The housing minister just suggested the government’s 200,000 starter homes pledge might include rental properties September 13, 2016 The remit of the government's promise to deliver 200,000 so-called starter homes by 2020 could be expanded so it includes purpose-built rental homes in the figure, the housing minister suggested today. During a question and answer session at the Resi 2016 conference in Wales, Gavin Barwell said there was "a little bit of tension between the overall [...]
2016 London mayoral election: Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith gets housing boost from Prime Minister David Cameron January 4, 2016 Prime Minister David Cameron has given Conservative candidate for mayor of London Zac Goldsmith a boost today by announcing that he will amend the national government's housing bill to address concerns over a lack of affordable housing in the capital. Cameron said that he is incorporating an amendment put forward by Goldsmith to create a binding [...]
Black Friday: These are the top selling items at John Lewis right now November 25, 2016 John Lewis opened its stores at 8am this morning and has been selling items at Black Friday prices since midnight – here are the products people are loving: Sonos Play 1 is the biggest seller in tech The Legos Simpsons house is the best-selling item by value Marc Jacobs perfume has had the most units [...]
Here’s why now is not a great time to try and sell your home August 19, 2016 If you're trying to sell your home, now is probably a bad time to do it – demand has dropped by a third over the past year. In July, the number of house hunters registered fell to an average 298 per estate agent branch, a drop of 35 per cent year-on-year, according to the National Association of [...]
Here’s why government spending isn’t fixing the housing crisis, according to Shelter August 31, 2016 The government is pouring money into schemes that boost demand for properties – but is failing to put enough cash into house building, according to research from housing charity Shelter. The current parliament has spent two thirds of its housing money – £28.7bn – on programmes such as the Lifetime ISA and Help to Buy, which [...]
Want Christmas to last all year? You could buy a house on Holly Street for £194,465 December 21, 2015 If you want your Christmas spirit to last all year, try investing in a property on Christmas Lane or Holly Street – they'll be more affordable, and closer to the shops than the North Pole. Fewer pesky reindeer grazing outside, too. Data from Knight Frank has revealed the most popular festive street names include Holly, while the most [...]
easyProperty lands biggest ever property deal for an online estate agent September 23, 2016 EasyProperty has landed the biggest ever property deal conducted by an online agent, acting for a private family trust. The property portal sold a £35m property portfolio that comprised 208 properties across east London and Essex; 114 of the assets were residential, 94 were commercial. Contracts between the parties were exchanged seven days after the off-market [...]
Kricket Soho review: this former pop-up is so good it will make you question your life February 1, 2017 I’m ambivalent about pop-ups. I want to like them, to buy into the democratisation of the food business, to support the little guy who isn’t propped up by hedge-funds or millionaire parents. But my god, they can be terrible places to eat. I’m haunted by memories of burgers that seemed destined to never arrive at [...]
Housebuilder Persimmon shrugs off Brexit vote but says it’s staying cautious November 2, 2016 Housebuilders' shares were among the hardest hit after the Brexit vote – but it seems investors may have been over-cautious, after Persimmon reported a 19 per cent jump in sales. The figures In a trading statement this morning Persimmon, the UK's biggest housebuilder, said since it reported its half-year results at the end of August, sales have [...]
London property prices: Here’s how many houses have sold for £1m in the last five years – and where is seeing the biggest growth November 5, 2015 Here's a million-dollar question for you: how many £1m-houses does London have, and which boroughs are seeing the fastest growth? Over the past decade, nearly 54,000 £1m (or more) homes have been sold – and Kensington & Chelsea accounts for more than 10,000 – almost a fifth of the total. But this borough appears to be slowing – perhaps as [...]