Budget 2017: Business reacts to government’s relief measures for business rates March 8, 2017 Today, chancellor Philip Hammond announced a handful of measures intended to cushion the blow of business rate rises this year, including a £300m relief fund that will be distributed to local authorities. In addition, Hammond said small pubs will get a £1,000 reduction on their business rates bill this year, a handout that will help [...]
Budget 2017: This is what the Budget had to say about UK house prices March 8, 2017 UK house price growth will be cut by almost half by 2018, according to predictions from the Office for Budgetary Responsibility (OBR). The OBR has released its predictions for house price growth along with chancellor Philip Hammond's first (and last) Budget today, and it seems house price rises will be tempered over the next five [...]
Budget 2017: New £300m fund for business rates relief March 8, 2017 The government has promised to help cushion the blow of business rates with a £300m relief fund for local authorities. Chancellor Philip Hammond has also committed to "smoother and more frequent" business rates revaluations. In addition, small pubs will be getting a £1,000 business rate discount this year – a tax cut that will help 90 per [...]
Foxtons results: Another dive in profits thanks to London house prices March 8, 2017 Shares in struggling London estate agent Foxtons took a dive today after it admitted London's cooling market pushed down profits last year. The figures Revenues fell 11 per cent to £132.7m in the year to the end of December, Foxtons said today – while pre-tax profits fell more than half, from £41m in 2015 to £18.8m in 2016. Lettings revenue fell one per [...]
Estate agents Savills warns current UK house price growth is unsustainable March 7, 2017 Estate agents Savills has warned that the current rate of house price growth is not sustainable in the UK as inflation and stagnating wages pile pressure on consumers. In February, house prices increased 0.6 per cent month-on-month, according to Nationwide's house price index, and since 2014, price growth has averaged 0.4 per cent, but Savills has warned that [...]
LSL property services gets £32m boost from selling Zoopla shares March 7, 2017 LSL Property Services received a £32.9m boost last year after selling its shares in Zoopla. The UK's second largest listed estate agent reported full-year results today that were in line with expectations, despite the headwinds faced by the property market in the lead-up to (and after) the EU referendum. The figures The property group's underlying [...]
Ranked: House price growth in every London borough this year March 7, 2017 House price growth across the UK has nearly halved over the past 11 months, and a lot of that sluggish growth is coming from the capital. Tax changes have hit the property market in many of the capital's central districts, such as Chelsea and Fulham, but there is still growth in the more affordable parts of [...]
Here’s what the property sector is expecting in this week’s Budget – from stamp duty to landlords to luxury homes March 7, 2017 It’s that time of year again: the days are getting longer, the trees are blossoming, and the one-time-only Spring Budget is rapidly approaching – with homeowners and landlords alike steeling themselves for more punishment from the chancellor. The good news is it looks unlikely there will be much to punish homeowners or lower house prices [...]
House price growth has nearly halved over the past 11 months March 7, 2017 House prices grew by just 5.1 per cent year-on-year in the three months to February, the lowest annual rate since July 2013. The figures from Halifax show that quarter-on-quarter house prices edged up 1.7 per cent, with the UK average house price now standing at £219,949. Read more: These are the three London areas where [...]
Entrepreneur housebuilders have been crushed: We must bring them back to life March 7, 2017 It's nothing new to say that too few homes are being built in the UK. Fourteen housing ministers in the last 20 years have acknowledged it time after time, just as they have recognised that housing – or the lack thereof – is the UK’s greatest modern economic challenge. Yet the frequency with which these individuals have [...]