Taylor Wimpey, Barratt Developments and Persimmon share prices dip as fears about Labour rent control plans take hold April 27, 2015 Housing experts warned that Labour plans to bring in rent controls could lead to investors pulling out of the rental market. The Association of Rental Letting Agents (ARLA) said yesterday that three-quarters of its members feared the plans would “see landlords exit the market and reduce supply”. Such fears led to an immediate [...]
Building an Opportunity Society is critical to Britain’s competitiveness July 9, 2015 While bolstering Britain’s economic growth and giving working people financial security is rightly this government’s most pressing priority, building the Opportunity Society must be its distinct legacy. A society where everyone can fulfil their potential, no matter what their starting point in life, is what a new generation of Conservatives is determined to help deliver, [...]
Taylor Wimpey upbeat on UK housing market as buyers shake off General Election jitters April 23, 2015 The figures Taylor Wimpey has made an upbeat start to 2015, with an average private net reservation rate of 0.76 sales per outlet per week for the year to date – suggesting house buyers aren't worried about the impact of the general election (and given housebuilding is one of the few sectors that stands to benefit, [...]
…but lending dip may have bottomed out February 25, 2015 MORTGAGE lending may have picked up again, with approvals rising marginally in January. The number of mortgages approved for house purchase was 36,394, according to the British Bankers Association. It marks the first climb in approvals since June 2014, but approvals are down 26 per cent year-on-year. “Aspirational first-time buyers and home movers face multiple [...]
UK property prices: Have renters given up on owning their own home? Just 40 per cent of renters are saving for a house April 7, 2015 The UK's renters have given up on graduating to property ownership, it seems – after new research suggested just 43 per cent of renters aged between 20 and 45 are saving to buy a home. The figure has fallen by six percentage points since last year, Halifax's Generation Rent report showed. More than half [...]
Expensive housing delays Brits’ aspirations to own family home March 16, 2015 Most Britons’ plans to own a family home have been thrown off track by the rapid price rises of the past decade, a study from Lloyds Bank shows today. More than 80 per cent of Brits believe homeowners have to wait longer for their long-term family home than they expected 10 years ago. And the study [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: Chancellor George Osborne banks on UK housebuilding boom as experts warn of looming £30bn black hole November 25, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne will vow to double the national housing budget when he presents his five-year spending plan later today, despite new warnings that the Treasury is facing a £30bn “black hole” in its finances. In a statement to parliament combining the Spending Review and the Autumn Statement, Osborne will say that public finances “come down [...]
A Hong Kong billionaire has bought the most expensive diamond ever auctioned – but who came before him? November 13, 2015 A new jewel has just topped the list of the most expensive diamonds ever sold at auction. The “Blue Moon” was bought this week in Geneva for $48.4m, smashing all previous record diamond sales. Vivid blue in colour and weighing 12.03 carats, it went for the “highest price per carat” ever obtained for any kind [...]
What happens when you talk markets on Facebook February 16, 2016 What do you do when everyone is active on Facebook except you? You get with the programme. How do you do that? You (naively) say yes to going live for your company on Facebook to “do a little Q&A session on the markets”. What happens then? First you freak out as you discover how “personal” [...]
Six-pack: The chancellor shows his muscle with final budget of this parliament March 18, 2015 2010 THE EMERGENCY BUDGET In need of some instant austerity, chancellor George Osborne hikes VAT to 20 per cent. Child benefit is frozen for three years. 2011 THE NORTH SEA BUDGET A supplementary tax on North Sea oil firms is lifted from 20 per cent to 32 per cent. Yet the cut to corporation tax is [...]