HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds: Lenders bank on interest rate cut as mortgage ‘price war’ heats up Banking Top UK lenders are offering more mortgages to prospective house buyers, the Bank of England has revealed, as falling interest rates stir up a “price war” on the high street. The Bank’s credit conditions survey revealed that the burgeoning supply of mortgages would come against a levelling off in demand in the three months to [...]
FCA to rip 140 pages out of handbook in deregulation drive Markets The UK’s financial watchdog has vowed to rip scores of pages from its handbook as it slashes red tape in a drive to boost growth. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said as many as 140 pages will be removed from the lengthy handbook, as it opened a consultation on scrapping data collection requirements. The move [...]
House prices flat but ‘only a matter of time’ before market acceleration Property House prices were unchanged in February, but market experts have said prices will rise later in the year as mortgage rates fall. The average UK house price remained at £268,000 in February, flat month on month but up 5.4 per cent year on year, according to the ONS. Growth was driven by higher prices in [...]
Can tech help the state of the UK property market? April 16, 2025 Despite its vast size, the UK property industry lags much of the rest of the economy on technology adoption, with highly fragmented and deeply traditional ways of doing business. Many of these businesses still rely on outdated practices rooted in manual labour and legacy systems. While consumer expectations have shifted towards seamless, tech-enhanced experiences, the [...]
UK house prices hit record high in April despite stamp duty changes April 14, 2025 The average UK house price rose 1.4 per cent in April despite fears of a market slowdown in the wake of changes to stamp duty. UK house prices hit a new record high of £377,182, according to Rightmove. Analysts said that lower mortgage rates have offset the impact of stamp duty changes and the typical [...]
Another recession could push Millennial resentment to tipping point April 10, 2025 Any goodwill left in avocado-munching Millennials towards their wealthier elders will likely be gone with another recession, writes John Oxley.
Adolescence and the problem with government by Gogglebox April 9, 2025 Calls for Netflix’s Adolescence to be shown in schools reveal the dire state of our national conversation, says Emma Revell For years I have joked that reality TV may be the only way to get some people to understand the severity of the housing crisis. Find an over-confident Boomer who is still harping on about [...]
Will Trump tariffs end up helping Next, M&S and Dunelm? April 8, 2025 UK heavyweights who aren’t exposed to the US market, like Next and M&S, may end up seeing some silver linings from Trump’s tariffs, according to analysts. Only a few UK retailers – namely JD Sports, Doc Martens and Burberry – sell to the states and produce in eastern Asia. Berenberg analysts said that positives from [...]
First-time buyers ‘becoming less reliant on parents’ April 8, 2025 First-time buyers are completing on their homes with less help from their parents – albeit slightly later in life – according to new data. First-time buyers who received money from a friend or family member went from 34 per cent of buyers in the first quarter of 2024 to just under 30 in the first [...]
FTSE 100: Rolls-Royce shares rebound after losing over £10bn in value April 8, 2025 Shares in Rolls-Royce have started to rebound after losing more than £10bn in value since President Donald Trump’s tariffs were announced. The Derby-headquartered group’s shares had been trading at an all-time high of 812p in the middle of March before plummeting to 635p on Monday. They have now started to rebound and are trading at [...]