Autumn Statement 2014: What does George Osborne’s stamp duty reform actually mean? December 3, 2014 In an Autumn Statement firmly aimed at courting the popular vote, George Osborne today announced a complete overhaul of the stamp duty system – the elephant in the residential market for a decade. Estate agents said the old system wasn't progressive enough, and unfairly taxed home buyers. The cherry on Osborne's stamp duty cake was [...]
Autumn Statement 2014: Stamp duty, business rates, banking profits and tech firm taxes. How has industry responded? December 3, 2014 There were a number of surprises in George Osborne's final Autumn Statement before the general election, many of which are solidly aimed at middle class voters. Bankers taxes are being limited, multinational tech firms are going to have to pay more taxes and stamp duty slabs have been scrapped. The squeezed middle and chattering [...]
Autumn Statement 2014: George Osborne scraps stamp duty slabs December 3, 2014 George Osborne's Autumn Statement unveiled a raft of measures in an intensely political statement aimed at luring voters back from Ukip during next year's general election. His centrepiece? A complete overhaul of stamp duty which, he said, will create savings for 98 per cent of home buyers. To cheers from the Tory back benches, Osborne [...]
Winkworth says mansion tax talk hitting demand for London £2m-plus homes December 2, 2014 The threat of a potential mansion tax after May’s general election was hitting demand for £2m-plus homes, estate agent Winkworth said yesterday. Shares in the agency fell 2.6 per cent after it warned of a “subdued” first half of 2015, despite anticipating a pick-up in activity in the final six months of the year. It [...]
UK and London house prices mapped: An average wage in Blackpool will buy you less than two square metres in Chelsea December 2, 2014 Click on the buttons in the top right to reveal the layers The average wage in Blackpool will net you one and a half square metres of floor space in Chelsea, while a Westminster dweller could buy 42.6 metres of home in Blaenau Gwent, such is the disparity in the UK’s housing market. Westminster is [...]
Bank of England: UK mortgage approvals fall to their lowest since 2013 December 1, 2014 The number of mortgages approved by banks fell to their lowest since June last year in October, figures by the Bank of England showed today. There were 59,426 approvals for house purchases during the month, down from 61,234 in September. That's down from an average of 63,727 over past six months. Mortgage approvals have been [...]
Nationwide House Price Index: House price growth slides to 11-month low in November November 28, 2014 House price growth slid to an 11-month low in November as the British housing market continued to cool, according figures released by Nationwide today. The Nationwide House Price Index showed house prices rose 8.5 per cent in the year to November, taking growth to an 11-month low. Price growth for the three months to September [...]
UK house prices may be slowing, but October was the best month for new houses since 2011 November 28, 2014 UK house prices may be waning, but October was the strongest month for new housing in the UK since 2011. According to data from the National House Building Council (NHBC), 13,950 new homes were registered this October, beating every month since June 2011, when 14,565 homes were registered. Of this month's registrations, 11,151 were private sector; [...]
London house prices: Market for £10m-plus homes gets boost from Russia November 25, 2014 Sales of homes valued above £10m has soared by a third this year. The figures released yesterday by estate agents Knight Frank also show the number of transactions were 92 per cent higher from January to October than they were in the same period of 2014. A surge in demand has been seen from Russia. [...]
Mortgage approvals fall to their lowest in 17 months as unsecured borrowing leaps November 25, 2014 The Bank of England's Mortgage Market Review (MMR) continues to wreak havoc on mortgage lending. Figures published this morning showed approvals fell to 37,100 in October, their lowest level in 17 months in October. Analysts had expected the British Bankers' Association's (BBA) high street banking statistics to show a more modest fall from September's 39,300 [...]