Barclays ditches more of its non-core assets in Italy October 12, 2016 Barclays has today agreed to sell a portfolio of salary secured loans, worth around £260m, in Italy to IBL Banca. The final sale is still subject to regulatory approvals but is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2017. The sale will also reduce the bank's non-core risk weighted assets by roughly £170m. "Last week we announced agreements to [...]
This is how far London house prices fell in the third quarter October 12, 2016 London's house prices have underperformed in the third quarter as the capital recovered from the shock of the Brexit vote and the uncertainty afterwards. House prices fell 2.5 per cent in the third quarter, following on from a 0.5 per cent fall in the second quarter, according to data from Halifax and IHS Markit. London's decline compared [...]
This is how sterling’s unstoppable slide will affect UK house prices October 12, 2016 After a freak six per cent fall when markets opened in Asia last week, sterling is in free fall. The fall obviously has implications for people going abroad – but what about people here at home? We asked the experts what the flash crash will do to UK house prices. Read more: This is how the [...]
House prices edged up in September as the market recovered from the initial Brexit hit October 7, 2016 House prices fell 0.1 per cent in the three months to September as compared to the previous quarter, according to Halifax – but they edged up month-on-month. There was a 0.1 per cent increase in property values between August and September, following two months of house prices falling. Year on year growth hit 5.8 per cent. Read more: [...]
House prices in Chelsea have fallen by 10 per cent this year October 6, 2016 House prices in Chelsea have fallen by 9.8 per cent annually, according to Knight Frank. Overall, prices for high-end homes in central London fell by 2.6 per cent in September, the estate agents said. Read more: House prices under threat in Tower Hamlets due to rapid building and Brexit There were marked regional differences in prices [...]
Starting gun fired to restart sale of billions of pounds of distressed mortgages October 4, 2016 The government is preparing to put a multi-billion pound portfolio of mortgages it manages on behalf of failed lender Bradford & Bingley back on the market. UK Asset Resolution (UKAR) – whose role is to flog mortgages written by doomed lenders that include Bradford & Bingley and Northern Rock – signalled an end to its Brexit break by circulating non-disclosure agreements to prospective buyers. Read [...]
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 [...]