Apsley and Oxshott top London’s commuter town rankings after today’s rail fare price hike January 2, 2019 Hertfordshire's Apsley has been named London's cheapest town for City commuters, after the UK today hiked up rail fares by 3.1 per cent and hit the capital's train riders the hardest. In an analysis of house prices, mortgage payments, the cost of a rail season ticket and journey duration, Apsley won out in costing the [...]
First-time buyer mortgage approvals hit 10-year high despite higher UK house prices January 2, 2019 First-time buyer mortgage approvals hit their highest level in more than 10 years in 2018, the latest data shows. An estimated 367,038 first-time buyers took out mortgages last year, up from 362,800 in 2017, according to analysis from Yorkshire Building Society using UK Finance figures. The number exceeded 2007 levels, when 359,000 first-time buyers secured mortgages, [...]
UK house prices 2019: What experts say will happen after Brexit December 31, 2018 Has there ever been a more difficult time to predict the future of UK house prices? Political uncertainty looms large over the UK’s property market, but experts have nonetheless given their expectations for the year to come. Bank of England governor Mark Carney showed how dangerous the numbers game can be in November, when he had [...]
Londoners flock to the country, snapping up £30bn of property outside the capital in 2018 December 26, 2018 Londoners left the capital in their droves this year, buying £30bn worth of property outside the city as they sought to sidestep expensive house prices. The value of property bought outside the capital by Londoners was at its highest level since 2007 when the figure was £37bn, the highest on record. This year, 74,350 Londoners bought [...]
Chinese city leads global house price growth as Europe lags behind December 20, 2018 The Chinese city of Xi’an recorded the highest level of house price growth this year as Asia pulls ahead of a sluggish European market. House prices in Xi’an, which is the capital of Shaanxi Province in central China, grew 20 per cent in the year to September, according to Knight Frank’s Global Residential Cities Index. [...]
London house prices slump as Brexit stagnation spreads to suburbs December 19, 2018 London house prices fell in October as slowdown in the capital dragged down UK property price growth to its lowest level in five years. House prices in London fell 0.3 per cent in October, taking the annual price fall in the capital to 1.7 per cent, according to data released today by the Office for National [...]
Waterfront London properties take 30 per cent premium, a bargain compared to Paris December 18, 2018 London waterfront homes come with a hefty price tag, but the 30 per cent premium to inland properties still falls well below equivalents in Paris and Sydney. While homeowners with a view of the water can expect to pay a hefty premium in London, they are fetching bargains compared to Paris and Perth, where the [...]
Office Space: Behind the scenes of the Soho headquarters of games developer King, the creators of Candy Crush December 18, 2018 The bright yellow King logo above the entrance to a London office on Wardour Street must trigger some kind of Pavlovian response in the pedestrians who pass by it every day. King is the studio responsible for Candy Crush, which is less a game than a global phenomenon. Since its launch in 2012, games in [...]
House sales to continue declining in 2019 as Brexit uncertainty and lack of supply hinder activity December 17, 2018 House sales are to continue stagnating next year amid Brexit uncertainty and lack of supply, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). In its forecast for the year, the trade body said the UK housing market is unlikely to see much change in 2019, with sales volumes to weaken by around five per [...]
Opinion: Why we should follow the French by considering guardianship as a way to fill empty homes with those in housing need December 17, 2018 Christmas is the time of year when the misery of homelessness becomes apparent to everyone. Many homeless people are in this position as rising property prices and rents across London, combined with the housing shortage, has made affordable accommodation in decent locations a mere pipe dream for many young and low-paid people working in the [...]