Paragon eyes bank licence to boost lending December 3, 2012 MORTGAGE provider Paragon, a buy-to-let specialist, has confirmed it is talks to buy Hampshire Trust, a private bank offering, in a bid at gaining a retail banking licence. Paragon yesterday said it was in exclusive talks to buy the business, which offers funding to property developers and solicitors, from the National Counties Building Society. The [...]
State urged to support first time buyers December 2, 2012 GIVING support to first time buyers (FTBs) would ease the pressure on the hardest hit sector in the housing market and give a strong boost to the industry, economists from the Ernst and Young Item Club argue today. The respected analysts are calling on George Osborne to reinstate the stamp duty holiday for FTBs on [...]
How to plan for the Autumn Statement December 2, 2012 WITH so much focus on tax in the past few months, it would be no surprise if this week’s Autumn Statement sets taxpayers up for a long and cold winter. Its contents are as yet unknown, and George Osborne has vowed to keep his silence ahead of Wednesday’s Statement. That, however, should not prevent taxpayers [...]
Highest number of first time buyers in London since 2009 November 26, 2012 TEN thousand first-time buyers took out a mortgage in London during the third quarter of the year, according to Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) data out yesterday. The figure was the highest on the CML’s records since the fourth quarter of 2009, yet its research also revealed significant barriers to getting on the property ladder [...]
Record London rents keep up investor profits November 15, 2012 LONDON rents hit another record high in October as landlords celebrate solid returns on investment, according to the LSL buy-to-let index published today. Average monthly rents in the capital jumped 0.9 per cent to £1,102, breaking the £1,100 mark for the first time. That represents a seven per cent hike on the year, and holds [...]
Great Portland raises £140m for shopping spree in the West End November 14, 2012 GREAT PORTLAND Estates yesterday announced it had raised £140.6m from a placing of shares that will help fuel another shopping spree in London’s West End. The London-focused developer, which already owns swathes of West End property, said it plans to use the proceeds to buy “unloved assets”, let on cheap rents which it can refurbish [...]
Surveys reveal housing sector activity boost November 12, 2012 THE UK’S ailing housing sector has begun to show signs of life, according to two widely-regarded reports released yesterday and this morning. Interest in residential properties from potential buyers grew at its fastest rate for nearly three years in October, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) revealed this morning. The number of agreed sales [...]
Housing lifted by government scheme boost November 8, 2012 MORTGAGE lending climbed rapidly through the third quarter and into October, two sets of data showed yesterday, as the Funding for Lending scheme finally appeared to be having an impact on lending. This came in tandem with a reversal in the downward house price trend of the past few months, revealed by another set of [...]
London house price growth set to outstrip rest of UK for years November 8, 2012 London house price growth will be well ahead of the UK average for at least the next five years, estate agent Savills predicted yesterday. Central London housing will get 25.6 per cent more expensive over the five years to the end of 2017, the estate agent said, compared to 10.2 per cent growth in the [...]
No mercy from Van Persie against old friends November 1, 2012 MANCHESTER UNITED VS ARSENAL Tomorrow 12.45pm IT was a harsh lesson learned by the Arsenal fans who left the Madejski Stadium early during the Gunners’ incredible Capital One Cup comeback against Reading. But if the scoring at Old Trafford tomorrow lunchtime resembles anything like the pattern it followed when they last visited Manchester United, then [...]