Last Week in the City: Trump threatens trade war March 2, 2018 This week US President Donald Trump threatened a trade war, a number of famous high street names, including Toys R Us and Maplin, got into serious trading trouble and upbeat assessments of the US economy from central bankers helped the US dollar to rally, reversing its recent trend. The FTSE 100 fell 0.2 per cent [...]
UK house prices: High first-time buyer confidence heats up the housing market in August September 25, 2015 The market for new buyers, who have been boosted by government schemes such as help-to-buy, has had a strong summer. First-time buyers sales climbed 11.9 per cent in August compared with the same month last year to match July’s eight-year high of 30,200, figures released today by estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains (YMRR) [...]
American investment in London property is at an all time high due to the fall in sterling. But what are they buying and where? July 7, 2017 Earlier this week, US citizens all over the world were celebrating Independence Day, yet for the first time in a long time, many of them had one eye on the fireworks and another across the Atlantic on the bargains to be had back in the Old Country. Following the fall in the pound due to [...]
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 [...]
Area guide to property in the Royal Docks November 3, 2017 For many Londoners, the only time they’ve ever been to the Royal Docks in east London is when they’re travelling on business from London City Airport. This post-industrial part of town was once a hive of activity, with boats docking from all over the world, but now you’re more likely to find hotel chains and [...]
As the first residents move into Television Centre, a new era is beginning for the BBC’s former home in west London November 28, 2017 When BBC Television Centre in White City, west London, was opened by the Queen in 1961, it was described by then director general Gerald Butler as “the largest, best equipped and most carefully planned factory of its kind.” Rather than goods, this building would manufacture culture and, at the time, it was the most ambitious [...]
Zoopla wants to bring property investment to the masses with a new “Invest” channel September 26, 2016 Housing portal Zoopla is making the move into property investment by allowing customers to invest as little as £100 into the market. The website is known for being an online shop-window for property buyers, but has teamed up with lending platform Landbay to provide a service for investors. Customers will be able to fund buy-to-let [...]
Home purchase lending fell by 13 per cent in the month following the Brexit vote September 14, 2016 The first figures on mortgage lending to cover the full month since the Brexit vote show that lending to home owners fell 13 per cent month-on-month in July, and 12 per cent year-on-year. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), the amount of borrowing from first-time buyers has also declined month-on-month and the buy to let market has [...]
Government’s starter homes programme won’t help London’s first-time buyers August 27, 2015 Londoners hoping to buy their first home will not get much help from the government, according to a new report out today. In the report, Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity, takes issue with the government’s affordable house building policies, saying its flagship “starter homes” programme will fail to help most first-time buyers. Prime Minister [...]
Construction begins on Europe’s tallest modular residential block November 8, 2016 Work has begun on Europe's tallest modular residential tower block, the latest innovation scheme to help combat London's housing crisis. The 26-storey tower will be built in Mapleton Crescent in Wandsworth, and is constructed entirely from modular units – compact flats assembled in factories before being installed with cranes. Read more: How innovation is transforming the property industry The 89-unit [...]