Mortgage lending to first time buyers increases as stamp duty bites landlords January 17, 2017 Buy to let landlords continued to shun the property market towards the end of last year, allowing more first time buyers to take out home loans. The number of loans taken out by landlords fell 10 per cent year-on-year in November, according to figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), suggesting that tax changes [...]
Mapped: The best (and cheapest) towns to commute to London from January 17, 2017 It's the holy grail for Londoners of a certain age: a town close enough to the capital to commute from, but far enough away to be affordable. Now London's best commuter town has been named: step forward, Amersham. The Buckinghamshire town, 27 miles from London (and 59 minutes on the Tube), has been ranked the [...]
London house prices edged closer to £500,000 in November January 17, 2017 The average house price in the capital edged closer to the half a million pound mark in November, rising to £482,000 for the first time. Figures published this morning by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed house prices in the capital jumped 8.1 per cent in the year to November, rising 1.9 per cent [...]
Here’s how much house prices have increased so far this year January 16, 2017 The housing market has had a robust start to 2017, with house prices increasing 0.4 per cent in January as compared to December. House prices grew 3.2 per cent year-on-year, according to figures from Rightmove. Read more: This is how far house prices will fall in 2017 In London, asking prices increased 1.4 per cent [...]
Number of first-time buyers hits 10-year high January 13, 2017 The number of first-time buyers has reached a 10-year high last year. According to Halifax, there were 335,750 first-time buyers in 2016, up 7.3 per cent on the year before, but still well below the pre-crisis peak of 402,800 in 2006. The average age of a first-time buyer was 30, and they spent an average £205,170 [...]
Foxtons shares have fallen again as the mean streets of London continued to take their toll January 11, 2017 Estate agent Foxtons said tougher stamp duty rules and harsh trading conditions in London caused earnings to almost halve last year. The figures In a trading update this morning, Foxtons said revenues hit £133m in the year to the end of December, down from £150m the year before. Meanwhile, quarterly revenues fell to £26m, from £35m the year before. Adjusted earnings before interest, [...]
Oil falls two per cent as concerns rise that increase in US production will undercut Opec deal January 9, 2017 Oil prices fell more than two per cent today after figures indicated US production is growing and could undercut global deals to cut supplies and boost the global market. Data released by US oilfield services provider Baker Hughes today showed US energy companies added oil rigs for a 10th week in a row to 529, extending a [...]
Focus On Bayswater: Why Notting Hill’s overlooked neighbour is the next big central London investment opportunity January 6, 2017 Around any piece of prime central London, you’ll find a forlorn district on the outskirts whose fortune has improved immeasurably in recent years. Priced out of premium areas, buyers are increasingly moving to these formerly unpopular areas in search of space and affordability – and changing these areas in the process. Bayswater is a prime [...]
UK home-buying stays solid in November but consumer credit rises by highest amount since 2005 says the Bank of England January 4, 2017 British house purchase numbers stayed flat in November, but still remained steady above pre-referendum levels, while UK consumer borrowing increased by the most since March 2005. UK banks approved 67,505 mortgages in November, compared to 67,371 in October, according to the Bank of England (BoE), but remortgaging levels rose to the highest levels since October [...]
Thousands of £250,000 starter homes are about to be built (outside London) January 3, 2017 Housing minister Gavin Barwell has given the green light for the construction of thousands of new starter homes outside of the capital. Built on brownfield sites, the new homes are designed for first-time buyers between 23 and 40 years old, and will be sold at a discount of 20 per cent below market value, with [...]