London property market: So you think you know Chelsea? July 24, 2014 Everyone thinks they know Chelsea. Even if you don’t live there, you have an idea of it. The term Sloane Ranger was used in the 80s to describe a certain breed of socialite that lingered around the King’s Road, and reality TV show Made in Chelsea has brought the stereotype back into the public eye. [...]
Men with wide faces secure bigger bonuses but are worse at collaborating, study finds July 24, 2014 It pays to have a wide face, but only when you're going it alone, according to research by scientists at the University of California, Riverside. Called “Negotiating face-to-face: Men's facial structure predicts negotiating performance”, the study used a series of negotiation simulations to compare the success of wide-faced and narrow-faced men at securing deals when [...]
Interest rate hikes risk a household debt tragedy if we don’t act now July 23, 2014 Beware the economist bearing forecasts. The only thing that’s ever certain about economic predictions is that they’ll turn out to be wrong. But this one’s nailed on: interest rates are going to rise. Hardly the riskiest punt – the current emergency base rate of 0.5 per cent can’t be sustained forever and, as yesterday’s Monetary [...]
UK house sales at their highest since 2007, but seasonally adjusted figures show drop July 22, 2014 There was another sign that the UK property market may be cooling, after the HMRC released figures showing that the number of properties sold in the month of June had dropped – when the numbers are adjusted by season. Although the raw number of sales for June, 109,580, is the highest since November 2007 (and [...]
UK house prices fall for first time in 2014 July 21, 2014 House prices across the UK have fallen for the first time this year, according to the Rightmove House Price Index. It showed that the average advertised cost for a home fell from £272,275 in June to £270,159 in July, marking a 0.8 per cent decrease. This meant that, while the growth rate was [...]
Buying overseas? Speak to the currency experts first July 21, 2014 Spanish property continues to be popular for Brits looking to buy abroad, with nearly half of all property enquiries for Spain sitting in the £50,000 to £150,000 bracket according to figures from Kyero.com. The Costa Blanca remains the favoured region, accounting for more than a third of Spanish property enquiries on the portal, and with [...]
The first-time buyer boom in two charts: Number gaining property ladder foothold hits seven-year high July 19, 2014 The number of first-time buyers purchasing their own home is now at its highest since pre-crisis 2007 with 144,500 first-time buyers jumping on to the property ladder in the first half of the year- a 25 per cent rise on the same period in 2013. The figures from Halifax point to a boom in the [...]
Spread betting on cricket July 16, 2014 ENGLAND’S five-Test series against India is finely poised after a draw in the opener at Trent Bridge last week. Ahead of the second Test at Lord’s, Sporting Index have priced up a huge range of cricket markets. Cricket and spread betting have always been a match made in heaven and it really is the most [...]
Chinese Hony Capital eats up Pizza Express July 14, 2014 PIZZA Express became the latest UK brand to be snapped up by a Chinese buyer after it was announced that the restaurant chain would be sold to Chinese private equity firm Hony Capital for around £900m. The sale of Pizza Express is part of a recent trend that has seen Chinese buyers take ownership of [...]
Mortgage lending growth still firm despite new regulations July 10, 2014 The number of loans for house purchases rose by a quarter in the year to May, according to figures released yesterday, suggesting no dramatic effect from the raft of new regulations for the sector. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) announced that house purchase lending was up in value by 25 per cent to £9.6bn [...]