Rising UK house prices: 31 is the average age for buying a first home, and it rarely happens without parental support June 14, 2015 The average age for Britons to buy their first homes is now 31, up from 28 in 1995 according to Halifax figures. Over the last 20 years properties have mostly trebled in value from around £61,500 to £196,000, and they are predicted to go up another 25 per cent over he next five years due [...]
Bashing buy-to-let landlords will push up rents and hit the UK economy hard July 23, 2015 Buy-to-let landlords have a huge advantage in the market as they can offset their mortgage interest payments against their income, whereas homebuyers cannot.” That’s how the chancellor explained his decision in the Budget to require that landlords, unlike other businesses, effectively pay tax on their borrowings – their buy-to-let mortgage. But the chancellor has made [...]
Savills beats forecasts despite pre-election market wobble May 13, 2015 REAL estate adviser Savills said trading in the year-to-date had beaten expectations and was “substantially” ahead of the same time last year, despite seeing a slowdown in home sales in the run-up to the General Election. The property market came to a halt ahead of the General Election as prospective buyers and sellers awaited the [...]
Eyeing property crowdfunding? The nuts and bolts of the new sector’s leading platforms June 17, 2015 In the space of half an hour, 126 people clubbed together to buy a house via a property crowdfunding platform last month. The £212,900 two-bed flat in Byfleet, a half-hour train journey from Waterloo, was listed on platform Property Partner. Founded this year, it counts Betfair co-founder Ed Wray as one of its backers [...]
Flint: Heavy regulations are crushing growth October 21, 2014 EXCESSIVE regulations risk squeezing growth out of the global economy, HSBC’s chairman Douglas Flint told a House of Lords committee yesterday. He fears regulators are so focused on stability that they are stopping banks taking the risks they need to lend to firms, creating jobs and growth. “It seems to me that all too often [...]
Share price of Wembley developer Quintain surges 22 per cent as it confirms £700m Lone Star offer July 29, 2015 Shares in Quintain Estates and Development, the property developer behind London’s Wembley Arena, jumped 22.4 per cent to 131p in early trading after its board recommended a takeover offer from US-based investment firm Lone Star. In an announcement to the stock exchange this morning, the company said Quintain shareholders will receive 131p in cash for [...]
Countrywide share price slumps after UK housing market slowdown July 31, 2015 Shares in the UK’s biggest estate agency Countrywide tumbled four per cent yesterday after posting a sharp fall in profits, blaming a “difficult housing market” and the uncertainty in the run-up to the General Election. The company, which owns estate agencies including Hamptons, Blundells and John D Wood, said profit before tax decreased [...]
Regional revival and New Covent Garden Market boosts St Modwen June 2, 2015 ST MODWEN posted a strong start to the year on growing momentum in the regional property market, and said that first-half profits would be “significantly ahead” of the same time last year. The FTSE 250 company, which is redeveloping Britain’s biggest flower and vegetable market, New Covent Garden in Nine Elms, said yesterday that it [...]
Stamp duty replaces mansion tax as Central London house buyers’ worst fear as sales of homes worth £1.1m plus fall June 29, 2015 Mansion tax is so pre-election, darling – these days, the UK's high earners are worrying about one thing: stamp duty. That's according to a new report by upmarket estate agent Knight Frank, which has found the new tax has dented sales of homes worth £1.1m plus. Read more: The average brick in Kensington and Chelsea [...]
London house prices: There’s a bold solution to the housing crisis – if councils get out of the way August 6, 2015 Tessa Jowell is the latest mayoral candidate to pledge to build more homes to tackle London’s housing crisis, promising at least 50,000 new properties would be built each year under her watch. The government has also outlined plans for 200,000 new starter homes to be constructed, many also earmarked for the capital. But history tells [...]