Citizens Advice warns of ticking timebomb for one million interest-only mortgage customers September 4, 2015 One million interest-only mortgage customers are sitting on a ticking timebomb, with no idea how they'll pay off their mortgage once their term is up, a charity has warned. Citizens Advice said this morning that while 1.7m people with interest-only mortgage products have no linked repayment vehicle, such as an endowment or Isa, 934,000 of [...]
London property focus on North Greenwich: Affordable homes by the riverside September 4, 2015 Fancy a night out in North Greenwich? No, not that one with the market, the chapels, the observatory and the ship. The other one with the O2 Arena and… not much else. It’s a hard sell, truth be told, so imagine how much harder it must be to convince someone to live there. Once a [...]
Night Tube series: Top seven places to buy a house in London along the Jubilee Line September 4, 2015 With the Night Tube delayed for the time being, now is the best time to consider buying in an area that’s set to benefit from it. Research shows that when new transport links come in, house prices only rise once the trains start running so it’s worth taking a punt before the asking prices shoot [...]
UK house prices: Why buyer activity, proximity to Chrismas and the end of school holidays mean today’s the best day to sell your home September 3, 2015 If you're planning on putting your property on the market, get going – because research suggests today, aka 2 September, is the best day of the year to sell your home. According to online estate agent Emoov. now schools have gone back, prospective buyers' minds are turning to the great property search. The research found [...]
2016 London mayoral election: Bypassing bureaucrats is the key to fixing London’s housing crisis September 2, 2015 How would you feel if a property developer wanted to knock down the 1960s council estate next door and replace it with a shiny, new and modern estate with more homes? On the one hand, you will eventually wake up each morning to a rather nicer view (although any chance of seeing the Shard [...]
London house prices: Former Mayfair garage becomes world’s most expensive mews house after £24m sale September 2, 2015 A former garage in Mayfair which once housed 1920s sports cars has smashed the record for the world’s most expensive mews house after being sold for £24m. The four-storey property, known as 43 Reeves Mews, dates back to 1734 when it once served as stable quarters housing servants and groomsmen of the super-rich residents of Grosvenor [...]
PMI: UK construction growth accelerates again in August thanks to cheaper energy September 2, 2015 The UK’s construction sector expanded at a faster pace in August, according to survey data released today. Markit’s construction purchasing managers’ index ticked up to a score of 57.3 from July’s 57.1, moving further above 50 “no change” mark. Higher levels of business activity have now been recorded in every month since May 2013 – although [...]
Mortgage lending increases on low interest rates and rising UK house prices September 2, 2015 The housing market is picking up, with homeowners looking to remortgage to take advantage of low interest rates and unlock some of the climb in property prices. The number of approvals for home purchases was 68,764 in July, compared with an average of 64,186 over the past six months. Approvals for remortgages were 38,042, also [...]
Bank of England interest rate rise threat sends first-time buyer sales to a pre-recession high August 28, 2015 The threat of a rise in borrowing costs led first-time buyers to look through increased deposit costs and indulge in a "summer of white-hot activity" with completed transactions hitting a pre-recession high. Monthly first-time buyer sales rose 4.9 per cent to 29,700 in the month to July, according to an index by estate agents Your Move and [...]
Nationwide figures: UK annual house price growth lowest since June 2013 August 27, 2015 Annual house price growth has slowed to its lowest level since mid-2013 making property a little bit more affordable this month – but this isn't set to last. Nationwide figures released today showed house prices rose 3.2 per cent in the year to August, down from a 3.5 per cent increase a month earlier. On [...]