London is now one of the five cities with the lowest house price growth in the UK April 28, 2017 London is now one of the five cities with the lowest house price growth in the UK, and has been overtaken by a slew of regional cities such as Manchester, Birmingham, Portsmouth and Leicester. In March, house price growth in London was just 4.9 per cent, according to Hometrack. Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol, the top [...]
Good, bad, ugly? Nobody can agree on what the recent house price data means August 5, 2016 Halifax said this morning that house prices fell between June and July and that annual and quarterly rates of house price growth are slowing. City A.M. has heard talk of buyers wanting 10 per cent off the price of properties because of the Brexit vote, and earlier this week, Knight Frank said prices for high-end houses in [...]
House of Lords defeat government on plans for starter homes April 12, 2016 The government has suffered a setback after the House of Lords defeated it on two starter homes policies. A coalition of Labour, Liberal Democrat and crossbench peers voted to moderate the government's plans to offer "affordable" homes to first-time buyers at a discount. The flagship policy was proposed by the government ahead of the General Election [...]
Planning permissions for new homes reached the highest level since 2008 in the first quarter June 30, 2016 There were signs housing supply could be on the up earlier this year as planning permissions for new homes are reached their highest level since 2008. Permissions for 66,102 homes were granted in the first quarter of this year in England, up four per cent on last year, according to research from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) and [...]
Brickgate: A war is kicking off in the construction industry after estate agents claimed there is a shortage of bricks August 25, 2016 Forget Jeremy Corbyn versus Owen Smith – there's a new feud in town. You might say relations between these two are rather stony… Brick makers have taken issue with research put out earlier today by the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), which suggested not only [...]
High London house prices are not a bubble waiting to burst July 5, 2017 History is replete with examples of financial bubbles, from Dutch ‘Tulipmania’ in the 1630s and the South Sea bubble of 1720, through to the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the dot com boom and bust at the turn of the twentieth century. Could London house prices be the next big bubble to burst? To [...]
Nobody wins from a house price crash July 21, 2016 The full effects of the referendum on Britain’s economy are still unknown. Stocks are faring relatively well, with the FTSE 100 bursting over 6,700 and the FTSE 250 hitting a post-vote high. The pound remains slumped below $1.32, however, while consumer confidence appears to have taken a tangible knock. Many business leaders are worried, and some [...]
The hardest word: Full text of Lloyds boss Antonio Horta-Osorio’s letter to his staff over tryst allegations August 24, 2016 Lloyds boss Antonio Horta-Osorio has issued an apology to his staff after an alleged tryst with Russell Group boss Dr Wendy Piatt. Sky News reported last night that Horta-Osorio was preparing to write to his 75,000 staff expressing "deep regret" over the allegations, which surfaced earlier this month after he and Platt went on a business trip [...]
Top Cat advert might be the top dog for Halifax May 4, 2016 In its new campaign aimed at first time buyers, Halifax has incorporated the cartoon character Top Cat into its television, print and online push. The campaign has been ridiculed in some quarters, particularly on social media. Sharp-witted users have been quick to remind Halifax that Top Cat in fact resided in far less salubrious surroundings [...]
UK house sales and purchases set to jump by a fifth by 2020 – but will still be below 2007 levels May 18, 2016 UK housing transactions are set to jump by a fifth by 2020, but this will still be eight per cent lower than pre-financial crisis levels, according to a new report today. Conveyancing services provider My Home Move predicts that the number of annual property transactions will rise from the 1.23 million recorded last year to [...]