Crest Nicholson upbeat as house price rises reach home counties March 20, 2014 HOUSE prices in the home counties are starting to reflect the “ripple effect” from the sharp rise in London home values, Crest Nicholson said yesterday. The housing developer said this growth in the average selling price, together with the government’s Help to Buy scheme and the overall improvement in the economy meant sales for new [...]
Why this analyst believes time is running out to prevent a housing bubble March 7, 2014 Both the government and the Bank of England need to take urgent action to prevent the UK from entering into another housing boom, according to chief UK economist at Berenberg, Robert Wood. The warning comes after a host of data releases showing rapid increases in house prices across the UK. The Halifax house house price [...]
Brand Index: Hot housing market masks finance fear for many Brits March 4, 2014 THE LATEST figures from the YouGov/Cebr consumer confidence index show that the economic recovery is finally starting to move from a headline to a concrete reality for greater numbers of ordinary people. Champagne bottles are by no means being uncorked in large numbers, but there has been a steady increase in the percentage of people [...]
Bank use of Funding for Lending surges but business loans drop March 3, 2014 USE OF the Funding for Lending Scheme by banks surged in the last part of 2013, with nearly half of the borrowings made so far coming in the year’s final quarter. Banks drew down £18.79bn in the final three months of the year, out of £41.92bn in the six quarters the scheme has been active. [...]
UK mortgage approvals soar to highest level since 2007 March 3, 2014 The Bank of England (BoE) has released figures showing mortgage approvals for new house purchases climbed from 72,798 to 76,947 in January – their highest level since November 2007. However, mortgage approvals remained 25 per cent below their pre-crisis levels. UK economist for London-based consultancy Capital Economics Samuel Tombs, said: There is little reason to [...]
What you need to know before the open March 3, 2014 European stock futures have been falling as the tensions in Ukraine continue to rise. The rouble is currently at an all-time low, and Russia’s central bank has announced it’s hiking its benchmark interest rate from 5.5 per cent to seven per cent. All European markets are expected to fall sharply at the open, after Ukraine [...]
What you need to know before the open February 26, 2014 Markets are set to open mixed this morning ahead of UK GDP data, and with China fears pulling down metal prices. US markets finished a touch lower yesterday, but have weathered well the string of unimpressive data the country’s seen. Over in Asia, the Nikkei came down from a 4-week high, tainted by US data, [...]
Home purchase lending back to pre-crisis levels February 25, 2014 BRITISH banks last month approved the highest monthly level of mortgage lending since September 2007, before the devastating effect of the financial crisis. Mortgages for house purchases have soared by 57 per cent since the same month last year, and remortgaging has also grown by 51 per cent in the same period. The British Bankers’ [...]
Mortgage approvals skyrocket to 76-month high February 25, 2014 Mortgage approvals have skyrocketed by 57 per cent year-on-year to a 76-month high in January, according to the British Bankers Association (BBA). Approvals for house purchases leapt to 49,972 in January from 47,086 in December. The numbers follow a stream of data showing a sustained burst of activity in the UK housing market. In 2013, [...]
What you need to know before the US open February 20, 2014 US stock index futures suggest markets will open lower, as investors look again towards ongoing emerging market turmoil. The continuing and severe violence in Ukraine at the moment has seen the country’s hryvnia plummet to five-year lows, and state debt insurance rising to 2009 highs. Weaker growth from China – the Markit/HSBC purchasing managers’ index [...]