Letters to the editor – 15/13 – Building homes, Best of Twitter August 14, 2013 Building homes [Re: The French build three times more new homes than we do, yesterday] There are many interesting comparisons with France. Populations are similar, but France is growing slower – around 300,000 per year, so babies will soon get second homes. Total mortgages outstanding were €800bn (£683m), compared with £1, 265bn in the UK. [...]
Global wealth highest in history despite downturn October 9, 2013 Despite the financial crisis of 2008 and the difficulties in the Eurozone, global wealth has more than doubled since 2000, reaching over £150 trillion, according to the latest global wealth report from Credit Suisse. Economic growth in developing countries and rising populations have played a significant part in the figures. Aggregate total wealth rocketed past [...]
Builders signal August boost for construction September 3, 2013 THE CONSTRUCTION sector grew at its fastest rate since September 2007 this August, surging after a feeble start to the year, according to a survey of professionals. The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for construction, collated by Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, output is rising at the fastest rate since before the [...]
Surging market sees mortgage choice boosted August 19, 2013 THE UPSWING in housing market activity has let to a sharp rise in the number of mortgage products, with variety back up to 2008 levels. There are now over 10,000 mortgage products available in the UK again, the first five-figure result seen for nearly five years, with a third more on offer than there were 12 [...]
Government gloats of Help to Buy success as bubble expands August 13, 2013 Since the launch of the Help to Buy equity loan scheme in April, there have been 10,000 reservations for new build homes: evidence, the government has said, that the scheme is working (release). Earlier today, communities and local government secretary Eric Pickles said: This government’s package of measures to boost the housing market is working, [...]
London housing begins to price out businesses July 28, 2013 BUSINESSES warned the government today that rising property prices could undermine investment in the capital, as firms struggle to keep up. According to the statement by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and KPMG, the shortage of housing has risen from companies’ third most pressing concern to their second since December, overtaking transport. The number [...]
Kingfisher cuts back on space to save on costs September 11, 2013 B&Q OWNER Kingfisher said yesterday it is to scale back or exit 18 of its stores across the UK as the DIY retailer looks for ways to ease its lease burden and boost profitability. Several retailers, including Topshop owner Arcadia, have been shedding stores as leases come up for renewal to reflect changes in [...]
Housing bubble threat underscores pressing need to revise Help to Buy August 16, 2013 HELP to Buy has been widely criticised by experts, academics and journalists as a dangerous policy. In the long term, in a supply constrained system, simply increasing lending does not build a single extra house. And due to the planning system’s failures, we have an incredibly supply constrained system. From 2000 to 2007 lending doubled, [...]
London’s Night Tube could see property prices jump November 21, 2013 Great news if you own London property. Maybe not so great if your rent is already eating up half of your wages. An impact study by GVA found that the Crossrail transport project would increase "residential and commercial value of as much as £5.5bn along the route between 2012 and 2021". The availability of a [...]
Moelis UK subsidiary reverses loss to swing into stellar profits August 27, 2013 THE BRITISH arm of boutique investment bank Moelis & Company more than doubled revenues last year despite a dip in advisory services in Europe, its annual accounts shows. Moelis’ UK subsidiary, which is based in St Paul’s Churchyard in the City, saw fee revenue increase from £19.8m to £44.5m for the year ending 2012, according [...]