Proportion of home owners in UK rises slightly but average first-time buyer age remains high February 1, 2019 The number of people in England that own a home has increased slightly in the last financial year, according to the annual English Housing Survey. The report, published by the government, shows that 64 per cent of people owned a house in 2017-18, one per cent up on the data from the year before. However [...]
Property of the Week: Leinster Gardens, the HQ of Andreas Papadakis’ publishing house Academy Editions goes on sale February 1, 2019 Faithful followers of fashion in interior design and architecture will have heard of Academy Editions. Leinster Gardens, Bayswater, £7.95m Back in the 1970s, it published over a thousand influential books and magazines dedicated to architecture and the decorative arts, drawing artists like Roy Lichtenstein, David Hockney and Charles Jencks to the Bayswater headquarters of the [...]
New homes: Our pick of the new builds going on sale in London this weekend February 1, 2019 New developments on the market this week South Quay Plaza, Docklands From £685,000 The last penthouse goes on sale this week atop the third tallest residential tower in London. Filled with British manufactured custom interiors by Design Haus Liberty with Asian influences, this £2.875m three bedroom lateral apartment sits on the 65th floor of a [...]
MPs launch inquiry into impact of business rates on high street retailers February 1, 2019 An influential committee of MPs is launching an inquiry into the government's policy towards business rates, amid mounting pleas for tax relief from embattled retailers on the high street. Parliament’s Treasury committee has revealed today that it is set to scrutinise the impact of Downing Street’s business rates tax, which has been at the centre [...]
Estate agent Foxtons cuts earnings guidance after ‘toughest’ year ever in London January 31, 2019 Estate agent Foxtons said last year was one of the “toughest sales markets” ever in London and expected earnings to drop 80 per cent on the previous year. The company said it expected market conditions to remain challenging this year. Read more: UK house prices growth falls to six-year low in weak start to 2019 It [...]
UK house price growth falls to six-year low in weak start to 2019 January 31, 2019 UK house prices almost stopped growing altogether in January as the annual growth rate fell to almost a six-year low, figures reveal today. The 0.1 per cent growth rate was just a fifth of December’s own sluggish 0.5 per cent rate of annual growth, Nationwide’s data showed, and its worst since flat growth in February [...]
Let it be: London councils should allow offices and shops to be converted into homes January 31, 2019 Amid all the Brexit brouhaha in Westminster it is important that parliamentarians do not forget the many other issues that affect people's day-to-day lives. Bravo, therefore, to MP Chris Philp for reminding Theresa May during yesterday's Prime Minister's Questions that the dream of homeownership remains all too elusive for many young adults – particularly in [...]
Should we be worried about the rise of the Bank of Mum and Dad mortgage? January 30, 2019 In the years leading up to the financial crisis, it was relatively easy for wannabe homeowners to get loans for the full value of a property – otherwise known as a 100 per cent loan-to-value mortgage. Of course, we know the problems caused by these mammoth loans, and since then, affordability criteria have become stricter [...]
London house prices dip over 2018 January 30, 2019 London house prices dipped in 2018, with uncertainty looming large over the capital in spite of double-digit growth across many of the UK’s other major cities. Property prices in London tumbled 0.2 per cent last year, according to new data which underlines fears of a slowdown in activity across parts of the capital’s housing market [...]
Sammy Tak Lee reignites feud with West End landlord over freedom to raise cash January 29, 2019 Hong Kong billionaire Sammy Tak Lee has ratcheted up a shareholder feud at one of London’s biggest landlords this morning, after telling investors to vote against resolutions that would allow the company to raise money through allocating more shares. West End property group Shaftesbury is bracing itself for its second investor revolt in two years after Lee, [...]