Buy-to-lose? With new restrictions on buy-to-let mortgages and the introduction of other punitive measures in 2017, is there any value left in letting for mortgaged landlords? January 11, 2017 As we enter 2017, the tide has truly turned against Britain’s buy-to-let landlords. First, George Osborne discouraged people from buying a second residential property by imposing extra stamp duty of 3 per cent. Now, the Bank of England is demanding that mortgage lenders “stress test” loans to landlords. Since 1 January, the Bank’s Prudential Regulation [...]
Rents are hitting an “affordability ceiling” January 11, 2017 Rental price growth more than halved last year as the nation hit "an affordability ceiling". UK rents increased by an average 1.7 per cent year-on-year in December, according to data from Homelet, down from rent inflation of 3.8 per cent last year. New tenants paid an average rent of £892 per month. Read more: Rents [...]
Southern Rail strikes “have hit house price growth” January 10, 2017 The first of three days of Southern strikes began this morning – but that's not the only woe faced by commuters along the line today, after it emerged house price growth has been hit by the action. Yep – after months of delays and strikes, house-hunters have finally been put off buying homes near stations [...]
Why solving the country’s housing crisis means backing – not battering – landlords January 10, 2017 Politics is a strange world, and the year’s events (Trump, Brexit and elsewhere in Europe) are topsy-turvy. But I still find it strange that Britain’s best and most effective form of housing provision, the private rented sector, is coming under such consistent attack. Policies such as changes to the way landlords are taxed, the stamp duty [...]
Is this London’s most exclusive piece of real estate? One of Royal Albert Hall’s £2.5m Grand Tier boxes has gone on sale January 9, 2017 Here's the ultimate gift for the culture vulture who has everything: a Grand Tier box at the Royal Albert Hall has gone up for sale. The only catch? Its owner is accepting offers in excess of £2.5m. It's the first time in a decade a box on the grand tier, the same level as the royal box, [...]
Rents in London fell slightly in December January 9, 2017 Average rents in London edged down slightly at the end of 2016, but remain more than twice as expensive as rents across the country. In December, London rents fell by 0.13 per cent, to £1,882 per month. Renters in a one-bed flat paid £1,455 on average in December, which represents nearly three-quarters of the average disposable [...]
UK house prices grew 6.5 per cent in December January 9, 2017 UK house prices grew 6.5 per cent year-on-year in December, Halifax said this morning, as it warned that housing demand is expected to drop in 2017. The UK average house price reached £222,484 in the final month of the year, up 1.7 per cent on November's average – the biggest month-on-month growth since March 2016, when [...]
Bovis Homes’ chief executive is stepping down January 9, 2017 Housebuilder Bovis Homes said today that its chief executive, David Ritchie, will step down with immediate effect. Shares rose 1.3 per cent as the market opened, to 821.5p. Ritchie joined the company 18 years ago, and has been chief executive for eight years. At the end of last month shares in the company fell as it admitted profits [...]
Construction firms hit brick wall as depreciation in sterling pushes up costs of building materials January 9, 2017 Building projects could be about to shoot up in price, as figures out today show more than seven in 10 UK builders have seen an increase in the cost of materials. Thousands of smaller building firms are now grappling with rising material prices caused by the depreciation of the pound since the EU referendum in [...]
Focus On Bayswater: Why Notting Hill’s overlooked neighbour is the next big central London investment opportunity January 6, 2017 Around any piece of prime central London, you’ll find a forlorn district on the outskirts whose fortune has improved immeasurably in recent years. Priced out of premium areas, buyers are increasingly moving to these formerly unpopular areas in search of space and affordability – and changing these areas in the process. Bayswater is a prime [...]