Sophie Conran talks us through how she decorated her Bayswater home while a banoffee pie bakes in the oven May 12, 2016 As I am shown into Sophie Conran’s kitchen, the interior/product designer and cook is, naturally, putting the finishing touches to a banoffee pie. Smart in a blue jacket, jeans and a ponytail, she’s warm and natural with a big smile. Sophie's used to having media drop in on her – she holds product launches of her homewares [...]
House sales forecast to stay flat as buyer interest drops for first time in over a year – RICS May 12, 2016 Interest from UK house buyers has dropped for the first time since March 2015, as uncertainty plagues the market, according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Residential Market Survey. Following the buy-to-let rush that preceded the 1 April tax rise deadline, and with continued uncertainty caused by the EU Referendum, interest from [...]
New homes on sale in London this weekend: from Elephant Park to private gardens designed by Andy Sturgeon May 11, 2016 Elephant Park, Elephant & Castle From £540,000 Studio to three bedroom apartments and penthouses have been released in the Highwood Gardens building. The release of 222 properties for sale is the latest chapter in Lend Lease’s Elephant Park development, which will build almost 2,500 new homes on 22 acres of land and create a new [...]
Neil Woodford-backed Purple Bricks says full-year revenue quadrupled May 11, 2016 Neil Woodford-backed hybrid online estate agent Purple Bricks expects its full-year revenue to have quadrupled. The Aim-listed firm said today that its revenue for the full year is expected to be approximately £18.5m, a year-on-year increase of some 445 per cent. Read more: Purplebricks raises £58m in junior market Aim listing Trading throughout the second half of the year [...]
Costs forcing millions to move back with parents after a break-up May 11, 2016 Financial pressures have been blamed for forcing 7.2m adults to move back in with their parents after a break-up. Rising rent and mortgage costs mean many are unable to pay for separate accommodation, according to research from Churchill Home Insurance out today. Financial reasons were listed as the main cause of needing to move back [...]
Here’s how stamp duty changes affected landlords’ returns in March May 10, 2016 The chancellor's stamp duty hike may have been aimed at quelling the nation's frenzy for buy to let homes – but it seems property remains a great provider. That's according to new research by Property Partner, anyway, which has suggested total returns on residential property rose to 9.6 per cent in the year to March. In the [...]
Shareholder group not sold on Foxtons exec pay, advising a vote against at the AGM next Wednesday May 9, 2016 The shareholder spring set its sights on a new target today, with an influential shareholder advisory group recommending a vote against the remuneration report. The Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has taken issue with chief executive Nic Budden's paypacket, which included a 19 per cent increase in salary and a 20 per cent increase to potential bonus. [...]
Now that he is mayor, Sadiq Khan must ignore the Nimbys and look to the Greenbelt to solve our housing crisis May 9, 2016 London needs to build more homes, but from reading the press coverage of the mayoral election over the past few months you may have forgotten that. Instead, you could be forgiven for thinking that this election was all about deciding if we wanted a Corbyn-supporting son of a bus driver or a posh boy Etonian [...]
Dip in house price growth “caused by weak consumer confidence”, says Halifax – but others think it could be the Brexit effect May 9, 2016 UK house price growth actually dipped last month, with economists blaming weakening consumer sentiment for a slowing in annual increases. According to the Halifax House Price Index, average house prices fell 0.8 per cent in April to £212.321. This meant the annual change had slowed from 10.1 per cent recorded in the year to March to 9.2 per cent. [...]
Parking mad: London parking spaces sold for over £200,000 May 8, 2016 LONDON is one of the world’s most expensive places to pay for parking space. On Brewer Street in Soho, for example, you could spend over £50 on just three hours of parking. That may be why some mysterious buyers have forked out as much as much as half a million pounds to buy a parking [...]