Opinion: Forget banning letting fees – it’s time we introduced compulsory regulation into the lettings sector December 2, 2016 Invent a snappy name, rent a shop and build a website – and, hey presto, you are now set up as a lettings agent. And until the Chancellor’s move to ban fees in the Autumn Statement, you could charge whatever you liked to tenants to handle the renting of a property. Unlike many of our [...]
New Builds: 600 new homes are set to be built on a site the size of three football pitches in south London December 2, 2016 The Quarry, Bexley A quarrying site that hasn’t been used in 40 years is set to be home to 600 new properties. The first new homes – 80 per cent of which will be modern family houses hoping to attract upsizers – will go on sale in the new year. There will also be a [...]
Berkeley Group’s shares leap after announcing in-line performance and solid cash foundations December 2, 2016 Shares in property firm Berkeley Group jumped over four per cent in trading this morning after revealing an "outstanding" balance sheet. The figures Half year revenue to the end of October leapt from £1.1bn to £1.4bn, with gross profit jumping from £391m to £504m. Profit before tax was £393m, up from £293m last year. The coffers at [...]
Generation Rent: London is home to nearly a fifth of the UK’s rental accommodation December 2, 2016 London is now home to almost a fifth of the rental properties in the UK, but it accounts for nearly half of the total value of these households. There are 1,048,000 houses in the private rented sector in London, almost a fifth of the 5.3m in Britain as a whole. But the value of this [...]
CBRE completes property fund merger creating new £1.47bn fund December 1, 2016 The CBRE UK Property Fund (UKPF) is merging with the Electricity Supply Pension Scheme (ESPS) UK property portfolio to create a new £1.47bn fund. The new fund, which has been authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, will be operated as a Property Authorised Investment Fund (PAIF). Read more: The City of London is getting taller [...]
UK house price growth slowed again in November December 1, 2016 House prices grew by 0.1 per cent in November, with the rate of growth slowing to 4.4 per cent from 4.6 per cent in October, and analysts pointed to market uncertainty and cautious buyers and sellers having a cooling effect on the sector. The Nationwide House Prices Index showed the average price of a house [...]
The super prime rental market in the Home Counties is booming on the back of stamp duty changes November 30, 2016 London's luxury property market has been suffering after the government increased stamp duty on high-end homes – but the rental market is booming in the Home Counties on the back of the decision. According to research by Knight Frank, the number of tenant viewings for super prime properties – homes worth over £15,000 per month – has doubled year-on-year [...]
The City watchdog might be about to relax rules on mortgage lending that are tripping up smaller lenders November 30, 2016 The City watchdog has today launched a consultation to further pick over the rules on how it checks firms are not allowing people to borrow too much on a mortgage compared to their income. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is asking for feedback on proposed amendments to its previous 2014 guidance based on recommendations from the Bank of [...]
UK construction industry fears hard Brexit will turn skills gap into a gulf November 30, 2016 Construction could be buffeted big-time if there's a "hard Brexit" and lose more than 200,000 workers. According to a report by design and consultancy firm Arcadis, the industry could suffer from a "skills gulf" once the UK leaves the European Union and the loss of nearly 215,000 workers from house building and infrastructure if there's [...]
Zoopla boss Alex Chesterman: “It’s not acceptable to simply say Brexit means Brexit” November 30, 2016 The founder of Zoopla Property Group and one of the original names behind the legal challenge to Brexit, has said the government's handling of Brexit "highly disappointing" so far and lacks transparency. "I'm in favour of a good Brexit, I think the result in June is not in question," Alex Chesterman said. "A good Brexit could be a very good outcome." But [...]