UK property prices: A third of all house sales are now to first time buyers March 30, 2015 A third of all house sales are now made to first-time buyers, a new report has found, suggesting the UK's housing market is becoming less hostile towards those attempting to climb the first rung on the property ladder. The report, by the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), said 30 per cent of all house [...]
Bashing landlords won’t bring down sky-high rents in London February 10, 2016 The proportion of households renting privately in London has more than doubled over the last 10 years. And with demand far outstripping supply, fears are mounting that London’s sky-high rents will rise even further. Some believe a simple fix would be for the winner of May’s mayoral election to introduce some form of rent control in [...]
UK house prices: The most popular properties in the UK according to Zoopla November 2, 2015 There's a lot more to the housing market than what's in offer in London, according to research by property website Zoopla. Read more: Land Registry – London house prices hit half million-pound mark Using data compiled from Zoopla's tool which allows users to search by "most popular", the company found a list of the five most popular properties in [...]
UK house prices: More than £63bn properties have been bought using cash instead of mortgages since 2011 March 8, 2016 More than £63bn has been spent on £1m-plus homes over the last five years by buyers using hard cash as opposed to mortgages, new figures show. High net worth adviser Bower Private Clients said 7,200 homes worth more than £1m are being bought on average each year alone without the help of a mortgage. This is [...]
UK housing crisis: Build to Rent investment to triple by 2020 December 5, 2015 Investment in Build to Rent will triple to £50bn by 2020, helping it swell from two to five per cent of the private rental sector, and providing minor relief to the UK's growing housing crisis. It's pertinent as the number of first time buyers and young homeowners are declining, at a time when private rental stock is [...]
EU referendum: City of London Corporation signs off on campaigning for the UK to remain in the EU March 3, 2016 The City of London Corporation has today signed off on supporting Britain remaining in the European Union, rejecting calls from Corporation members and other City leaders to remain neutral in the run-up to the EU referendum on 23 June. According to a statement issued this afternoon, the Corporation's main decision-making body, the Court of Common [...]
Berkeley says interest rates hike could ease London house price rises June 17, 2015 Housebuilding giant Berkeley Group Holdings said yesterday that the prospect of an interest rate hike may help ease the pressure on London’s rising house prices, which have been fuelled by a lack of available homes in the capital. Data from the Office of National Statistic yesterday showed that wages have risen at their fastest [...]
The certified investor: IW Capital and Money&Co’s Luke Davis on how to avoid a regulation deluge in the crowdfunding industry January 14, 2016 Before crowdfunding, plenty of private equity and investment firms were already helping their clients to raise money and make investments in smaller firms via the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) tax relief. Now, some of the individuals involved have branched out into crowdfunding. Meanwhile, the newest entrants into the crowdfunding market, particularly within equity, are structuring [...]
Foxtons hit by stamp duty changes and EU uncertainty March 8, 2016 Foxtons said it has been hit by falling volumes in central London as stamp duty pressures put off buyers. The figures Although revenues grew 4.1 per cent to £149.8m in the year to the end of December, pre-tax profits fell 2.6 per cent to £41m, Foxtons said this morning. But sales revenue rose 3.4 per cent to £72.2m as the number of units it sold rose 4.4 [...]
Landlords are switching to company status ahead of stamp duty hike and the upcoming cuts in buy to let tax reliefs March 7, 2016 Landlords are increasingly setting themselves up as companies ahead of upcoming tax changes in the buy-to-let market. Tax breaks which allow landlords to claim for wear and tear on their properties and deduct mortgage interest from their overall tax bill are to be cut from 2017. It’s because the government wants landlords to be taxed on [...]