UK mortgage debt swells to £7bn as interest rates rise May 4, 2022 Mortgage debt swelled in March, according to Bank of England data, with net borrowing climbing from £4.6bn to £7bn in March as interest rates rise. House purchase mortgage approvals slipped to 70.7k in March from 71.0k in February, slightly ahead of consensus but moving towards their 2015 to 2019 average of 66.5k – which analysts [...]
7 in 10 first-time buyers forced to delay property purchase as cost of living crisis drains home seekers’ wallets May 4, 2022 A staggering 70 per cent of potential first-time buyers looking to buy in the next year or two have decided to delay their purchases as rising living costs hit their ability to save, according to a survey. Nearly nine in 10 said their ability to save for a deposit has been affected by the rising [...]
Spiralling house prices push millions into higher stamp duty bracket May 4, 2022 Spiralling house prices have pushed 4.3m households into a higher stamp duty bracket since March 2020, according to the latest research. The average price of a home has skyrocketed by £29,000 to £249,700 since Covid-19, spurred in part by a city exodus and the rush to get deals done amid the pandemic-era stamp duty holiday. [...]
Windfall tax the backdrop for energy giants’ results May 1, 2022 London’s biggest oil companies will face an odd dilemma this week as they present what is likely to be their best set of results for years while facing calls to cough up more in tax. The businesses are predicted to report a combined 13 billion dollars (£10.5 billion) in profit from the first three months [...]
Revealed: Russia pockets £53bn in oil and gas cash since start of Ukraine war with £7.6bn from Germany April 28, 2022 It has been revealed that Germany was the biggest buyer of Russian energy during the first two months of the war in Ukraine A study published by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) calculated that Russia has earned £53bn from fossil fuel exports since February 24, the date Russian troops attacked [...]
German energy firms risk being nationalised as cabinet backs emergency measures April 26, 2022 Germany's government could soon have the power to seize ownership of energy companies to secure supplies in the event of an emergency.
As house prices hit another all-time high, we need to cut bureaucracy burdening sales April 26, 2022 Yesterday, average house prices in England hit a record high for the third consecutive month, according to RightMove. They reached an average of £360,100. High buyer demand and a limited number of homes available are likely to send prices even higher. Against this backdrop, it’s about time we reconsider the way we buy and sell [...]
Exclusive: More than two firms remain interested in Bulb Energy’s customers April 25, 2022 At least one other energy firm is still open to taking on customers from Bulb Energy, but has ruled out a full takeover bid of the collapsed supplier.
UK house prices hit ‘hat-trick’ new high, climbing more than £5.5k since March April 25, 2022 The average price of a home has hit its third record high in just three months, as spiralling costs dampen the hopes of Londoners looking to climb the ladder. Prices have jumped 1.6 per cent since March – the equivalent of £5,537 – to £360,101 on average across the UK, according to Rightmove today. With [...]
Weekend read: First-time home now have to stump up £33k more than before Covid hit April 24, 2022 How much worse off are Britain’s first-time buyers now the pandemic starts to settle? Quite a bit, as it turns out, largely as a result of the post-pandemic property market boom. A new analysis of first-time buyer house prices looked at the cost of purchasing a first home before the start of the pandemic in [...]