Why this analyst believes time is running out to prevent a housing bubble March 7, 2014 Both the government and the Bank of England need to take urgent action to prevent the UK from entering into another housing boom, according to chief UK economist at Berenberg, Robert Wood. The warning comes after a host of data releases showing rapid increases in house prices across the UK. The Halifax house house price [...]
Rates for Help to Buy unveiled October 8, 2013 Mortgage rates for the controversial Help to Buy initiative have been unveiled. RBS announced that it would be offering two and five-year fixed rate contracts at 4.99 per cent and 5.49 per cent respectively. Halifax is offering a two-year fixed rate of 5.19 per cent. The governments scheme will see taxpayers on the hook for [...]
Four luxury penthouses unveiled at NEO Bankside on the Southbank June 20, 2014 ANOTHER week, another luxury penthouse. No new residential development in London is complete unless it has a £12m monster sitting astride it, while the rest of the inferior apartments peek up at it in envy. Perhaps it’s to create a natural hierarchy in the block, a way of fostering that “keeping up with the Jones’” [...]
Labour’s rent control plans would be a nightmare for tenants May 6, 2014 AS PART of its campaign against the “cost of living crisis”, Labour has stepped up with an offer to help struggling renters. Sadly, at best its proposals are a non-solution, and at worst a nightmare for tenants. The rent regulation that Ed Miliband plans to introduce would see three-year rental contracts become the norm, during [...]
Labour’s rent control plans would be a nightmare for tenants May 6, 2014 AS PART of its campaign against the “cost of living crisis”, Labour has stepped up with an offer to help struggling renters. Sadly, at best its proposals are a non-solution, and at worst a nightmare for tenants. The rent regulation that Ed Miliband plans to introduce would see three-year rental contracts become the norm, during [...]
Equities bounce boosts London Stock Exchange May 15, 2014 THE LONDON Stock Exchange expects more companies and investors to pile into equities, following a year in which revenues at the exchange group jumped 50 per cent and adjusted profits were up 17 per cent. The LSE said turnover topped £1bn in the year ending March, boosted by its purchase of clearing house LCH.Clearnet a [...]
Letters to the Editor – 02/05 – Inflation spike, Rent controls, Best of Twitter May 1, 2014 Inflation spike [Re: How the Goldilocks recovery will trigger a sharp inflation rise, Wednesday] I would love to be Andrew Lilico’s bookmaker, as he’s agreed to a £1 to £1 bet against the odds. But I do agree with his analysis that there is little spare capacity in the UK. The underlying rate of growth [...]
Inflation falls to four and a half year low April 15, 2014 Inflation keeps moving lower, having fallen below the Bank of England's two per cent threshold in January for the first time in four years. Headline consumer price inflation has come in at 1.6 in the year to March, down from 1.7 per cent last month. Analysts expected to see inflation at that level today – [...]
Does London need its own housing minister? April 2, 2014 Tory minister Kris Hopkins caused something of a storm on Newsnight yesterday, by appearing relatively blase about the rocketing cost of housing in the UK. “If I I buy a house I expect the value to rise,” said Hopkins, who was equally laid back about the country’s shortage of accommodation. “I don’t want to put [...]
Bottom Line: Chinese ambition trumps a market return March 31, 2014 ALMOST 25 years ago, a Hong Kong retail tycoon called Dickson Poon stunned London by taking a chance on Harvey Nichols – a fading department store in dire need of a makeover. Poon was one of the first to spot a trend that now seems obvious; the Asian shopper’s thirst for designer labels that has [...]