Focus On Camberwell: benefiting from its gentrified neighbours? February 5, 2016 With its artistic roots and good transport connections, Camberwell is seen as the good value neighbour of south London’s most gentrified neighbourhoods. “A lot of buyers often start their search with us in central Brixton, but soon find out they could get more moving slightly further out,” says Luke Tubb, sales manager at Foxtons Brixton. [...]
Labour plans to double number of first-time buyers October 16, 2014 The Labour party will set out plans to give first-time buyers top priority by handing more powers to local communities in England for new house building. The party will pledge to double the number of first-time buyers over the next 10 years should it be returned to office. Furthermore, Labour wants 200,0000 homes a year [...]
UK housing market activity rose to a six-month high in September – Connells Survey & Valuation October 13, 2015 UK housing market activity reached a six-month high in September, according to data out today from Connells Survey & Valuation. Last month also saw the number of property valuations reach the second-highest monthly level on record – there were just 0.5 per cent fewer valuations carried out than in March 2015, which is when they [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: No, Mr Osborne, this is not a crisis of home ownership, it’s a housing crisis – where was the pledge to fix the rental market? November 25, 2015 The chancellor thinks we’re in the middle of a home ownership crisis. We're not, we're in the middle of a housing crisis. At least the Conservatives are consistent. Their one-track focus on home ownership and home ownership alone as the only solution for the UK’s housing crisis never wavers. Despite that the Conservatives still had [...]
Londoners buying property outside the capital hits highest rate in eight years December 26, 2015 Eye-watering property prices forced Londoners to leave the capital at their highest rate for eight years in 2015, as they spent £24bn on homes outside of the city. 63,000 homes outside the capital were purchased by Londoners in the past year – a two-thirds increase on the 38,000 purchased in 2014 – as house prices continued to skyrocket in the capital. According [...]
From idea to IPO in three years: Purplebricks founder Michael Bruce November 21, 2016 "Every time you mention the word ‘estate agent,’ everyone gets a little bit of a smile on their face and an inner feeling of unhappiness,” says Michael Bruce, chief executive at Purplebricks, the online estate agency that has turned the industry on its head in a little over four years. Bruce has traversed the world [...]
Night Tube series: Top seven places to buy along the Central Line November 2, 2015 Deep down in the bowels of London, there lies the Central Line, perhaps the hottest, noisiest and most crowded of all Tube Lines. It’s also one of the quickest lines meaning it’s useful for commuters coming in from the far flung suburbs of east and west London. But for investors and first-time buyers, it’s the [...]
Britain needs an industrial house-building revolution to tackle housing market failure January 14, 2016 The world is moving from uncertainty to instability. Economic, political and social “flashpoints” include the United States, EU, China, North Korea and the Middle East. While the UK has sensible economic goals – 2.5 per cent growth, 2 per cent inflation, £1 trillion of exports by 2020 and improved public finances – progress is mixed. [...]
Costly coal and lower US steel prices leave ArcelorMittal braced for weak fourth quarter November 8, 2016 The world's largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal, has warned low US steel prices and a recent rally in the price of coal will weigh on its profits in the fourth quarter. The figures Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) rose 40 per cent to $1.9bn (£1.5bn) at the global steelmaker in the quarter ended 30 September. However, [...]
London property: Four in five Londoners think house prices are too expensive, ING says October 14, 2015 More than 80 per cent of Londoners think house prices are too expensive and overwhelming majority believe it is becoming increasingly difficult for first-time buyers to get a foot onto the property ladder, according to new research released today. The Dutch banking giant ING’s house price optimism index, which surveys over 15,000 people, found that the [...]