Five charts showing how we’re massively underestimating how much life costs, including children, house prices and pension costs July 7, 2015 You're probably really bad at estimating how much things cost – but don't worry, most of us are. As a nation we're drastically underestimating the cost of major life events such as having children, buying a house, or saving for retirement, according to a new poll by King's College and Ipsos Mori. "It’s concerning that [...]
July Budget 2015: As inheritance tax system is set to change where will house prices drop below new threshold? July 7, 2015 Tomorrow, George Osborne is expected to announce changes to the inheritance tax system (IHT) meaning a couple can hand a £1m estate on to their children without being taxed for the privilege. Currently, a couple has a tax-free allowance of £325,000 a person (£650,000 a couple). Although IHT is applied to an entire estate, soaring [...]
F1 British Grand Prix 2015: How house prices accelerated with British winners – from Stirling Moss to Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone July 5, 2015 As Lewis Hamilton drove to glory at Silverstone today, the world's top racing drivers aren't the only ones with almost super-human speeds and anyone who has invested in property is already a winner. In the last 60 years since Stirling Moss was the first Brit to triumph at the British Grand Prix, house prices have accelerated [...]
UK house prices: First-time home buyers priced out of market July 2, 2015 Annual house price growth has slowed to a two-year low, according to a major mortgage provider. But months of fast growth has left first-time buyers struggling to put deposits together, despite government programmes to help them. House prices were 3.3 per cent higher in June than in the same month last year, Nationwide said. It [...]
After UK house price growth slowed in June, is the UK housing market now finally cooling down? July 2, 2015 Augustin Eden, a research analyst at Accendo Markets, says Yes The market is finally cooling down – to the point where it may actually start to contract on an annual basis. There is much to be done until house prices are actually “affordable”, of course. A Bank of England interest rate rise would deter buyers [...]
Fracking could cut house prices by up to seven per cent July 2, 2015 Fracking could cut nearby house prices by up to seven per cent and increase the cost of insuring a home, according to previously redacted sections of a government report released yesterday. The Shale Gas Rural Economy Impacts by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) looked at the impact of fracking operations on [...]
UK house prices: Surprise drop in house price growth sends annual rate to two-year low, according to Nationwide house price index July 2, 2015 House price growth has dropped to a two-year low on the back of declines in June, according to Nationwide's latest report. Prices have dropped a surprise 0.2 per cent in June – halting increases in both May and April – causing the annual rate of increase to drop to just 3.3 per cent. One [...]
Savills claims mortgage rules are dampening London transactions June 30, 2015 NEW GOVERNMENT data show the London home sales trailing the rest of the country. The capital saw the smallest uplift in transaction volumes last year, compared to other regions of the UK, according to new figures published by HMRC yesterday. The number of transactions in London went up from 145,000 in 2013 to 155,000 in 2014, [...]
Stamp duty replaces mansion tax as Central London house buyers’ worst fear as sales of homes worth £1.1m plus fall June 29, 2015 Mansion tax is so pre-election, darling – these days, the UK's high earners are worrying about one thing: stamp duty. That's according to a new report by upmarket estate agent Knight Frank, which has found the new tax has dented sales of homes worth £1.1m plus. Read more: The average brick in Kensington and Chelsea [...]
London house prices: The average cost of a single brick in the capital is now just shy of £200 June 26, 2015 Rocketing house prices in the capital mean the average brick in a London house (RRP: 67p) is now valued at just short of £200, research has found (assuming it's attached to other bricks, and a bit of mortar, that is…). The research, by online estate agent HouseSimple.com, was based on the fact it takes about [...]