The government’s RBS share sell-off is about to begin: Here’s what you need to know August 2, 2015 This week, George Osborne is due to kick start the government's sale of its 78 per cent stake in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). Read more: Mansion House Speech 2015: Chancellor George Osborne will start government RBS sell-off as soon as possible The chancellor's plan to offload the shares was announced during his Mansion [...]
Persimmon bucks summer slowdown with profit jump August 19, 2015 PERSIMMON yesterday became the latest housebuilder to boast an impressive jump in first-half profits as would-be homeowners regained confidence following the outcome of the General Election. The York-based housebuilder said profit before tax rose 31 per cent to £272.8m in the six months to 30 June, compared with £208.9m last year on revenues up 11 [...]
London house prices: This London Underground map shows average rent at each Tube stop on the District, Central, Northern, Victoria, Piccadilly, Bakerloo, Jubilee and Metropolitan Line September 30, 2015 Ever wanted to know where in London offers the best trade off between commute time and how much you spend on your flat or house? A new map has been put together that could help with exactly that conundrum. Property search engine Find Properly has crunched the numbers to create an interactive graphic [...]
At the close: Mining companies Glencore, Anglo American and BHP Billiton take FTSE 100 higher November 4, 2015 The FTSE 100 ended Wednesday's session slightly higher, led by gains in mining companies. The UK's top blue chip index ended the day 0.46 per cent up at 6,412 points. The day's biggest riser was Glencore, the embattled mining giant, which has been struggling to reassure investors worried about the size of its debt pile. It today announced a [...]
London Barometer: House prices respond to lack of supply and stamp duty increases July 23, 2015 June saw new instructions decrease by a third year-on-year, while new applicants increased by 50 per cent, but they are clearly registering to prepare for the autumn market. The fact that stock levels remain the same shows that things are somewhat quieter and we have not seen the hoped-for post-Election lift yet. This lift presupposes [...]
January’s drop in US housing sales is nothing to worry about February 21, 2014 US home sales dropped 5.1 per cent to 4.62m in January. Forecasts had been for a fall, although to a more encouraging 4.68m, following December’s 4.87m. Annualised, they fell to a 462,000 rate, the National Association of Realtors said. Weakness in housing activity has been put down, almost wholly, to the unseasonably bad weather the [...]
China’s bright spot: Retail September 22, 2015 AFTER decades of super-charged growth, China is in the midst of a major attempt to re-shape its economy and put it on a more sustainable path. As the rate of expansion slows, a stream of sluggish summer data caused concern among markets and commentators. Too much attention can be paid to monthly macro numbers, especially [...]
Property tech sector is battling inertia to shake up Britain’s housing industry December 8, 2015 The UK property technology sector has undeniably seen substantial growth over the past 18 months. In June last year, the property portal Zoopla listed for approximately £1bn. Since then we have seen the launch of a startup accelerator dedicated to early stage property businesses and a large amount of capital invested into young companies which [...]
Prime central London house price growth at its lowest in five years thanks to China and stamp duty September 7, 2015 Prices of homes in some of London's most exclusive areas grew at their lowest in more than five years in August, new figures have suggested. The Prime Central London Sales Index, by upmarket estate agent Knight Frank, has found annual house price growth dropped to 1.7 per cent in August, the lowest rate since November [...]
Countrywide share price slumps after UK housing market slowdown July 31, 2015 Shares in the UK’s biggest estate agency Countrywide tumbled four per cent yesterday after posting a sharp fall in profits, blaming a “difficult housing market” and the uncertainty in the run-up to the General Election. The company, which owns estate agencies including Hamptons, Blundells and John D Wood, said profit before tax decreased [...]