One in three delay buying new home as high costs and interest rates bite August 14, 2024 The saga of first-time buyers trying to get on the UK housing ladder is long and well documented. High interest rates, rising costs and rents which swallow up more than a third of wages – in some parts of the country – have meant that around one in three people have delayed their purchase of [...]
Rising London rents are ‘a pressure cooker ready to explode’ as home ownership ‘inching out of reach’ August 14, 2024 “A pressure cooker ready to explode” is how one expert has described the current situation in the UK housing market as data showed rents jumped close to 10 per cent in London over the past year. In fresh data released this morning it was revealed that average UK private rents increased by 8.6 per cent [...]
UK inflation comes in below expectations in July August 14, 2024 UK inflation jumped back above the Bank of England’s two per cent target in July, but came in below City estimates for the period. According to figures released this morning by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), prices rose 2.2 per cent in July. Meanwhile, core inflation, or price rises excluding volatile food and energy [...]
‘Magnificent’ Hyde Park penthouse on sale for £60m August 13, 2024 A £60m penthouse has gone on sale in Hyde Park in a tentative sign that the super-prime market may be turning towards bigger, more expensive homes again. The apartment, which is one of London’s biggest listings in 2024, includes “one of the largest private terraces in central London”, according to James Van Den Heule, co-founding director [...]
UK unemployment falls unexpectedly as wage growth slows to two-year low August 13, 2024 UK unemployment unexpectedly fell in the three months to June while a slowdown in wage growth to its lowest level in more than two years added to signs that the jobs market is cooling.
‘Further to go’: Junior doctors to vote on 22 per cent pay rise August 12, 2024 Junior doctors are set to vote on a proposed 22 per cent pay rise despite admitting there is “further to go” to achieve pay restoration.
FTSE 100: UK stocks erase losses from last week’s selloff ahead of economic data dump August 12, 2024 The FTSE 100 reversed its losses from last week's massive global selloff on Monday as investors hunt for bargains and look ahead to a slew of economic data in the coming days.
S&U: Motor finance lender urges Labour to change ‘restrictive’ regulation after profit warning August 12, 2024 Specialist lender S&U has urged the new Labour government to change the UK's "restrictive and constantly changing" regulatory regime after warning that actions by the City watchdog would have a "significant impact" on its motor finance business' profits.
‘Pent-up demand’ drives jump in London prime property sales August 12, 2024 London’s super-prime market seems to following a similar track to the general market: optimism is cautiously increasing as mortgages start to come down following the Bank of England’s rate cut. The number of exchanges in London in June and July was 8.4 per cent above the five-year average, according to Knight Frank. It was a [...]
Has the UK housing market turned a corner as the Bank of England cut interest rates? August 9, 2024 Quiet optimism is the mood of the day in the housing market, as house prices firmly ticked up in July. Both the Nationwide and Halifax house price indices posted accelerating house price growth. Nationwide reported a 0.3 per cent month on month increase and Halifax pointed to a stronger 0.8 per cent month on month [...]