Budget 2015: “Saving revolution” as Osborne pledges first-time buyer Isa March 18, 2015 George Osborne unveiled a Budget aimed at helping savers, first time buyers and pensioners today, with measures including a "Help to Buy Isa". Under the new rules, the government will contribute £50 for each £200 saved by first-time buyers. Savers who put away £12,000 could stand to make as much as £3,000 Just before he [...]
Focus On Clapham: Commons, good schools and cosy gastropubs means families stay put in SW4 June 2, 2017 Clapham is not a straightforward neighbourhood. Unlike Dalston, it isn’t synonymous with hipsters; it isn’t known for its international wealth like Knightsbridge; and it isn’t the naturalised home of the English gent like Hampstead. It’s best described as a south London suburb that has welcomed wave upon wave of migration from other boroughs. The Georgian [...]
The new housing crisis is upon us – and it’s those who already own property that should be worried June 18, 2016 We hear an awful lot about the "housing crisis" in the UK and – particularly – in the capital. At one end of the ladder, rents are rising faster than wages and house prices are going up quicker than people can save for a deposit. At the other, new taxes and regulations on second homes [...]
First-time housing market booming in the UK despite fall in purchases over the Christmas period January 29, 2016 THE NUMBER of first-time home buyers in the UK fell in December due to the traditional Christmas period slowdown, but showed healthy growth over the year, new data has shown today. First-time buyer numbers fell by 1,300 or 4.7 per cent month-on-month due to the “traditional winter cooling” period, according to the first-time buyer tracker [...]
Housebuilder Crest Nicholson’s shares fall – despite rebuffing Brexit blues June 14, 2016 Nothing can dampen the profits of a housebuilder, not even Brexit – housebuilder Crest Nicholson this morning posted healthy results despite the uncertainty about the outcome of the UK's upcoming referendum. The figures In its half-year report this morning, Crest Nicholson announced pre-tax profits at the firm were up 26 per cent in the six months [...]
Budget 2015: First-time buyer Help to Buy Isa panned by fiscal experts March 19, 2015 A prominent London think-tank has joined the chorus of criticism of the chancellor’s new policy to help aspiring first-time house buyers yesterday. The new Help to Buy Isa announced by George Osborne on Wednesday allows young savers to put a maximum of £200 a month away. The government will add 25 per cent to the [...]
Dip in house price growth “caused by weak consumer confidence”, says Halifax – but others think it could be the Brexit effect May 9, 2016 UK house price growth actually dipped last month, with economists blaming weakening consumer sentiment for a slowing in annual increases. According to the Halifax House Price Index, average house prices fell 0.8 per cent in April to £212.321. This meant the annual change had slowed from 10.1 per cent recorded in the year to March to 9.2 per cent. [...]
Rightmove: Cheapest boroughs fuel 11 per cent rise in London house prices as one agent warns it now takes 46 years to save for a deposit March 21, 2016 London house prices have climbed 11 per cent over the last 12 months, with the cheapest boroughs rising at the most rapid rate. The fastest growth was in Barking and Dagenham, according to the data published today by property website Rightmove. Asking prices in the borough, the capital’s cheapest, are 23.5 per cent higher this [...]
UK house prices: Let down the ladder – how property crowdfunding could help fix the housing crisis February 22, 2016 There were positive headlines last week which suggested that the government may finally be making modest progress in its battle against the housing crisis. For the first time in a decade, home ownership rates remained stagnant, rather than falling. Yet younger generations still have huge issues with the housing market. Ownership rates continue to fall [...]
Dumbed down Brexit row patronises voters June 3, 2016 Like clockwork, yesterday brought another slew of extreme projections about the impact of Brexit. It would “destroy” young people’s hopes of getting on the housing ladder, says Remain, apparently forgetting George Osborne’s warning last month that house prices could fall dramatically if the UK quits the EU (surely a boon for first-time buyers). Leave has [...]