House hunters hold off expensive home purchases as General Election could lead to levy rise April 8, 2015 Demand for prime mortgages fell at its fastest pace since 2008 at the start of this year, with industry analysts arguing it shows those looking at the most expensive homes are holding off until after the General Election. Bank of England figures show a sharp fall in lending, with demand for prime mortgages – the [...]
Banks to make buy-to-let mortgage rules simpler in bid to boost transparency April 7, 2015 Dozens of banks and building societies promised to make the small print on buy-to-let (BTL) mortgages simpler and clearer, in a bid to make the products as transparent and straightforward as more heavily regulated retail mortgages. The aim is to make borrowers’ obligations clearer, so that BTL customers understand how much they have to pay [...]
UK regions lift European real estate prices April 7, 2015 European commercial property prices grew by a record 7.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, fuelled by the ongoing recovery in the UK’s regional property markets. Figures out yesterday by property adviser DTZ show that prices rose by 20 per cent for the year overall thanks to a record last quarter, when [...]
Don’t get burned by the buy-to-let boom: Funding retirement with rental income could turn into a disaster April 7, 2015 The new pensions freedoms are finally here and many savers will be considering taking a lump sum from their savings. Investing in a buy-to-let property to fund retirement may seem like a good idea, but pensions experts are warning of the risks. Eighteen years after the creation of the first buy-to-let mortgage, this form of [...]
UK property prices: Have renters given up on owning their own home? Just 40 per cent of renters are saving for a house April 7, 2015 The UK's renters have given up on graduating to property ownership, it seems – after new research suggested just 43 per cent of renters aged between 20 and 45 are saving to buy a home. The figure has fallen by six percentage points since last year, Halifax's Generation Rent report showed. More than half [...]
Stamp duty and mansion taxes: Which taxes apply to you? April 7, 2015 Money is tight in Whitehall. Both Labour and the Conservatives are promising to cut the deficit to varying degrees if they win the General Election. And Westminster is surrounded by some of the most valuable real estate in the world. House prices in London have boomed since 2013, so an obvious solution presents [...]
UK House prices: Generation rent downbeat on buying outlook April 6, 2015 A generation of Britons still fear that they will never be able to buy a home despite the number of first-time buyers reaching a seven-year high in 2014, a survey reveals today. Some 79 per cent of 20- to 45-year-olds believe banks do not want to lend to first-time buyers, while 21 per cent think [...]
General Election 2015: Osborne promises to get 2.4m first-time buyers onto housing ladder with property “revolution” April 5, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne has pledged to bring about a “property revolution” in the UK, helping 2.4m more first-time buyers to get on the property ladder. In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, he said he intended to double the number of first time buyers to 500,000 a year over the next five years, should the [...]
General Election 2015: Ed Miliband promises £5bn for 125,000 new homes funded by Help to Buy ISA April 4, 2015 Ed Miliband has promised billions of pounds of funding to build 125,000 new homes over the next five years. The policy, due to be announced by the Labour party today, is based on the Help to Buy ISA revealed by Chancellor George Osborne in the latest Budget and aimed at getting first-time buyers on the [...]
David Cameron courts first-time buyers as 50,000 sign on to home discount scheme April 3, 2015 Over 50,000 people have signed up to the government's programme to give first-time buyers a 20 per cent discount on their new home. An extension of the controversial Help to Buy initiative, the programme means new properties up to £250,000 and £450,000 in London will be subject to deep discounts. However, only those under the [...]