Super Thursday: Interest rate rise by the Bank of England could end the buy-to-let boom August 6, 2015 It looks like momentum to raise interest rates could be building over at the Bank of England (BoE), however a legal advice service has warned this could spell disaster for the UK's booming buy-to-let market. Minutes due to be released later today are expected to show between two to three members of the nine-strong rate-setting [...]
UK housing crisis: How deregulated “slums” can solve the shortage of homes and high prices for renters August 6, 2015 A blog recently posted on the ASI website seems to have driven some angry reaction. “Britain needs more slums” proclaimed Theo Clifford, the winner of our 18-21 category of our Young Writer on Liberty Competition. While the ASI has a policy of publishing a whole range of opinions (views expressed on the blog are those [...]
Savills revenues rise 27 per cent as London market stabilises August 6, 2015 Property services giant Savills reported a jump in revenues this morning, despite uncertainty during the run-up to the General Election. The figures Group revenues rose to £547m in the six months to the end of June, up 27 per cent from £430.8m during the same period last year. Profit before tax rose seven per cent to £26.4m, up from £24.7m last year. Meanwhile, underlying [...]
August 2015 TfL Tube strike: Union RMT wants pay rises in line with house price growth August 5, 2015 Transport union RMT has given a rare level of detail into one of its demands over the Night Tube – namely that it is seeking pay rises of up to 25 per cent for the five years. The union has put together a detailed flyer “for the public” to explain why Tube workers are [...]
The 10 Tube stops where house demand is rising most (and least) August 5, 2015 Who doesn’t want to live near a Tube station? Except perhaps, when there’s a strike on, but demand for properties close to the London Underground is up 13 per cent, and it’s in east London where it's rising more than anywhere else across the network. Homes near East Ham, Woodford and Upminster Bridge have experienced [...]
UK house prices: Nationwide says house price growth is stabilising August 4, 2015 UK house prices are back in growth, with the UK average increasing by 0.4 per cent in July, following a 0.2 per cent dip in June, according to the Nationwide House Price index. The relatively modest month-on-month rise means that the annual pace of house price growth edged up to 3.5 per cent from [...]
Is London fair? Those living in the capital are most worried about wages and housing August 3, 2015 Londoners are vehemently in favour of capping chief executives' salaries, it turns out, after a new poll found 79 per cent of those living in the capital think it's unfair for a chief executive running an organisation that employs those on the minimum wage to be paid more than £500,000 a year. According to the [...]
Most British people want to protect the green belt from new housing developments August 3, 2015 Two-thirds of British people want the green belt area surrounding London to remain protected from new housing developments, according to a survey by Ipsos Mori. Read more: London will only solve its housing crisis if we face up to Green Belt myths By asking 845 people whether they thought the protected countryside should be [...]
London property sales account for almost half of stamp duty revenue August 2, 2015 Almost half of all stamp duty revenue across England and Wales is collected from property sales in London, according to data showing the impact of last year’s rise in rates for the most expensive homes. Research by estate agent Knight Frank shows London accounted for just 13 per cent of all property transactions for the [...]
Stephen Greenhalgh: “Buy to leave” investors are pricing Londoners out of the property market – this is how I’d tackle it July 31, 2015 Often it is the non doms in London who are given a really bad press for inflating the property market. However I believe that it is the "non res" rather than the non dom that London should really worry about. The global non resident super rich see London residential property as a holiday home [...]