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 [...]
Holiday Homes: We travel to one of Spain’s most exclusive sports and leisure resorts to see how it’s been transformed to appeal to modern investors January 6, 2017 When La Manga Club opened in 1972, it was at the forefront of sports and leisure destinations across Europe. It took only two years to build the ground-breaking project in Murcia, south-east Spain, but it quickly became a celebrity hangout for sports and showbiz stars alike. Guests included Kenny Dalglish, Gordon Strachan, Juliet Binoche, Salma [...]
Opinion: Agents are turning into party planners to entice buyers and investors to buy new homes in London January 6, 2017 Last year marked a shift in the central London market. The buyers are still out there – only now they have a broader choice of new homes to buy. This poses a challenge for developers: how do you target a particular group of buyers with precision and make them remember your homes above all the [...]
Bag a bargain: Here’s how much high-end London house prices fell last year January 5, 2017 Got a couple of million going spare? You could bag a bargain in the capital, after new research suggested top-end house prices fell 6.9 per cent year-on-year in the final quarter of 2016. Research by Savills suggested house prices in so-called prime central London, high-end areas including Mayfair, Belgravia and Chelsea, fell 2.2 per cent during [...]