Philip Hammond is wrong to assume an infrastructure splurge will boost growth October 3, 2016 Mention the name Philip Hammond in Westminster, and invariably someone will describe him as “a safe pair of hands”. The man who has been chancellor for three months had been largely inconspicuous in his role prior to yesterday’s conference speech. But after almost two decades of a Treasury dominated by micro-managers and tinkerers, primarily in [...]
Philip Hammond unveils £5bn housebuilding stimulus package October 3, 2016 Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced a £5bn stimulus package for housebuilders, including a £3bn fund to help build 25,000 homes during this parliament. The fund will give loans to small and medium sized housebuilders and those using innovative building methods such as offsite construction. It will also provide funding for infrastructure. Read more: London has fallen out [...]
The number of mortgage completions made through Help to Buy fell year-on-year in June September 29, 2016 The number of mortgage completions made with the government's Help to Buy scheme has fallen by eight per cent year-on-year in June, according to figures from the Treasury. Completions made through Help to Buy reached 3,118, a monthly increase of 27 per cent. Read more: Government Help to Buy Scheme under fire over deposit clauses [...]
Bank of England announces latest details of landlord crackdown September 29, 2016 The Bank of England's crackdown on landlords kicked up a notch this morning, with a set of tough new lending restrictions for buy to let mortgages. Threadneedle Street's banking supervision arm, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), has long been concerned with the risks the UK's buy-to-let sector poses to financial stability and has again tightened [...]
House price confidence ticked upwards in September as Brexit fears faded September 26, 2016 As worries about the effect of the Brexit vote on the UK economy start to fade, Londoners have become more confident about the price of their home. According to research by Knight Frank, people across the UK believe the value of their house increased in September. Londoners perceived the biggest house price growth of anywhere in [...]
Number of mortgage approvals down by over a fifth in August September 26, 2016 House purchase approvals dropped by more than a fifth in August, according to figures from the BBA. The number of approvals was down by 21 per cent as compared to August 2012. In the first eight months of this year, approvals were two per cent lower than in the same period of 2015. Read more: [...]
First-time buyers still have to save for over a decade to get a home in London September 26, 2016 First-time buyers may have hoped the EU referendum would reverse house price growth in the UK, but a Brexit housing crash has not materialised, and saving for a deposit has not become any easier. Would-be homeowners have to save for just over 10 years to get a deposit, according to research by Hamptons International, a figure [...]
House price growth in London to drop to six per cent this year September 23, 2016 House price inflation in UK cities is set to slow to 8.2 per cent – and annual growth in London is predicted to fall to six per cent by the end of this year. According to Hometrack, house price growth has slowed in cities across the south of England especially, due to the weaker demand for homes after the Brexit [...]
Another knock to the Remoaners as mortgage lending boosted in August September 22, 2016 Pre-referendum fears about a housing market slump have been squashed today after the Council of Mortgage Lenders published figures showing a jump in mortgage lending in August. There was a seven per cent month-on-month rise in mortgage lending in August, CML said, with the total amount borrowed reaching £22.5bn. Lending was up 15 per cent annually, [...]
House prices rebounded in September after the Brexit vote lull September 19, 2016 UK house prices are rebounding from the lull that immediately followed the Brexit vote, according to data from Rightmove. Asking prices have increased 0.7 per cent month-on-month, Rightmove said. In the weeks after the Brexit vote, Rightmove found that prices fell by 0.9 per cent. But first-time buyers are finding it increasingly difficult to get on [...]