Buy-to-let mortgage boom runs out of steam as lending falls in December February 16, 2016 The buy-to-let mortgage boom receded toward the end of last year, new figures show today. The amount of cash loaned to buy-to-let investors dropped by three per cent in December compared with November, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said. It was also down one per cent in the three months from the three months to September. Over [...]
What happens when you talk markets on Facebook February 16, 2016 What do you do when everyone is active on Facebook except you? You get with the programme. How do you do that? You (naively) say yes to going live for your company on Facebook to “do a little Q&A session on the markets”. What happens then? First you freak out as you discover how “personal” [...]
UK house prices: Help to buy has boosted the number of houses built and first-time buyers – but it’s not inflating prices, claims government report February 15, 2016 Suffering from misgivings about whether help to buy is really the panacea the government claims it is? A new report published this morning claims it has boosted both house building and first-time buying – but it has not artificially boosted prices. And the report has been published by… er… the government. The equity loan scheme, [...]
London house prices: Asking prices hit record high as concerns grow over help to buy eligibilty February 15, 2016 London asking prices reached a new record high in February, property website Rightmove said this morning. Rising prices are making buying a new home difficult for many Londoners even when using the government’s help to buy scheme. Prices in Greater London climbed 5.4 per cent over the course of last month and are 10.5 per cent higher than [...]
Let the good times roll: EY Item Club forecasts strong growth for UK financial services February 15, 2016 The financial services industry can expect decent growth over the next few years, a group of forecasters have said today. Mortgage lending, business borrowing and consumer credit are all set to grow at healthy rates over the coming years, as the UK economy shrugs off recent severe stock market declines. However, the EY Item Club said [...]
Home ownership is becoming a pipe dream for younger workers, think tank warns February 13, 2016 Owning a home is set to become a pipe dream for young workers on modest incomes, according to new research. Data from the Resolution Foundation found it is becoming increasingly difficult for young people on modest incomes to get onto the housing ladder, with just one in 10 set to be a homeowner by 2025. [...]
First-time buyers who purchase a house this year will have already spent £52,900 on rent – or the deposit on a £1m house February 12, 2016 Those who are about to step on to the property ladder this year will have already cashed out £52,900 on rent, according to new research – more than you would spend on a five per cent deposit on a £1m house. And the figures published by the Association of Residential Lettings Agents (Arla) show that [...]
SocGen leads European banks lower at the close as rout resumes on Deutsche, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and RBS share prices and Credit Suisse hits 27 year lows February 11, 2016 Well that didn’t last long. Europe’s bank shares closed down this evening, led by French bank Société Générale after it announced earlier it may struggle to meet its profitability targets this year. The bank, whose share price slumped over 13 per cent in early trading but managed to scale back loses to end the day down just over 12 [...]
UK wealth inequality is widening as climbing house prices due to quantitative easing drive home ownership down – Standard & Poor’s February 10, 2016 While quantitative easing (QE) may have helped to stabilise the UK economy, it has also led to a wider gulf between rich and poor, according to Standard & Poor's (S&P) – and it has also pushed home ownership even farther out of reach for younger people. QE has exacerbated wealth disparity by boosting financial asset and [...]
London house prices: First-time buyers using help to buy to purchase London properties could face trouble if the bubble bursts February 10, 2016 When markets are in turmoil, the natural inclination is to turn to safer assets – and what, in our collective wisdom, is safer than houses? People always need a place to live, the rationale goes, and they always find a way to pay. But rather than taking a big punt on housing, many hedge funds [...]