Julius Shulman: the photographer who helped to define LA September 26, 2016 Many architects have made their mark on a place, planting seeds of creation that go on to define a street or neighbourhood. A select few become synonymous with a certain style, or even an entire city. But not many shape the way people think about an entire state; Julius Shulman achieved just that without designing [...]
Forget houses, why not live in the world’s most expensive van, or up a tree, or under the ocean? September 26, 2016 People are always nattering on about “the property market” and “having a roof over your head” and “why have you not been paying the mortgage?” But do we really need houses? Could we just go and live, say, at the bottom of the ocean, or in a cave, or maybe just in the back of [...]
Zoopla wants to bring property investment to the masses with a new “Invest” channel September 26, 2016 Housing portal Zoopla is making the move into property investment by allowing customers to invest as little as £100 into the market. The website is known for being an online shop-window for property buyers, but has teamed up with lending platform Landbay to provide a service for investors. Customers will be able to fund buy-to-let [...]
Standard Life will re-open its property fund in October September 26, 2016 Standard Life Investments will re-open its property fund in October after disposing of assets during a period of suspension. After the Brexit vote, several property funds were forced to suspend trading due to a spike in redemption requests, freezing £15-20bn worth of funds. Standard Life said it would open the fund again on 17 October [...]
House price confidence ticked upwards in September as Brexit fears faded September 26, 2016 As worries about the effect of the Brexit vote on the UK economy start to fade, Londoners have become more confident about the price of their home. According to research by Knight Frank, people across the UK believe the value of their house increased in September. Londoners perceived the biggest house price growth of anywhere in [...]
Number of mortgage approvals down by over a fifth in August September 26, 2016 House purchase approvals dropped by more than a fifth in August, according to figures from the BBA. The number of approvals was down by 21 per cent as compared to August 2012. In the first eight months of this year, approvals were two per cent lower than in the same period of 2015. Read more: [...]
First-time buyers still have to save for over a decade to get a home in London September 26, 2016 First-time buyers may have hoped the EU referendum would reverse house price growth in the UK, but a Brexit housing crash has not materialised, and saving for a deposit has not become any easier. Would-be homeowners have to save for just over 10 years to get a deposit, according to research by Hamptons International, a figure [...]
Commuting for an hour could save you £450,000 on the cost of your house September 26, 2016 Spending an hour on a morning commute could save London workers £450,000 on the price of their home. According to research by Lloyds Bank, average house prices are 60 per cent lower in commuter towns than in central London, falling from an average of £741,919 in the capital to £294,903 outside it. Read more: House [...]
These are the top 10 places across England and Wales for buy to let investment September 26, 2016 Investors searching for the best yield on buy to let properties should be looking to the north of England, according to new research. According to property investment site LendInvest, Blackburn and Carlisle are the top spots in England and Wales for buy to let investing, where rental yields have increased by 38 per cent and 37 [...]
Business groups write to communities secretary Sajid Javid to campaign against changes to business rates September 25, 2016 Groups representing retailers and small businesses have come together to write to communities secretary Sajid Javid to urge him to pull back on changes to business rates. Business rates are being re-evaluated, and changes proposed for the way business rates are valued could "sink individual businesses into hardship", the lobby groups warned. Read more: West End gets [...]