments are calculated assuming an interest-only mortgage at 5% p.a. to provide an effective comparison to renting.
Full list of the top 50 Zoopla.co.uk places to rent or buy
Top 5 locations where renting beats buying
| Rank | Location | Avg. Monthly Rent* | Avg. Asking Price* | Rental Discount** |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aberdeen | £809 | £212,941 | -8.8% |
| 2 | Swansea |
£669 | £167,234 | -4.0% |
| 3 | Cambridge |
£992 | £246,551 | -3.0% |
| 4 | Plymouth |
£626 | £155,353 | -3.3% |
| 5 | Oldham | £507 | £125,012 | -2.6% |
Source: Zoopla.co.uk
* Based on 2 bedroom flats on the market in August 2011
** % variance between monthly rent and interest-only mortgage payment at 5% pa
Top 5 locations where buying beats renting
| Rank | Location | Avg. Monthly Rent* | Avg. Asking Price* | Rental Premium** |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milton Keynes | £760 | £131,630 | 39% |
| 2 | Birmingham |
£731 | £131,118 | 34% |
| 3 | Northampton |
£586 | £105,996 | 33% |
| 4 | Warrington |
£577 | £104,996 | 32% |
| 5 | York |
£871 | £161,769 | 29% |
Source: Zoopla.co.uk
* Based on 2 bedroom flats on the market in August 2011
** % variance between monthly rent and interest-only mortgage payment at 5% pa
As always, please feel free to share and use this information, all we ask is that you credit the source as Zoopla.co.uk and link to either Zoopla.co.uk/rentbuy or blog.zoopla.co.uk. Thank you.
Methodology
• Mortgage payments are calculated assuming a conservative mortgage rate of 5% p.a. to provide an effective comparison to renting.
• We use an interest-only mortgage rate in the comparison as the interest on a mortgage is the effective cost of financing living in that home.
• We assume a 100% LTV ratio to do a fair and simple comparison of the cost of financing versus the cost of rent.
