Opinion: Tech hubs, new transport, and space near the city centre – why Birmingham is a smart place to buy property December 11, 2018 Birmingham continues to hit the headlines at the moment, with several factors converging to make investment in residential property particularly attractive right now in the UK’s second largest city. Everyone’s heard of the HS2 transport infrastructure, which is lined up to connect the city to London in 49 minutes. But HS2 also shifts the conceptual [...]
Nearly 300,000 homes could be built in Greater London above rail tracks, says new research December 11, 2018 Untapped space above London’s railways tracks could pave the way for as many as 280,000 new homes, according to new data that comes amid growing calls to tackle the capital’s housing shortage woes. Almost 2,500 hectares of land on top of Greater London’s train, overground and Tube lines could be freed up, a report by [...]
New homes: Our pick of the new builds going on sale in London this week December 11, 2018 New developments on the market this week Hampstead Manor, Hampstead £1.75m (show apartment asking price) A show apartment launched this week in a key heritage restoration project in north west London. Part of a larger scheme that also includes new builds, this two bedroom home is in a converted building called Dudin Brown, which dates [...]
New mortgage commitments climb in third quarter of 2018 December 11, 2018 New mortgage commitments in the third quarter of 2018 were 4.7 per cent higher than last year, according to new statistics from the Bank of England. Meanwhile, the value of residential property mortgage loans jumped to £1,43bn in the third quarter, rising 3.2 per cent on the same period a year ago. The share of new lending [...]
UK house price growth slumps to six-year low December 7, 2018 UK house prices grew by their weakest rate in almost six years last month, according to figures released today. Boasting just 0.3 per cent growth in the three months to the end of November compared to the same period last year, house prices fell to their lowest growth since December 2012, according to Halifax. House [...]
Housebuilder Berkeley Group boosts full-year profit guidance December 7, 2018 Housebuilder Berkeley Group has increased its pre-tax profit guidance for the current financial year by more than five per cent, it said today. This comes despite its results for the first half of the year showing its pre-tax profit fell by a quarter compared to the same period last year, dropping from £539.9m to £401.2m. [...]
Housebuilders lead the FTSE risers as no-deal Brexit risk fades December 5, 2018 Britain's largest housebuilders saw the value of their shares jump this afternoon as the prospect of a no-deal Brexit began to recede. Property heavyweights such as Berkeley Group, Persimmon and Redrow were among the top 10 FTSE risers today as a frantic 24 hours of political tussling in Westminster fuelled the possibility of a “softer” Brexit [...]
Six-bedroom Mayfair mansion snapped up for £39m December 3, 2018 A Grade-II listed mansion in Mayfair has been bought for £39m. According to documents filed with the land registry it was acquired by a British Virgin Islands-registered company for £38.8m at the start of November. Fees and stamp duty mean the total cost of the house will be closer to £45m. The six-bedroom house has a [...]
Asian investors put stamp on London skyline with massive trophy deals December 3, 2018 LONDON’S most valuable buildings are being dominated by Asian investors, who have grabbed half of all £1bn-plus property deals over the last five years, it has been revealed. Of the ten London properties which sold for more than £1bn since 2013, investors from Hong Kong snapped up three, including the Walkie Talkie and UBS’s Liverpool [...]
Scrap stamp duty for pensioners to free up homes for youngsters, says thinktank December 3, 2018 A UK thinktank has called for the government to scrap stamp duty for pensioners to encourage downsizing and free up homes for younger families. Policy Exchange’s new report reveals that 1.1m homes in England with two or more spare bedrooms are lived in by a single person aged over 65. The report says the lower stamp [...]