London house prices: London renters have paid a quarter of the price of an average home to their landlords in the past five years March 3, 2016 There's no easy way to say this: if you're renting in London, you could probably have put together a 23 per cent deposit for the average home in the capital with the rent you've paid in the last five years. New research by Shelter suggests renters paid a total of £89,269 over the past five [...]
UK house prices: More than half of first-time buyers would buy ex-army barracks to get onto property ladder March 2, 2016 Times are tough for first time buyers and more than half would buy just about anything – from a church to a school or ex-army barracks – to get on the property ladder, according to Your Move and Reeds Rains. According to the estate agency’s latest first time-buyer barometer, 57 per cent claimed they were willing [...]
Property of the fortnight: Former Belgravia guest house Ormonde House in need of a £2m cash injection March 1, 2016 Belgravia is London’s land of grandeur, of embassies and white stucco-fronted mansions owned by Arab princes. It’s hardly the place you’d expect to find a fixer-upper, but Ormonde House is exactly that. And all it needs now is a millionaire with grand designs. It used to be a guest house, nestled in between Sloane Square [...]
EU referendum: Brexit could affect property prices – but the Chinese slowdown and a potential interest rate rise are greater causes for concern February 29, 2016 The date has been set and the die has been cast – after 40 years this June voters will have a chance to decide if Britain should stay in the EU and speculation on the possible impact of a Brexit has reached fever pitch. While politicians, businesses and industry experts are willing to throw their [...]
Chinese property tycoon Ren Zhiqiang’s microblogging accounts blocked after Xi criticism February 28, 2016 Chinese property tycoon Ren Zhiqiang has had his microblogging accounts shut down by the Beijing authorities after he criticised President Xi Jinping. The Cyberspace Administration of China said Ren had published "illegal messages that had a bad impact". "The cyberspace is not outside the laws, nobody is allowed to spread illegal information using the internet," Jiang Jun, [...]
Hometrack figures show slide in property sales across top 20 UK cities in 2015 February 26, 2016 The number of number of homes sold across the UK's top 20 cities fell by two per cent over the last year, according to data released today by Hometrack. London has seen a seven per cent dip in transactions in the year to January while Cambridge experienced the biggest drop in sales, down 20 per cent [...]
Estate agents let loose with Simon Cowell’s property mogul brother Nick Cowell at Estate Office’s 30th anniversary gala ball February 25, 2016 He may have gone down the property route rather than into the glitzy world of showbiz like his brother Simon, but property mogul Nick Cowell had the moves like Mick Jagger at Estate Office's glamorous 30th anniversary gala. Cowell, head of property firm Cowell Group, which owns Estate Office, brought real estate bosses and rugby legends together on Wednesday [...]
We profile five young developers that are shaking up the UK property industry February 25, 2016 The free-thinking “millennial generation” could be our most entrepreneurial age group. Having pushed the boundaries of communications and technology, many are now challenging traditional businesses, including property development, and are making a significant mark. They may be young, but the self confidence and business sense of the five developers profiled here has helped them deliver [...]
Is TfL lighting the way with its new interiors for the London Underground? February 25, 2016 While most of us can appreciate the marvel that is the London Underground – especially those who have travelled on the Paris and New York equivalents – few actually enjoy using it on a day-to-day basis. So TfL has hired architectural lighting firm Nulty+ and saddled them with quite a challenge; making your commute more [...]
How to save when buying or selling property overseas February 25, 2016 Sterling has had a tough start to the year against key major currencies like the dollar and the euro. And there is talk of it weakening further as 2016 progresses.For anybody buying property abroad this is unlikely to be good news. So the question is, can you do anything to protect yourself? Some economic commentators [...]