Housebuilder share prices: McCarthy & Stone share price falls along with Berkeley Group, Persimmon, Barratt and others on leasehold crackdown December 21, 2017 Housebuilders were hit hard this morning after the government revealed new rules cracking down on leasehold practices described by communities secretary Sajid Javid as “feudal”. Shares in FTSE 250-listed McCarty & Stone, which specialises in retirement homes, fell 10.3 per cent to 152.3p on the news. Meanwhile, on the FTSE 100, Berkeley Group fell 1.5 [...]
First-time home buyers come roaring back despite investor surge in March April 29, 2016 The number of first-time buyers soared to its highest level in nearly two years last month, according to Your Move, in a new study which counters claims that a surge in buy to let investors has squeezed out homeowners. Homes bought by newbies rose by 48 per cent between February and March to a total [...]
UK House prices are on course to fall below £300,000 in December December 12, 2016 The UK's house prices are on course to fall below £300,000 in December – and house price growth is likely to weaken next year, new figures have shown. The Rightmove House Price Index showed prices are on course to fall 2.1 per cent in December, after a 1.1 per cent fall in November. That will put [...]
First-time buyers need £50k per year to get on the property ladder – GoCompare November 5, 2015 The average UK salary of £22,000 is less than half the average needed to get on the property ladder, research from comparison website GoCompare has found. On average a minimum household income of £50,000 is required, with a 90 per cent mortgage. Unsurprisingly, London was found to be the most unaffordable, with household incomes of [...]
Michelle Mone’s latest bitcoin gambit is EQUI, a venture capital firm to back tech startups with its own cryptocurrency initial coin offering (ICO) February 6, 2018 Fresh from offering luxury apartments in Dubai to buyers with bitcoin, bra tycoon and baroness Michelle Mone is delving deeper into cryptocurrency. Along with boyfriend and businessman Doug Barrowman, the pair are launching a venture capital firm supported by the launch of their own cryptocurrency via what’s known as an initial coin offering (ICO), or [...]
Property transactions were resilient throughout 2016 January 24, 2017 The number of property transactions fell 8.5 per cent year-on-year in December 2016 – but over the year as a whole, the market was resilient. Data from HM Revenue and Customs shows that there were 1,231,120 residential transactions last year, ahead of the number of transactions in both 2014 (1,225,120) and 2015 (1,225,970). However, the [...]
Thousands of £250,000 starter homes are about to be built (outside London) January 3, 2017 Housing minister Gavin Barwell has given the green light for the construction of thousands of new starter homes outside of the capital. Built on brownfield sites, the new homes are designed for first-time buyers between 23 and 40 years old, and will be sold at a discount of 20 per cent below market value, with [...]
Bankrupt, jailed, £100m: Confessions of AirX CEO, John Matthews – the least popular man in private jet chartering March 26, 2018 OUR QUIET table at Dover Street’s Arts Club is becoming a de facto confession box. A gin and tonic replacing the grill between priest and penitent, John Matthews peers through his glass – for he hath sinned. The chief executive of AirX, who admits to being the least popular man in private aircraft chartering, has [...]
Bankrupt, jailed, £100m: Confessions of AirX CEO, John Matthews – the least popular man in private jet chartering March 26, 2018 OUR QUIET table at Dover Street’s Arts Club is becoming a de facto confession box. A gin and tonic replacing the grill between priest and penitent, John Matthews peers through his glass – for he hath sinned. The chief executive of AirX, who admits to being the least popular man in private aircraft chartering, has [...]
The government’s assault on buy-to-let landlords is hurting tenants February 10, 2017 The bill for the government’s misguided war on buy-to-let is coming due. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said yesterday that rents are likely to rise by 25 per cent over the next five years, outpacing house price growth, as landlords pare back their portfolios and tenants are left to fight over a diminishing supply [...]