“House blocking” and the property standstill: We need a housing market that addresses the whole population’s needs, not just first-time buyers February 22, 2016 There is a ‘house-blocking’ issue in the UK that must be addressed if we are to free up vital space, ease resources and stop the property market grinding to a complete standstill. The latest English housing survey revealed that, during the past 10 years, the number of owner-occupiers aged over 65 who own their home [...]
July Budget 2015: Non-doms “will pay the same tax as everyone else” July 8, 2015 George Osborne has announced that he will crack down on non-doms who evade or aggressively avoid taxation. Widely anticipated before the Budget, Osborne said he would name and shame tax avoidance schemes. We've stopped these blatant abuses that were allowed to flourish, and many others. But we said to the British people we would do [...]
City Moves for 21 March 2016 | Who’s switching jobs March 21, 2016 Redington Independent investment consultancy Redington has appointed Mitesh Sheth (pictured) as chief executive, effective from 5 April. Mitesh, who is currently Redington’s director of strategy, joined the firm in 2013. Before that he was head of fixed income at Henderson Global Investors and has also held roles at both Watson Wyatt (now Willis Towers Watson) [...]
Top tips for choosing the right tenant for your buy-to-let investment March 17, 2016 So you’ve spent months searching for the perfect property investment and transforming it into a modern, comfortable home. Now it’s time to hand over the keys to a perfect stranger and hope they pay up. Or perhaps you’re upsizing and you’re hoping Mr Rando won’t destroy your beloved first home. But how can you be [...]
London house prices: Galliard launches third phase of Canary Wharf development and there’s just six apartments up for grabs January 27, 2016 Prepare for another burst of apartment hysteria. Galliard Homes has just released a new tranche of bedrooms at its Canary Wharf scheme, and they're expected to sell like hot cakes (again). Just six properties are going up for grabs – new one, two and three bedroom apartments – at its Baltimore Tower scheme in Canary Wharf, the first [...]
London house prices: Capital is the hardest place in the UK for local workers to get on the property ladder February 22, 2016 The difficulty of getting onto the property ladder has increased dramatically for London workers over last two decades, new research reveals this morning. Estate agent Hamptons International said that calculations based on income after taxes, essentials and mortgage payments showed it was significantly harder to buy in the capital than in any other region of the [...]
UK house prices: MPs show cross-party support for emerging build to rent sector March 9, 2016 Cross-party MPs have thrown their weight behind build to rent, with a survey released today showing that more than four in five support the sector as a means of tackling Britain's housing crisis. A new poll of 150 MPs, commissioned from ComRes by the British Property Federation (BPF), found that 91 per cent Conservative MPs and 71 per [...]
Residential landlord Grainger posts jump in rents as it taps into UK rental boom February 11, 2016 Grainger has posted a jump in rents as the residential landlord presses ahead with its expansion into the UK's booming private rental sector. Grainger has two main divisions – its portfolio of private rental homes and its regulated tenancy business where it buys properties subject to regulated rents at a discount before eventually selling them at [...]
Why do entrepreneurs move to the countryside? Falling land values sparks rise of rural startups, says RICS February 3, 2016 There is an entrepreneurial revolution taking place it is happening among Britain’s green pastures, a new report claims. Rising property prices in city centres and falling land values have made buying a plot in the countryside increasingly attractive to those outside traditional farming communities, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), fuelling a surge in new business [...]
London house prices: Single Chinese investor buys entire £15m Waterloo scheme February 9, 2016 Proof, if proof were needed, that London is still hugely attractive for overseas investors – but increasingly unaffordable to the people who actually live in the capital: a single Chinese investor has bought out an entire development in Waterloo for £15m. Dover House, which recently completed construction, is made up of nine luxury apartments and retail space. [...]