UK buyers flock back to City market as investment levels soar August 23, 2018 UK buyers are returning to the Square Mile’s property market after a dry spell that has lasted several years, according to Savills research out today. Domestic investors poured more than £1.3bn into City commercial property in the first seven months of 2018, marking a sharp rise compared with last year, when investment levels hit £1.4bn [...]
Property legal Q&A: I own a flat with a short lease and cannot afford to extend it. I am now facing difficulty selling my property. Do I have any options? August 23, 2018 You don’t say how short the lease is but it appears to be short enough to deter potential buyers from buying your property. Some lenders require a minimum of 85 years left to run on a lease before they will be willing to lend. Parties are generally worried the nearer the lease gets to 80 [...]
Crossrail marks the spot: Office rents near upcoming Elizabeth Line surge in City fringes August 23, 2018 Rents for City fringe office space situated near Crossrail sites have soared as property hawks prepare to cash in on the new railway line coming to London. Grade A office rental values in Crossrail hotspots around the Square Mile have shot up far higher than neighbouring areas since 2010, according to new Savills research carried [...]
OneSavings lifts loan growth forecasts but warns of weaker Buy-to-Let mortgage market August 23, 2018 Specialised lender OneSavings Bank raised its expectations for loan growth today, despite pressure on profit margins amid a weaker Buy-to-Let mortgage market. The FTSE 250 firm’s loan book grew 11 per cent to £8.1bn during the first six months of 2018, with full-year targets for net loan book growth upgraded to high-teens percentages from an [...]
The Hut Group snaps up new office space at MediaCityUK in Salford for tech team August 22, 2018 The Hut Group, one of the UK's largest private companies, has taken up extra office space to accommodate its rapidly expanding head count. The company, which owns beauty and health brands including Skinstore and Lookfantastic as well as range of ecommerce sites, has snapped up space in Salford's MediaCityUK. The area is also home to large [...]
First-time buyers drop off market as mortgage completions sink August 22, 2018 First-time buyer mortgages fell sharply in the second quarter of 2018, signalling a drop in new homeowners coming onto London’s subdued property market. Roughly 10,300 new first-time buyer mortgages were completed in London in the three months to the end of June, marking a 3.7 per cent fall from the same period in the previous year. [...]
Help-to-Buy fuels rise in Persimmon’s profits August 21, 2018 Persimmon reported a 13 per cent rise in pre-tax profits for the first half of 2018 yesterday, as boosts from low interest rates and the government’s Help-to-Buy scheme eased fears that the housebuilder would be hit by a slowdown in the property market. Profits before tax rose to £516.3m in the six months leading up [...]
House transactions slide lower amid ‘stagnant’ property market August 21, 2018 The number of houses being bought and sold edged further down last month, as fears of a stagnant property market continue to loom large. Residential transactions were 3.2 per cent lower in July 2018 compared with the same month last year, according to the latest data from HMRC’s property transaction statistics. Read more: There is [...]
Bull run in student housing market as Allianz opens new chapter August 20, 2018 Allianz has completed a £350m investment into a joint property venture with Greystar and a Canadian pension manager, in a move that signals growing international confidence in London’s student housing market. In a £1.5bn project that aims to complete 10,000 new student beds and the doubling of its portfolio size within five years, German-based Allianz Real Estate [...]
Shareholder anger forces Countrywide to abandon pay plan August 20, 2018 Countrywide has rowed back on plans for an executive pay proposal in the wake of a potential shareholder rebellion. The UK’s largest independent estate agency drew anger from investors last week over a new incentive scheme which would mean cash payouts of over £20m for the beleaguered firm’s top bosses, including a £6m windfall for [...]