Opinion: Online agents will ultimately lose you money – because they can’t negotiate on your behalf June 12, 2017 The American president and lawyer Abraham Lincoln once stated that ‘a man who represents himself in court has a fool for a client.’ And as any property developer will tell you, other than finding a dishonest estate agent willing to defraud his client, the best way to buy a house for less than it’s worth [...]
American investment in London property is at an all time high due to the fall in sterling. But what are they buying and where? July 7, 2017 Earlier this week, US citizens all over the world were celebrating Independence Day, yet for the first time in a long time, many of them had one eye on the fireworks and another across the Atlantic on the bargains to be had back in the Old Country. Following the fall in the pound due to [...]
Steve France at Florismart is ending the Dutch monopoly on the flower industry using tech August 7, 2017 Upon reflection, breakfast at the The Ivy Chelsea Garden, abloom with foliage as it is, was an appropriate location to meet Steve France. The reason it is so apt is that France is chief executive of Florismart, a platform that is challenging, and successfully diminishing, the Dutch monopoly on the cut flower trade by culling [...]
Sales of prime central London properties are now lower than they were in 2008 July 19, 2016 Transaction volumes in prime central property have dipped lower than their last trough in 2008, according to research from property data company LonRes. In the second quarter of this year, there were only 286 sales in prime central London property recorded, lower than the 347 sales recorded in the fourth quarter of 2008. Read more: Buy to [...]
The Bank of Mum and Dad: Should you gift or loan? August 17, 2017 Young adults are feeling the pinch. Not only are property prices shockingly high, but student debt and stagnant wages are putting a strain on savings, making it difficult for many young people to even fathom the prospect of affording a house. Research from the Resolution Foundation shows that millennials are the first generation ever to [...]
Profits at Foxtons have fallen 64 per cent July 27, 2017 Will there ever be a let-up for Foxtons? Shares in the troubled estate agent fell in early trading after it admitted profits had dived in the first half. The figures Pre-tax profits fell 64 per cent in the six months to the end of June, the London-focused estate agent said today, from £10.5m last year [...]
There are now 11 house-hunters for every property on the market February 27, 2017 The UK's housing crisis is getting worse, new figures have suggested – with 11 house-hunters vying for every property on the market. Research by the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) suggested an average of 425 prospective buyers were registered to each estate agent branch in the UK in January, 10 per cent higher than [...]
Where things stand one year after BHS went into administration April 25, 2017 BHS was almost 90 years old when it went into administration a year ago today, but all that remains of its legacy now is a string of empty shops and an online store. When retail tycoon Sir Philip Green sold the chain for just £1 to serial bankrupt Dominic Chappell in 2015, he set off [...]
Battersea Power Station’s affordable housing quota risked pushing it into “serious challenges”, says Wandsworth planning chief June 23, 2017 The chairman of Wandsworth’s planning committee has said the council had no option but to allow the developers behind Battersea Power Station to make changes to its affordable housing quota because the project faces “serious challenges”. In a statement today Richard Field said the committee “had a very difficult choice between accepting a potentially lower [...]
Focus On Brixton: David Bowie, buzzing nightlife and honest burgers keep average house prices at around £550,000 July 27, 2017 In many ways, Brixton is the capital of south London. With its excellent transport links into central London and exhaustive range of shopping, dining and nightlife options, if you didn’t have to work, you probably wouldn’t need to leave. It even has its own currency. Over 250 businesses accept the Brixton Pound and around £50,000 [...]