Mapped: The best (and cheapest) towns to commute to London from January 17, 2017 It's the holy grail for Londoners of a certain age: a town close enough to the capital to commute from, but far enough away to be affordable. Now London's best commuter town has been named: step forward, Amersham. The Buckinghamshire town, 27 miles from London (and 59 minutes on the Tube), has been ranked the [...]
London house prices edged closer to £500,000 in November January 17, 2017 The average house price in the capital edged closer to the half a million pound mark in November, rising to £482,000 for the first time. Figures published this morning by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed house prices in the capital jumped 8.1 per cent in the year to November, rising 1.9 per cent [...]
The Pembridge Palace Hotel in Notting Hill has been sold January 16, 2017 London's Pembridge Palace Hotel has been sold to an overseas investor. The Grade II listed hotel, which is located in Notting Hill, was sold by Savills for Singaporean group Lum Chang Holdings Limited. Read more: Trump trade boss: Brexit gives foreign firms chance to steal UK business The hotel is in a top tourist destination, just [...]
Here’s how much house prices have increased so far this year January 16, 2017 The housing market has had a robust start to 2017, with house prices increasing 0.4 per cent in January as compared to December. House prices grew 3.2 per cent year-on-year, according to figures from Rightmove. Read more: This is how far house prices will fall in 2017 In London, asking prices increased 1.4 per cent [...]
Brickmaker Ibstock boosted by increased housebuilder demand and weak sterling January 16, 2017 Ibstock shares opened broadly flat this morning after announcing earnings would be in line with forecasts, with sales supported by strong second half demand the company said in its annual trading update. The figures The hard data is to come but the firm's trading update for the year to the December, today trailed the headlines. Group [...]
Time to move: Prime rents fell in the Home Counties last year as property owners get spooked from selling and turn to rental market January 16, 2017 Prime rents in the Home Counties fell 0.8 per cent last year, as a higher amount of housing available at the top end of the market drove down prices, according to the latest Knight Frank rental index. The increase in stock levels in higher price brackets has been fuelled by greater uncertainty in the sales [...]
Loan write-offs have plummeted in the commercial property sector as banks have tightened their criteria January 16, 2017 The number of commercial property loans being written off has plummeted 63 per cent, falling to its lowest level since the credit crunch, according to Bank of England data. There were £846m worth of write-offs in the sector, down from £2.27bn the previous year, between October 2015 and the end of the third quarter of 2016. [...]
Property interview: Melissa York speaks to CEO Fredrik Korallus of upstart hostel brand Generator about breaking America January 13, 2017 From the way chief executive officer Fredrik Korallus talks about his hostel group Generator, you’d think he was heading up a trendy Shoreditch club night. He speaks about “having the right art, the right music, the right culture” and even aspires to turn the £20-a-night shared accommodation hubs into “living art centres”. But exceeding expectations [...]
Interiors: Laura Ivill tours Beau House, the St James’s scheme promoting British art and design January 13, 2017 As London Fashion Week Men’s drew to a close last week, with its global celebration of Savile Row and Jermyn Street style, all eyes were on St James’s. This historic quarter, based around St James’s Square and bordering Green Park and St James’s Park, is undergoing a £500m redevelopment by The Crown Estate, joined by [...]
Countrywide says slowdown in sales volumes will continue next year January 13, 2017 Countrywide's share price climbed three per cent in morning trading despite a drop in the estate agency group's income in the fourth quarter. The figures In a trading update for its performance in 2016, Countrywide said its revenue edged up to £737m from £734m the year before, but that the estate agency's income fell slightly in the [...]