How a new wave of developers are using virtual reality and videogames to market their property February 24, 2016 When the iconic red-bricked turbine halls of south London’s Battersea Power Station first fell into dereliction more than 30 years ago, videogames were in their infancy. The primordial graphics technology of the 1980s could only produce a handful of colours and basic, blocky images, reproducing scenes no more visually complex than a single asteroid tumbling [...]
Miliband’s disappointing stamp duty pledge won’t make the tax less stupid April 27, 2015 Housing, and its affordability crisis, is a bigger issue at this election than in any other for decades. Sadly, that hasn’t translated into policies that could effectively solve the problem, and yesterday’s announcements by Labour leader Ed Miliband will not change that. Labour plans to introduce a three-year stamp duty exemption for first time buyers, [...]
August 2015 TfL Tube strike: Union RMT wants pay rises in line with house price growth August 5, 2015 Transport union RMT has given a rare level of detail into one of its demands over the Night Tube – namely that it is seeking pay rises of up to 25 per cent for the five years. The union has put together a detailed flyer “for the public” to explain why Tube workers are [...]
Battersea panic stations: Investors flee luxury scheme as up to £2m is knocked off some asking prices March 4, 2016 More than 50 luxury flats on sale at London’s iconic Battersea Power Station have had their prices slashed since January, with some seeing discounts as large as 38 per cent in a sign that wealthy foreign investors are scrambling to desert the scheme. The news adds to fears that demand for prime homes in the capital is [...]
London and the south-east see record-breaking spike in rents June 18, 2015 Estate agents are urging housebuilders to look south, as the national average rent reaches its highest point since records began. Rents across the UK are now 4.5 per cent higher than a year ago, with London and the south-east rising faster than anywhere else, according to the latest Your Move and Reeds Rains Buy-to-Let [...]
Thanks to Landmark Place, you never have to leave the Square Mile March 3, 2016 Two new glass structures are set to join the banks, law firms and sky gardens that line the City’s riverside in the summer of 2018. Only this time, they’ll be housing wealthy residents who want to live on top of the financial district. A nine storey block will interconnect with an 11 storey block to [...]
General Election 2015: The property market is freaking out at the prospect of a Labour government May 5, 2015 The property market is terrified of Labour-led government, one of the UK's largest property search websites has suggested, thanks to the prospect of falling house prices and rising interest rates. More on this story: How Tony Blair presided over the biggest rise in UK house prices in recent history According to Zoopla, Labour's policies on [...]
Institute of Directors boss slams Arcadia chairman over BHS collapse in open letter to MPs June 3, 2016 A day after its collapse, the boss of one of the UK's largest business lobbying organisations has said he "can't defend" the running of BHS – and added that "serious questions need to be asked of almost everybody concerned". In an open letter to MPs Frank Field and Iain Wright, chairs of the Commons Select [...]
UK house prices: Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) says government failure to confront Nimbys is fuelling the housing crisis March 2, 2016 A leading free-market think tank has accused the government of yielding to self-interested local residents at the expense of pressing ahead with major housebuilding projects. In a new report out today, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) argues that the government’s “failure to tackle the housing crisis is due to its unwillingness to confront the [...]
London rents climb higher as affordability falls across the UK July 14, 2015 London rents increased in the three months ending June, new figures show, as housing affordability continues to decline. Average London rents were 4.5 per cent higher over the period compared with the same period last year, according to figures released today from Rightmove. UK rents excluding London climbed 4.2 per cent. Rightmove’s head of lettings [...]