UK house prices: Are low deposit mortgages propping up the housing market? May 14, 2015 The number of people buying houses with low-value deposits has risen by 7.3 per cent in the last year, according to data analysis by chartered surveyors e.surv. The figures Lending to borrowers who have only small deposits (15 per cent or less of the property’s value) accounted for 16.3 per cent of house purchases in April, [...]
What will the new government do to build more affordable homes? May 13, 2015 Housing charity Shelter says 250,000 new homes need to be built in England each year to keep up with population increases. But current housebuilding rates are nowhere near those levels. According to the department for communities and local government, just under 120,000 homes were completed last year. On the campaign trail, the Conservatives made a [...]
AOL Verizon deal: This is boss Tim Armstrong’s email to staff in full May 12, 2015 AOL boss Tim Armstrong has emailed staff about Verizon's $4.4bn offer to buy the online company. Here are his words in full. As you have heard me say many times over the last 5 years since we became an independent AOL, we are building toward becoming the largest media technology company in the world. While [...]
General Election 2015: The property market is freaking out at the prospect of a Labour government May 5, 2015 The property market is terrified of Labour-led government, one of the UK's largest property search websites has suggested, thanks to the prospect of falling house prices and rising interest rates. More on this story: How Tony Blair presided over the biggest rise in UK house prices in recent history According to Zoopla, Labour's policies on [...]
Vinyl revival prompts a boom in turntable sales for John Lewis May 5, 2015 Once seen as the domain of DJs and Hackney hipsters, the humble record has returned to its former glory as a mainstream trend. Past predictions that vinyl would go the way of the cassette tape have proved incorrect, according to John Lewis, which has reported a 240 per cent increase in turntables in 2015. The [...]
M&A deal values up despite fear 7 May result could derail market April 30, 2015 CITY dealmakers have not been put off by the General Election, despite the uncertainty caused by the knife-edge vote, analysis from BDO shows today. Almost 500 merger and acquisition deals came through in the first quarter of the year, in line with the volumes seen in 2014. And private equity buyers are even splashing out greater [...]
What makes Scandinavia furniture style so popular? April 30, 2015 Perhaps it’s because of the cold. In Scandinavia there’s more of an incentive to make the inside of your house look super-stylish because unless you want to get frost bite or, in some parts of northern Norway, eaten by a polar bear, the inside of your house is where you’ll spend the majority of your [...]
Taylor Wimpey, Barratt Developments and Persimmon share prices dip as fears about Labour rent control plans take hold April 27, 2015 Housing experts warned that Labour plans to bring in rent controls could lead to investors pulling out of the rental market. The Association of Rental Letting Agents (ARLA) said yesterday that three-quarters of its members feared the plans would “see landlords exit the market and reduce supply”. Such fears led to an immediate [...]
HSBC provides bounce as FTSE hits new highs – London Report April 27, 2015 THE FTSE rose to another record high yesterday as reports suggesting HSBC will spin off its British retail bank in a £20bn ($30bn) deal boosted stocks. The banking giant was up 3.1 per cent and has already said it is reviewing whether to keep its headquarters in London, given increased regulation and the possibility of [...]
Miliband’s disappointing stamp duty pledge won’t make the tax less stupid April 27, 2015 Housing, and its affordability crisis, is a bigger issue at this election than in any other for decades. Sadly, that hasn’t translated into policies that could effectively solve the problem, and yesterday’s announcements by Labour leader Ed Miliband will not change that. Labour plans to introduce a three-year stamp duty exemption for first time buyers, [...]