House sales fell in 85 per cent of London boroughs in 2018 January 11, 2019 House sales slumped in 85 per cent of London boroughs in 2018 amid a difficult time for the UK’s property market, new data revealed today. London fared worse than the rest of the country in terms of the number of transactions, with a 6.5 per cent overall year-on-year drop compared to a 4.9 per cent fall [...]
Property of the Week: Interior designer Elspeth Lynn sells her home in Bayswater that’s an homage to Gatsby glamour January 11, 2019 For some people, making a house a home is fun, but for others it’s a chore. Especially – as is the case in many of central London’s most desirable postcodes – if it’s not even your main residence. If you don’t have time for a fixer upper, simply buy an interior designer’s flat. As luck [...]
Why the cheapest mortgage deal isn’t necessarily the right one January 9, 2019 The Financial Conduct Authority’s report into the mortgage market found that around 30 per cent of borrowers were unable to see that they were eligible for a cheaper deal. On average, these consumers paid around £550 per year more over the introductory period compared to the cheaper product. But this poses a question: is the cheapest [...]
My House: Kristian Robson, the man behind Chelsea tailoring brand Oliver Brown tells us how he built his Notting Hill house on top of a duck pond January 7, 2019 The owner of men’s tailor Oliver Brown on his charming mews house in Notting Hill. As told to Melissa York. "When I first moved into my house, one of the neighbours told me it was built on top of a duck pond that was filled in with concrete in the 1960s. So that was interesting [...]
Commodity 2019 outlook: Will global growth slowdown force more OPEC production cuts? January 7, 2019 Oil prices steadily climbed during 2018 as the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) agreed production cuts helped stem the global oversupply. The US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal saw Washington place new sanctions on the OPEC member, and crude surged to four-year highs on expectations of a significant reduction to the global [...]
First-time buyer mortgage approvals hit 10-year high despite higher UK house prices January 2, 2019 First-time buyer mortgage approvals hit their highest level in more than 10 years in 2018, the latest data shows. An estimated 367,038 first-time buyers took out mortgages last year, up from 362,800 in 2017, according to analysis from Yorkshire Building Society using UK Finance figures. The number exceeded 2007 levels, when 359,000 first-time buyers secured mortgages, [...]
Arsenal 0-2 Tottenham: Five things we learned as goals from Heung-min Son and Dele Alli send Spurs through to League Cup semi-final December 19, 2018 It was a testament to the importance of this match that both sides opted to pick their strongest possible line-ups, despite it only being a League Cup tie. Ultimately, Tottenham’s best was better, as they knocked out Arsenal with a 2-0 win – just their second ever victory at the Emirates. In times gone by, [...]
From bottling in Battersea to viniculture in Tooting, you barely have to venture outside your house to find a winemaking scene December 19, 2018 There are many ways people imagine exploring wine country. In a Fiat 500, driving across the hills of Tuscany with sunglasses on noses and Alanis Morissette in ears; touring the Languedoc by train, sipping crisp Saumur from Tours all the way to Paris. And these days, back home in England, where from Kent all the [...]
Rate of remortgaging surges to ten-year high as homeowners lock in amid ‘competitive market’ December 12, 2018 Britain saw its highest levels of remortgaging in a decade during October, with homeowners locking into new deals as competition between lenders heats up. According to new figures from UK Finance there were 50,500 new homeowner remortgages completed in October, rising 23.2 per cent when compared with the same month a year earlier. The £9.2bn of [...]
Holiday Homes: Thinking about buying a ski home? Read our guide on prices, places, powder and trends December 11, 2018 As the ski season descends upon us, it’s time to take a look at the best places to buy a ski home in the world, just in case you hit the slopes and never want to leave. Thankfully, we’ve got all the latest facts and figures at our disposal, thanks to the World Research team [...]