Insurance giant Aviva to slim down with sale of property debt June 14, 2015 Aviva, the FTSE 100 insurance firm, is said to be selling off property loans to the value of billions of pounds. One source familiar with the matter told City A.M. that big four audit firm Deloitte is currently working with Aviva. The property debt reportedly includes loans secured against House of Fraser’s department store in [...]
Only 43 homes listed for sale in London are “affordable” for the average family April 29, 2015 Just 43 homes listed for sale in London are classified as "affordable" to the average family, new research has suggested. That's 0.1 per cent of the market – and it includes houseboats and a mobile home. The study, by housing charity Shelter, found 34 of those properties has "incorrect information" in their listings, were likely [...]
Lloyds share sale sparks Treasury rift as George Osborne ignores warning on value for money June 1, 2015 The Treasury is in disagreement with its own advisers over the sale of shares in Lloyds Bank, as George Osborne seeks to fulfil his General Election pledge to sell a large chunk directly to retail investors. The sale could prove popular, but would also mean selling the shares at a discount – reducing the profit [...]
You could now live in the house with the “finest view in England” May 5, 2015 The best view in England could soon be yours, now that a 2 grade II listed Georgian manor house is being leased out in Oxfordshire. Woodstock House is directly adjacent to Blenheim Palace, and therefore gets to share the views of its 2,000 acres of parkland. Designed by landscape architect Sir John Vanburgh in [...]
The super-rich paying a £50,000 deposit to RENT in London August 20, 2015 With rising house prices placing home ownership out of reach for many and overseas investment rife, London’s lettings market is booming. But the commonly-painted picture of young professionals struggling to pay for their grotty house share in Dalston only tells one side of this increasingly complex story. For competition isn’t only fierce at the affordable [...]
These Pocket flats in Camden may be tiny – but they’re also 20 per cent cheaper than the local area June 3, 2015 For many Londoners, the idea of buying a place in Camden is about as realistic as buying Kensington Palace – but that's about to change, after the launch of a set of pint-sized homes in the borough. Developer Pocket has just put its Oak Grove scheme on sale. At just over 400 sq ft, the [...]
UK house prices: Mortgage approvals have their biggest spike since April 2009 June 2, 2015 The number of mortgages granted in April for new homes grew at its fastest rate since April 2009, according to data from the Bank of England. The figures Some 68,076 mortgages were granted in April for house purchase, compared with 61,945 in March – an increase of 9.9 per cent – the biggest monthly percentage change [...]
London property: 12ft wide house that hasn’t even been built yet goes on sale for £500,000 September 9, 2014 After last week's 7ft house (a snip at £235,000) comes a new competitor for the title of "most number of rooms squeezed into smallest amount of space" – this 12ft wide house in South London. It isn't due for completion until the beginning of next year, but that hasn't stopped its developers from putting it up [...]
Living the Whincop Cheam: An interior-designed mansion with all the furniture thrown in April 30, 2015 In the town you grew up in, was there a road that everyone aspired to live on? It may have had the biggest houses or backed on to a luscious stretch of parkland, or it may simply have been where your MP lived, along with that guy who owned the local department store. In the [...]
UK house prices: Growth slows for the first time in 2015 May 8, 2015 UK house price growth has fallen on a three-month basis for the first time in 2015, according to Halifax. The figures For the three months to April 2015, house prices in the UK grew 2.2 per cent, lower than the last three months, when it was 2.6 per cent. On a monthly basis prices rose [...]