PIMCO’S GROSS ISSUES WARNING OVER A BRAZEN PONZI SCHEME: QE October 27, 2010 PIMCO’S resident bond expert Bill Gross yesterday, in his usual verbose fashion, issued a stark warning over the upcoming second round of quantitative easing (QE) in the US – dubbing it no less than a “Ponzi scheme” on the part of the Federal Reserve. “Check [sic] writing in the trillions is not a bondholder’s friend; [...]
FOCUS ON: BOW, E3 October 21, 2010 PACIFIC COURT, CASPIAN WHARF Price: Three-beds from £404,950. Due for completion in 2012, these apartments are now for sale. They include a concierge service and underground parking. Contact: Berkeley Homes on 0844 800 1152, www. berkeleyhomes.co.uk PARNELL ROAD Price: £575,000 Close to Victoria Park, this three-bed modern house has an open-plan living area and kitchen [...]
BUYING October 21, 2010 RUSSELL HUNT MANAGING DIRECTOR, PROPERTY HUNT Q.Dear Russell, I am a first-time buyer, please can you advise me on the buying process? A.Before you have found a property and agreed to buy, you need to make sure that you have your finances all in place. It is also really important to have your solicitor set [...]
PROPERTY NEWS October 21, 2010 HOME BUYERS GO GREEN It appears that Britons’ global conscience is alive and well. A new survey commissioned in advance of Energy Saving Week (25-31 Oct) says that over half of people are attracted to a new home because of its energy efficiency. Well, ok, maybe there is a little bit of self-interest there: the [...]
Outlook for housing market uncertain as remortgaging falls to ten-year low October 12, 2010 THE days of excessive mortgage lending seen prior to the credit crunch will not return, the Council of Mortgage Lender’s (CML) director-general, Michael Coogan said yesterday, as its latest figures showed remortgage activity had fallen to its lowest level in over a decade. August saw 25,000 remortgages advanced by lenders, accounting for 25 per cent [...]
House prices rose 8.3% year-on-year in August October 12, 2010 HOUSE prices grew 8.3 per cent year-on-year in August, slightly down on July’s figure of 8.4 per cent, official figures showed yesterday. Property prices rose 0.7 per cent in August, helping the annual rate of growth recover some ground after July’s 0.3 per cent fall. The Department of Communities and Local Government said the average [...]
Central banks will be net buyers of gold next year October 7, 2010 Central banks are expected to be net buyers of gold in 2011 for the first time in nearly two decades, the World Gold Council (WGC) said yesterday. “For next year, we will probably see a scenario where central banks are net buyers [of gold] for the first time in something like 17 years,” Marcus Grubb, [...]
FOCUS ON: WOOLWICH, SE18 October 7, 2010 THE ACADEMY, WOOLWICH Price: Apartments in Kitchener House start at £260,000 for a two-bed. This conversion of the 18th century former Royal Military Academy has created a whole range of different-sized apartments ideal for the first-time buyer. Unusually for new-builds, the flats retain the original building’s period features. It is hoped the development will eventually [...]
Central London homes hit as summer lull takes a toll October 5, 2010 HOUSE prices in central London fell for the first time in 18 months in the third quarter of the year, the property firm and chartered surveyor Cluttons said yesterday. Prices fell 0.2 per cent, reversing a 0.9 per cent increase in the previous quarter, as demand for property weakened and the number of properties offered [...]
FSA mortgage plans would have left 4m without loans October 5, 2010 NEARLY four million homeowners would have been denied a mortgage between 2005 and 2009 under affordability proposals put forward by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said yesterday. It said that amounted to over half of all loans during the period not being granted to potential borrowers, despite the fact [...]