London property prices: Luxury homes are so expensive in London, the uber-rich are going bargain hunting in New York November 30, 2015 Luxury homes in London cost "double" those in New York, new research has suggested – meaning super-wealthy Britons are increasingly going bargain hunting in Big Apple. The Transatlantic Wealth Report, by upmarket British estate agent Beauchamp Estates and New York equivalent Leslie J Garfield, found the value of luxury homes in London's most exclusive areas is typically [...]
Autumn Statement 2015 buy-to-let advice for landlords: After the chancellor’s stamp duty hike, what should investors do? November 27, 2015 The chancellor's announcement of a three per cent stamp duty levy on non-primary residences – specifically buy-to-let investments and second homes – caught many by surprise. This change is an incredibly blunt instrument to deal with a complex set of housing market issues. In principle, it will reduce the competition between first-time buyers and investors for many [...]
NatWest says government’s new Help to Buy ISAs will help young customers November 27, 2015 NatWest has revealed that it will be one of the country’s first lenders to participate in the government’s new Help to Buy: ISA scheme. Starting next week, NatWest will offer customers accounts on the scheme, which will see the government topping up individuals’ savings when they purchase their first home. For every £200 an individual [...]
UK house prices: First-time buyer market cools in the run-up to Christmas November 27, 2015 Britain first-time buyer market has cooled over the last three months following this summer’s record number of sales, new research shows. New buyers completed 28,100 sales in October, which was down 8.5 per cent compared with July’s eight year high of 30,700, according to figures released today by estate agents Your Move & Reeds Rains. [...]
UK house prices: Who’s building Britain’s houses and can we really build 200,000 homes a year? November 26, 2015 How can the UK build more houses? [custom id="102"] Source: Data.gov all housing completions 1949 – 2013 The Conservatives came to power on the back of an improving economy and with the promise of more improvement to come. One area of the UK’s financial future that is far from secure is the housing sector. [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: No, Mr Osborne, this is not a crisis of home ownership, it’s a housing crisis – where was the pledge to fix the rental market? November 25, 2015 The chancellor thinks we’re in the middle of a home ownership crisis. We're not, we're in the middle of a housing crisis. At least the Conservatives are consistent. Their one-track focus on home ownership and home ownership alone as the only solution for the UK’s housing crisis never wavers. Despite that the Conservatives still had [...]
Autumn Statement 2015 roundup: From London Help-to-Buy to potholes, here’s everything the chancellor announced today November 25, 2015 There weren’t many surprises in today’s Autumn Statement – from housing to the Northern Powerhouse, we were fairly well-versed in the measures included. Indeed, shadow chancellor John McDonnell’s decision to quote Mao ZeDong in the Commons may have been more eyebrow-raising than any of George Osborne’s measures. Landlords once again found themselves punished, with a new three [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: Stamp duty changes are a kick in the teeth and may be the final straw for some landlords November 25, 2015 Today's big headlines may be about the tax-credits u-turn, but one of the most significant of the chancellor's announcements was the new additional rate of stamp duty on buy-to-let properties and second homes. This additional three per cent will come as a kick in the teeth for landlords who've already had to cope with the loss [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: George Osborne’s Help-to-Buy and other housing budget announcements are little more than empty rhetoric November 25, 2015 George Osborne’s big news today was the announcement that the government “chooses to build” and will double the housing budget to £2bn, reforming the housing system and pumping £7bn into building 400,000 more affordable homes. Described as "the biggest affordable housebuilding programme since the 1970s", it's great news for those in desperate need of affordable housing. However [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: George Osborne’s speech transcript in full including stamp duty, business rates and corporation tax announcements November 25, 2015 Mr Speaker, this Spending Review delivers on the commitment we made to the British people that we would put security first. To protect our economic security, by taking the difficult decisions to live within our means and bring down our debt. To protect our national security, by defending our country’s interests abroad and keeping our [...]