UK house prices’ affordability improves at fastest rate for eight years as wage growth outpaces prices February 18, 2019 Prospective house buyers could be set for a change in fortunes as affordability improves at its fastest rate in eight years, new data has revealed. With annual house price growth at just 0.2 per cent, the annual wage increase of 3.4 per cent is outpacing asking prices at the fastest rate since 2011, according to figures [...]
Focus On Wanstead: Families flock to ‘the Twickenham of East London’, where houses near green spaces have sold for seven digits February 15, 2019 There was a time when Wanstead, an unusually leafy spot of east London, was most famous for its Member of Parliament. They don’t come much more recognisable than Sir Winston Churchill, who served Wanstead from 1924 up to 1964 with a patch of absence in the middle for his Wilderness Years. But there’s one other [...]
New homes: Our pick of the new builds going on sale in London this weekend February 15, 2019 New developments on the market this week Ridgeway Views, Mill Hill From £569,995 Move into one of these two and three bedroom flats in time for the summer. The latest phase of homes, called Highwood Place, went on sale this week overlooking Totteridge Valley, with views of the rolling hills from private balconies and terraces, [...]
Investors fear slowdown as US Christmas retail drops February 14, 2019 US retail sales fell at their fastest rate in nearly a decade in December, stoking fears of a global slowdown, as shoppers watched their pennies over the vital Christmas period. Sales plunged 1.2 per cent, their largest monthly decline since the country was trying to recover from the financial crisis in September 2009. Read more: [...]
Housing market endures sluggish start to the year as buyer and seller confidence dwindles February 13, 2019 The UK housing market has endured a slow start to the year as key activity measures for both buyers and sellers fell further in January. Enquiries, sales and new instructions all declined in January as uncertainty continues to wear away at confidence, according to research by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics). Read more: [...]
Eat’s owners Horizon Capital mull sale amid strain on high street food outlets February 13, 2019 The owners of sandwich chain Eat are planning to sell the business as it battles with growing competition in the crowded high street food market. Private equity firm Horizon Capital, which owns a major stake in the company, has appointed corporate advisory firm Spayne Lindsay to oversee a potential sale. Read more: EU competition watchdog [...]
Market challenges take their toll on estate agent Countrywide’s profits February 13, 2019 Beleaguered estate agent Countrywide’s profits halved last year, as the property group battled to keep its debt pile under control in the wake of housing market uncertainty and disruption from online rivals. Subdued activity in parts of the UK’s housing market in the last year has dented profits for the group, which has also struggled [...]
London house prices: Prime postcodes dip as Brexit uncertainty weighs on market February 12, 2019 House prices in London’s most expensive neighbourhoods tumbled in the run-up to Christmas, continuing on a downward trend in the wake of uncertainty from both buyers and sellers. According to new data from Lon Res, prime property prices in the fourth quarter of 2018 fell 5.7 per cent when compared with the same period in [...]
Busting the millennial myth February 11, 2019 Last month I was invited to present at a conference in Berlin; I spent a couple of days preparing and got up at 4am to fly over. The speaker before me confidently told the audience that millennials lacked their elders’ work ethic so would drag down productivity and GDP growth. As I took to the [...]
Focus On the City of London: How much does it cost to live in the shiny new developments in the Square Mile? February 11, 2019 Have you ever thought about living in the Square Mile? Fair enough if you haven’t because you’re certainly in the majority, With an eye-watering average second-hand sale price of £840,053 – for context, the London average is £497,452, according to Savills Research using the Land Registry – and an outmoded reputation for being suits central, [...]