Mortgage lending growth still firm despite new regulations July 10, 2014 The number of loans for house purchases rose by a quarter in the year to May, according to figures released yesterday, suggesting no dramatic effect from the raft of new regulations for the sector. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) announced that house purchase lending was up in value by 25 per cent to £9.6bn [...]
Brookfield wins race to land deal for Center Parcs June 2, 2015 CANADIAN investment giant Brookfield yesterday won a hotly contested race to buy UK holiday parks operator Center Parcs from private equity firm Blackstone in a deal worth about £2.4bn. Brookfield, which also bought Canary Wharf’s owner alongside Qatari Investment Authority earlier this year, will take control of five resorts operated by Center Parcs across the [...]
Bow, Tower Hamlets: All you need to know about London’s new eastern hotspot October 30, 2014 Everyone knows how well Hackney is doing in the property stakes, with house price increases outstripping any other borough in London over the last 12 months. But how about its neighbour Tower Hamlets? As a borough, it’s building more new homes than any other in the country. Bromley-by-Bow, in particular, has been popular with [...]
UK house prices: Rental growth is now outpacing house price increases April 16, 2015 The price of renting a home in the UK has risen 10 per cent in the last 12 months – faster than the rate of growth for buyers. New data from HomeLet shows that the average rental cost rose in the 12 months to March in 11 of the 12 UK regions, with only Wales [...]
Focus on Chiswick: Why are families flocking to west London? November 13, 2014 Many people seem to think that, between oligarchs buying up prime central London and renters occupying the trendy suburbs, the capital is becoming a place of transition. But there’s one place that’s defying that trend: Chiswick. This ancient country retreat, which was once part of Middlesex, is every inch the traditional London village. [...]
In charts: Are UK house prices suffering from pre-election blues? March 25, 2015 The housing market could be facing a case of pre-election blues. The customary January demand-surge just never arrived. But is this cause for concern or just the market stabilising? The figures Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show that the rate of house price growth in the UK slowed to 8.4 per cent in the [...]
Miliband to tax mansions to fund new NHS splurge September 22, 2014 ED MILIBAND will today deliver a key pre-election speech at his party’s annual conference in Manchester, in which he is widely expected to announce a funding boost for the NHS. Miliband is thought to have found a way to pay for a budget increase for the health service as he seeks to position Labour as [...]
UK house prices drop in May: Tug of war as high price-to-earnings ratios and a lack of supply affect market June 4, 2015 UK house prices dropped for the first time in three months this May, according to data from Halifax. The market is feeling the effects of a tug of war as a lack of supply drives prices higher, stretching finances and affecting sentiment. The figures On a monthly basis – the most volatile measure – house [...]
House prices in London to fall this year for the first time since 2009 as stamp duty hits property prices April 13, 2015 House price growth in the whole of the UK is about to outstrip London for the first time since 2009, a think tank reckons, after stamp duty and the mansion tax combined to scare buyers. Research published by the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR) today suggests house prices in the capital will actually [...]
Stamp duty up over £900m in last 12 months June 19, 2014 THE ANNUAL total stamp duty bill has soared to £5.6bn in the year to March 2014, up by over £900m from £4.7bn for the previous year, as home buyers are increasingly being hit by the levy as house prices rise while stamp duty thresholds remain flat, according to research by Lloyds Bank. The increase means [...]