Let’s face it: Profiteering is feeding the inflation beast, not just pay rises April 4, 2023 Inflation is a pernicious beast that is plainly bad for people and businesses. It can ease governments’ debt burdens by (artificially) boosting tax revenues, but that can lead to severe bouts of price rises that, often, lead to societal decay. So it’s easy to see why policymakers in the UK are sweating over the rate [...]
The London boroughs with the lowest property prices: Where is the cheapest place to buy in London in 2023? April 3, 2023 With the OBR expecting property prices to drop by 10 per cent this year, first time buyers are tentatively hoping that 2023 might be the year they can finally afford to get on the property ladder. But with London’s property market still too hot for many young buyers, where is the best borough to buy? [...]
Explainer: UK house prices and their swift fall March 31, 2023 House prices in the UK have fallen at their fastest yearly pace since 2009. The price of an average property fell 3.1 per cent from a year ago, according to the Nationwide Building Society. The average house price in March was £257,122. The figures show prices falling also on a monthly basis, for the seventh [...]
House prices fall in largest annual drop since 2009 as inflation and higher borrowing costs dampen property market March 31, 2023 House prices fell 3.1 per cent in March, the largest annual decline since July 2009 as consumer confidence remained weak and household budgets came under increasing pressure from high inflation. According to data from Nationwide, East Anglia, which was the strongest performing region last quarter, saw a significant slowdown, with prices falling 1.8 per cent [...]
Controversial Help to Buy policy to boost home ownership to end tomorrow March 30, 2023 A flagship policy to boost home ownership among young people will come to an end tomorrow. The Help to Buy Scheme, launched in 2013, will be wound up, after more than 350,000 people used it to buy their first home, with more than £2.2bn of support last year. But some property experts have warned the [...]
As help to buy winds down, caps on savings schemes will only hinder home ownership March 30, 2023 Help to Buy, an equity loan scheme, helped hundreds of thousands of first time buyers get on the housing ladder, as it ends, it makes lifting the cap on Lifetime ISAs all the more important, writes Annabelle Williams
Mortgage approvals snap back following mini budget chaos, but net lending at lowest since 2016 March 29, 2023 Mortgage approvals have improved for the first time since August, as the market begins to shake off the stress of the mini-budget, however experts have warned that the housing market will “remain price sensitive”. According to the Bank of England’s Money and Credit report for February, net mortgage approvals for house purchases increased to 43,500 [...]
Boots advantage card helps sales soar as shoppers sign up to bag beauty bargains March 28, 2023 Boots has reported a surge in sales as the high street chemist benefited from savvy shoppers keen to rack up points on its advantage card loyalty scheme. In the three months to 28 February 2023, the retailer’s sales increased 16 per cent as customers shrugged off the cost-of-living crisis to splash out on skincare and [...]
UK recession still on the cards after aggressive Bank of England interest rate hikes March 27, 2023 A recession is still on the cards in the UK despite the economy performing much better than experts predicted just a few months ago, new forecasts out today project. Higher interest rates and households responding to the cost of living crunch gripping their finances by trimming spending is tipped to push GDP 0.3 per cent [...]
Lump sum or regular saving, investing for children and how to go green: Your Isa guide to making the most of this year’s tax-free allowance March 24, 2023 With just under three weeks left until the end of the tax year, savers may still be considering how to use their annual tax-free Isa allowance. You can use your allowance whether you are looking at setting up a regular savings plan, or investing a lump sum, or even considering putting some cash aside for [...]