US authorities move to rescue Freddie and Fannie July 14, 2008 Support from US Treasury comes minutes before far east markets open for trading US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson moved to calm nerves about stricken American lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac last night, saying the government would be willing to take an equity stake in the two banks. His eagerly awaited statement came just minutes [...]
Housing recession creeping closer as Barratt cuts jobs July 11, 2008 Leading economists predicted yesterday that house prices will fall by 35 per cent by the end of next year, as lender Halifax reported a 2 per cent slump in values last month. Britain’s biggest mortgage lender said that house prices are already 6.1 per cent lower than last June, fuelling fears Britain is heading for [...]
Property meltdown July 9, 2008 A property meltdown loomed yesterday as new figures showed mortgage completions at near record lows and commercial property values falling across the country. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said loans for house purchases rose by 4 per cent in May to 52,700, up from 51,000 in April, but were 44 per cent down on [...]
Berkeley pays bosses £60m July 7, 2008 Multi-Millionaire property entrepreneur Tony Pidgley and three of his fellow directors at housebuilder Berkeley Group are getting a £60m pay-out, it has emerged. Pidgley and the three other members of the management team will net around 7 per cent of the company, which is valued at around £770m. The pay-outs come at a time when [...]
Despite the gloomy market, investors still have something to cheer about July 3, 2008 Look beyond the doom-mongering, and there is still money to be made in property, says Alex Delmar-Morgan Property is a subject close to the hearts of the British people, and many home-owners have been chuffed over the past few years to see the prices of their properties increasing at massive rates. Surely, though, even the [...]
UK mortgages crash July 1, 2008 House prices were yesterday forecast to plummet even further as mortgage approvals hit their lowest level since records began and below the level of the 1990s recession. Data from the Bank of England showed that mortgage approvals for house purchases had plummeted to 42,000 in May from 58,000 in April. Mortgage approvals have now dropped [...]
Mortgage approvals at a year high November 1, 2005 Bank of England data released yesterday sent out mixed messages, with mortgage approvals at their highest level in more than a year, but unsecured lending slowing down. Bank figures showed that house purchase approvals rose to 107,000 in September, up marginally from 106,000 in August. This puts mortgage approvals at their highest level since June [...]
The house scouts who do all the leg work October 27, 2005 Buy-to-let investors don’t always have the time and the knowledge to find the perfect property. It is still possible to make a living out of buy to-let — by setting up a business that helps others find and run the right investments. Buy-to-let support staff are multiplying fast in a property market which seems unable [...]