First-time buyer mortgage approvals increase in October December 17, 2019 The number of first time buyers securing mortgages jumped in October, according to the latest data. There were 32,260 new first-time buyer mortgages completed, 2.8 per cent more than in October last year. Read more: UK mortgage lending dips as buyers hesitate in Brexit uncertainty The number of homemover mortgages completed in the month grew [...]
Pension funds are putting more money into property debt December 17, 2019 When the Alternative Credit Council recently predicted that the global private debt market will be worth in excess of $1 trillion by the end of 2020, some might have called the claim a little audacious. Only seven years ago, less than £1 in every £10 lent in the UK came from an alternative lender. Today, [...]
Hong Kong tycoon snaps up £65m penthouse after Boris Johnson victory December 16, 2019 A Hong Kong tycoon has splashed out £65m on a penthouse apartment in Belgravia just hours after Boris Johnson’s landslide election victory was confirmed. It is understood that the deal, which is the most expensive penthouse sale this year, was completed as investors celebrated the huge Tory win. Read more: Chinese property firms in plans [...]
Rightmove: Tory election win will boost UK house prices by two per cent in 2020 December 16, 2019 UK house prices are expected to see a two per cent jump next year following the Conservative Party’s election victory. Prices will benefit from greater home-mover confidence, which has been weakened by political uncertainty since the 2016 EU referendum. However the latest research suggests the housing market will only return to full health when “Brexit [...]
Topshop boss Sir Philip Green bags £310m loan for Oxford Street store December 13, 2019 Sir Philip Green has bagged a £310m deal to remortgage the flagship Topshop store on Oxford Street, securing the future of a crucial asset in his struggling retail empire. Topshop parent company Arcadia Group today said it had completed a four-year refinancing deal with US investment giant Apollo Management. Read more: Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia [...]
Conservative election victory sparks sharp recovery in housebuilder stocks December 13, 2019 The uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the country’s future has long been blamed as a source of the property market’s recent struggles. However a sizeable Conservative majority in the general election has already resulted in a sharp rise in housebuilder stocks. FTSE 100 firm Taylor Wimpey’s share price rose by 11.4 per cent in early morning [...]
2020s interiors trends: Goodbye millennial pink and hygge, hello art deco and classic blue December 13, 2019 Some decades manifest their very selves in the form of interiors. It’s hard to conjure up an image of the 1970s that doesn’t involve shag pile carpets and brown swirly wallpaper, for example. What of the teenies, then? We round up what might one day be considered the classic styles of the decade, and predict [...]
Property of the week: An Italian villa for the price of a terrace in Streatham December 13, 2019 There are some types of home that people own, in part, because they sound impressive when dropped into conversation. Villas in the Italian countryside definitely fall into this category. If you too want to show off to your friends, this home which has just come on the market with Casaitalia International can be snapped up [...]
Mini bar, pepper spray pump, sound system: What the super-rich want in a panic room December 13, 2019 Most of us will never have the need for a panic room. The sum of our valuables and the size of our homes means dropping in a huge, heavy steel structure at a cost of (at least) hundreds of thousands of pounds doesn’t even cross our minds. Those who do find themselves in need of [...]
Four reasons why selling your house at Christmas might actually work December 13, 2019 Christmas is a time for many things. Family. Bad music. Overeating. One thing it’s not the time for is putting your home on the market. Or is it? According to some London agents, selling your house during the holidays might not be the complete no-no that you think. Here are some reasons why you might [...]