No more bubble? UK house price growth falls to 10.2 per cent August 19, 2014 House price hysteria has calmed slightly with prices rising by a marginally more modest 10.2 per cent in the year to June, compared with 10.4 per cent in May, official figures showed today. According to the Office for National Statistics' House Price Index, London and the South East continued to drive growth, with prices [...]
MPs to grill Bank’s Mark Carney on Osborne interest rate pact claim August 18, 2014 Bank of England governor Mark Carney will be quizzed by MPs next month over whether he has faced any political pressure to keep interest rates at their historic low. Carney and chancellor George Osborne have been hit by suggestions this week that they struck a deal to keep rates low until after the election. Mark [...]
Why Bitcoin won’t be the money of the future – but cryptocurrencies might be August 18, 2014 PROPONENTS of Bitcoin like to suggest that it will be the money of the future. Critics point to its price volatility, evidence of a Bitcoin bubble and other problems. With the price of Bitcoin having just fallen below $500 for the first time since May, both sides make valid points. Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, a [...]
London rental prices grow at slowest pace in the UK August 18, 2014 London’s rental market has inflated at record speed in recent years as high house prices prevented swathes of potential first-time buyers from taking the leap. In fact last June average rent in the capital stood at £1,295 per month, just over £500 more than prices in the South West, the next-most expensive region. But [...]
London house prices to finally cool down as homeowners rush to sell properties August 11, 2014 The frothy London housing market is likely to come off the boil in the months ahead, with owners rushing to sell their properties following the recent surge in prices and buyers increasingly reticent to match the escalating valuations. The number of people looking to sell homes in the capital has climbed by nearly a third, [...]
Mortgage approvals for first-time buyers rise as UK house price growth slows August 11, 2014 Mortgage lending is still being dominated by customers looking to buy houses rather than remortgage, and first-time buyers are on the up. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) total gross lending for June was up six per cent on May and 20 per cent up on June 2013, totalling £17.9bn. £4.2bn of that [...]
Latis Homes founders Robert Luck and Krishan Pattni talk dream designs and planning nightmares August 10, 2014 Without the regulatory constraints imposed on our housing market, between 1974 and 2008, average house prices would have risen from £79,000 to £147,000, rather than to £226,000. That’s according to a new report by Christian Hilber of the LSE and Wouter Vermeulen of UV University that looks at the impact of supply constraints on house [...]
Recovery at risk as London house price boom outstrips wage growth, warns Moody’s August 5, 2014 Britain’s banking recovery is at risk from a housing crash, analysts warned yesterday – and that could throw the whole economy off track. The 17 per cent boom in London house prices is far outstripping wage growth, credit ratings agency Moody’s warned, and could come grinding to a halt. Rising interest rates could hit some [...]
UK rental prices: Is it time to stop buying? August 3, 2014 House prices have been on a surge in the last 12 months and despite a recent slowing of the market many first time buyers are finding themselves priced out of the market. The ONS released figures on rental prices this week that make for interesting reading and imply that an answer to high house prices could be [...]
In graphs: Mortgage approvals rise in June even as London house prices drop July 29, 2014 The discussion around the UK property market was given an added element of confusion today as mortgage lending statistics for June beat expectations. In its Money and Credit report, the Bank of England shows that the number of mortgages approved for house purchases was up to 67,196 in June, above the 62,007 seen in May [...]