Vote of confidence for London as Deloitte office sold to Hong Kong real estate business for £255m March 2, 2021 A large City of London office, used by Deloitte, has been sold to a Hong Kong-based real estate company for £255m. The 147,000 sq ft office, Athene Place at 66 Shoe Lane, recently underwent a full refurbishment before the sale. In June 2018 Henderson Park bought the space after Deloitte had vacated the building. The [...]
House prices rebound unexpectedly in February on hopes of stamp duty extension March 2, 2021 House price growth beat expectations last month rising 0.7 per cent month-on-month, according to Nationwide’s latest figures. It brings year-on-year growth to 6.9 per cent from 6.4 per cent in January, beating the consensus 5.5 per cent. It more than offsets the 0.2 per cent monthly decline recorded at the start of the year. No [...]
Foxtons buys West London rival Douglas & Gordon for £14.25m March 2, 2021 London-listed estate agent Foxtons has confirmed it has acquired West London-based firm Douglas & Gordon for £14.25m. It comes just a week after the FTSE firm confirmed it was in discussions to “reflect the company’s stated ambition to acquire high quality businesses with strong lettings books.” Douglas and Gordon, which is run by former Foxtons [...]
Budget 2021: Chancellor set to unveil mortgage guarantee scheme February 27, 2021 The Chancellor will use Wednesday’s Budget to unveil a new mortgage scheme aimed at getting tens of thousands of people onto the property ladder. Under the new programme, first time or current homeowners looking to buy a house of up to £600,000 will need a deposit of just five per cent to secure a mortgage. [...]
Most affordable London boroughs for house hunters revealed February 26, 2021 The most affordable areas to buy a property in London have been revealed, with outer south and east boroughs dominating the list. Bromley is the most affordable London borough for potential buyers, although its house prices earnings ratio of 6.7 is still higher than most local authorities across Britain. Neighbouring south-east London boroughs Bexley and [...]
Rightmove revenue falls by almost a third despite surge in visitor numbers February 26, 2021 Property giant Rightmove saw revenue fall by 29 per cent to £205.7m in 2020 as coronavirus restrictions battered the housing market. The firm felt the strain of providing a 75 per cent discount on invoice values to estate agents and new customers between April and July last year. Operating profit also dropped 37 per cent [...]
Almost 800,000 households at risk of losing homes after ban on repossessions ends February 25, 2021 Almost 800,000 households could lose their homes if they suffer a drop in income when mortgage deferrals and the ban on repossessions end, the latest research showed. A report by the Social Market Foundation found that the pandemic has reduced the savings of many mortgage-holders, with more than one in ten owner-occupiers left without enough [...]
Stamp duty holiday: Property experts split on benefits of tax break extension February 24, 2021 The government is reportedly planning to extend the stamp duty holiday to June, with buyers set to save £1.75bn on 300,000 additional transactions, according to the latest research. There are an estimated 628,000 sales in total still currently in the legal process across the country – including those agreed last year – data from Rightmove [...]
Third City of London skyscraper development gets planning green light February 24, 2021 Another skyscraper development has been given the go-ahead in the City of London, making it the third tall building scheme to get the green light this year. The City Corporation today granted developers British Land and GIC planning permission to build the 38-storey office block at 2 Finsbury Avenue. This year, 33-storey and 55-storey skyscraper [...]
Chancellor set to extend stamp duty holiday ‘until end of June’ February 24, 2021 Chancellor set to extend stamp duty holiday 'until end of June'