Housing boom is nationwide September 16, 2014 HOUSE prices boomed at record rates across the UK in the year to July, according to official data released yesterday, despite separate and more recent figures showing growth rates levelling off. Prices rose 11.7 per cent in the year to July with London leading the way at 19.1 per cent. Prices paid by first-time buyers [...]
Car review: The new Audi TT feels more like a top-end VW than a thrusting sports car September 16, 2014 What’s your take on the Audi TT? A brilliant interpretation of Bauhaus design language? An unusually attainable, good looking sports car? Or so commonplace it barely even registers? The original TT was something special. No car manufacturer had built such a bold interpretation of the coupe away from a motor show concept. And no one [...]
House sales up again with flood of new buyers September 11, 2014 The housing market resurged again in July, defying expectations that activity was slowing down, industry figures revealed yesterday. The number of first-time buyers surged by 25 per cent in the year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). More than 30,000 bought a place on the housing ladder in the month, the biggest number since [...]
Chelsea V Swansea spread betting September 11, 2014 IT’S NO surprise to see title favourites Chelsea sitting atop the Premier League, but a few eyebrows would have been raised if you’d suggested that last year’s 12th, Swansea, would be fighting for top-spot, having also claimed three wins from three. The two sides face off at Stamford Bridge tomorrow and you might be surprised [...]
Barratt boss warns of labour shortage September 10, 2014 The boss of Britain’s largest housebuilder Barratt Developments warned yesterday that a shortage of skilled workers could prevent the country from delivering the homes needed to tackle housing crisis as the company reported a doubling of full-year profits. Mark Clare said the lack of skilled workers – from bricklayers to architects and plasterers – is [...]
Housing market goes in reverse over August September 10, 2014 A fall in both house sales and mortgage approvals in August has backed growing evidence that the booming property market is at last slowing. A Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) survey showed the number of agreed house sales in August fell for the first time since September 2012, and new buyer enquiries fell for [...]
Peer-to-peer can help you save up for a house deposit September 10, 2014 How could peer-to-peer (P2P) lending help you save for a house deposit? First-time buyers looking to live in the South East of England will need to stump up an average deposit of around £30,000 according to research released at the end of August by LSL Property Services, and the figure leaps to £62,253 in [...]
How to save up for a house deposit September 9, 2014 With property prices surging in recent years – by 19.3 per cent in London in the 12 months to June, according to ONS data – the amount needed for a house deposit has shot up. The latest figures from LSL Property Services show that the average first-time buyer put down just over £30,000 for a [...]
Apple Watch and iPhone 6 launch: Share price, spec, features, UK release date and what the analysts say September 9, 2014 Apple has launched two new iPhones, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, and the Apple Watch smartwatch at a much-hyped launch event in California. Chief executive Tim Cook introduced the iPhones in a short speech calling them Apple's best ever iPhones. The iPhone 6 is 4.7 inches and the iPhone 6 Plus is 5.5 inches [...]
Barts Square: A new quarter in the heart of the City September 5, 2014 Behind the shimmering tower of 200 Aldersgate – a modern office block at London Wall – is a myriad of streets that once served as the City of London’s trading lifeline. They wind in between Smithfield meat market, the Barbican, St Bart’s Hospital and up to the Old Bailey and the cells of Newgate Street. [...]