PROPERTY NEWS September 9, 2010 HAMPTONS RELEASES IPAD APPLICATION Hamptons International has this week become the first UK residental estate agent to launch an app for the iPad. The app allows you to view high-resolution photos and floorplans for properties and to pinpoint the location of properties on a full-screen map. You can also use GPS to search for properties [...]
US house prices at 6-year low September 22, 2010 US HOUSE prices fell 0.5 per cent in July to their lowest level in six years, official figures showed yesterday, heaping further woes on homeowners as the end of government-backed tax credits aimed at first time buyers began to bite. The US government had offered first time buyers a tax credit of $8,000 (£5,106) to [...]
SELLING March 31, 2011 Martin Bikhit MANAGING DIRECTOR OF PRIME CENTRAL LONDON ESTATE AGENCY KAY & CO. Q. I have had three agents value my home. Two were around the same level but one was much higher. What shall I do? A. It is always very tempting to go for the highest valuation. However, it might not be the [...]
Outlook for housing market uncertain as remortgaging falls to ten-year low October 12, 2010 THE days of excessive mortgage lending seen prior to the credit crunch will not return, the Council of Mortgage Lender’s (CML) director-general, Michael Coogan said yesterday, as its latest figures showed remortgage activity had fallen to its lowest level in over a decade. August saw 25,000 remortgages advanced by lenders, accounting for 25 per cent [...]
PROPERTY NEWS October 21, 2010 HOME BUYERS GO GREEN It appears that Britons’ global conscience is alive and well. A new survey commissioned in advance of Energy Saving Week (25-31 Oct) says that over half of people are attracted to a new home because of its energy efficiency. Well, ok, maybe there is a little bit of self-interest there: the [...]
CITY VIEWS: WHAT SHOULD BE IN THE BUDGET? March 22, 2011 PHILIP RADLEY | GUARANTEES AND BONDS “Well, for a start, we really need to cut government spending. Hopefully the budget will be less than disastrous, because at the moment taxes are up, petrol is increasing, and with inflation it seems that the price of everything is rising.” MATT BYNORTH | COOPER GAY “As a potential [...]
House prices fall yet again October 28, 2010 THE average house price fell 0.7 per cent in October, equivalent to a drop of £2,376, Britain’s biggest building society said yesterday. Nationwide building society said the value of the average home is now £164,381 compared to £166,757 a month ago. Over the last three months house prices have fallen 1.5 per cent, marking the [...]
Bovis doubles profit on land grab policy March 14, 2011 HOUSEBUILDER Bovis Homes yesterday said its 2010 profit more than doubled and that it had made an encouraging start to 2011. Bovis reported a pre-tax profit last year of £18.5m, compared with £7.5m the year before. The company had been expected to post a profit of £18.54m, according to a poll of analysts. Chief executive [...]
Bovis doubles profit on land grab policy March 14, 2011 HOUSEBUILDER Bovis Homes yesterday said its 2010 profit more than doubled and that it had made an encouraging start to 2011. Bovis reported a pre-tax profit last year of £18.5m, compared with £7.5m the year before. The company had been expected to post a profit of £18.54m, according to a poll of analysts. Chief executive [...]
Levene waits for Lloyds sale April 13, 2011 PLANS to sell off more Lloyds Bank branches than the 600 already agreed could cause unhelpful delays to the launch of new banks, Lord Levene told City A.M. yesterday. Levene, who chairs new high street bank NBNK, said it would be “very keen” to bid for a bigger package of Lloyds assets if they were [...]