UK house prices: MPs form new cross-party group over housing crisis July 27, 2015 Members of Parliament from across the political spectrum have banded together to tackle the housing crisis as a new report shows first-time buyers are bearing the brunt of rapidly increasing house prices. The new all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for housing and planning, which includes Tory and Labour MPs, as well as cross-bench peers, will [...]
David Cameron promises new crackdown on corrupt London home buyers driving up house prices July 27, 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron will today vow to stop the UK from becoming a haven for “dirty money”. He promises to reveal corrupt offshore organisations that purchase high-end London properties using “laundered cash”, which increase prices, exacerbating the capital’s affordability crisis. “I want Britain to be the most open country in the world [...]
London house prices: The north-south divide emerging in the capital’s property sector July 27, 2015 One interesting factor in new figures published today (more on that here) is a sign growth in house prices is slowing in parts of London. In fact, it looks like there's a north-south divide emerging – and in this case it's grim down south. The figures, by Haart estate agent, showed while prices across the [...]
UK house prices: The average cost of a home for first-time buyers increased £138 a day in June July 27, 2015 Despite all George Osborne's efforts, it looks like first-time buyers are bearing the brunt of the increase in house prices again, after new figures showed the average price of a first-time buyer home leaped by £4,150 in June. That's £138 a day. Read more: Thinking of leaving London? These are the best commuter towns to move [...]
London house prices are being driven up by foreign criminals laundering money July 25, 2015 Foreign criminals who launder money through the purchase of high-end London properties are pushing up house prices, according to the National Crime Agency. "I believe the London property market has been skewed by laundered money," Donald Toon, the agency's director of economic crime command, told the Times. "Prices are being artificially driven up by overseas [...]
Which banks will offer the Help to Buy Isa? Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide, NatWest, Santander and Virgin Money July 25, 2015 Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide, Natwest, Santander and Virgin Money are among the banks and building societies which will offer the government's widely anticipated Help to Buy Isa. Help to Buy Isas, unveiled by chancellor George Osborne in his Spring budget, aim to give first-time buyers a much needed helping hand onto the property ladder. [...]
Housing market starting to “hot up” as mortgage approvals soar to a 15-month high July 24, 2015 The housing market is beginning to heat up again as mortgage approvals rose for the sixth consecutive month in June, taking them to a 15-month high. Figures released today by the British Bankers Association showed the number of mortgage approvals rose to 44,488 last month, from 42,876 in May. Remortgaging rose 20 per cent in the [...]
The best commuter towns around London: High Wycombe, Chelmsford and Epsom have the best schools, lowest house prices and quickest commutes July 24, 2015 Want to get out of the Big Smoke, but keep your commute to a minimum? You could do worse than moving to High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, where the schools are ranked well, property prices are (fairly) reasonable – and the journey to the capital is a mere 28 minutes. That's according to a study by [...]
Interest rate rise by the Bank of England is the “greatest risk” to house prices July 24, 2015 House price growth for this year is on track to hit double-digit figures in a number of cities across Britain – providing the Bank of England doesn't hike interest rates anytime soon. House prices in the 20 cities monitored by Hometrack's cities house price index rose 6.3 per cent in the first half of 2015, and look set [...]
Bashing buy-to-let landlords will push up rents and hit the UK economy hard July 23, 2015 Buy-to-let landlords have a huge advantage in the market as they can offset their mortgage interest payments against their income, whereas homebuyers cannot.” That’s how the chancellor explained his decision in the Budget to require that landlords, unlike other businesses, effectively pay tax on their borrowings – their buy-to-let mortgage. But the chancellor has made [...]