London residents are less happy with their energy supplier than people in any other region in UK April 28, 2018 Customers in London are least likely to be happy with their energy supplier, according to a study out today. In the capital, less than a third (30 per cent) of consumers said they were very happy with their energy and gas supplier. This compares to Wales where 60 per cent of customers said they were [...]
To fix the housing crisis, ministers should listen to businesses in London – scrap the migration cap and build more homes in the green belt April 18, 2018 First-time buyers are going to extreme lengths to save up a deposit, according to an amusing survey published by Santander this morning. “Almost 2m are willing to swap nutritious meals for pot noodles,” the bank says, inadvertently casting doubt over the future of the global avocado market. The research also reveals that 38 per cent [...]
Halifax: UK homeowners have earned enough to cover mortgage payments for 2018, London residents to wait two more months April 16, 2018 UK homeowners have earned sufficient income, on average, to cover their mortgage payment for the rest of 2018, according to British bank Halifax. Dubbing today ‘Uk mortgage freedom day’, the bank says that, based on on the average annual mortgage repayment cost of £8,039 and the average net annual income of £27,7243, 16 April marks [...]
UK house prices: The British towns with the fastest rises in house prices April 13, 2018 London house prices rose by an average of just under 1.5 per cent in the first three months of the year, but across Britain, the place for the highest growth in property value was Sidcup in Kent. According to new data from Zoopla, the total value of the British residential property market rose by 1.4 [...]
First digital mortgage deed signed for house in Rotherhithe London April 5, 2018 The first digitally-signed mortgage deed has been successfully entered into the national database, for a house in London. HM Land Registry said today that it was part of a process to improve the use of technology in transactions making them “instantaneous where possible”. Instead of requiring the homeowner to sign a pen-and-paper contract in the [...]
UK house prices: Over-50s hold 75 per cent of UK housing wealth, says Savills report April 4, 2018 Homeowners over 50 hold three-quarters of the country’s housing wealth, according to new research from global property adviser Savills. These older homeowners, who have benefited from years of strong housing price growth, now own 75 per cent of all equity, with a total value of £2.8 trillion. The analysis reveals the extent to which equity [...]
Last Week in the City: Trump signs order for tariffs March 9, 2018 This week US President Donald Trump signed off on new tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, Trinity Mirror revealed plans to rebrand, and the European Central Bank took a further step towards ending stimulus measures. The FTSE 100 rose 1.9 per cent over the week by mid-session on Friday. Economics China will pursue annual growth [...]
Opinion: London’s buyers market is a consequence of estate agents irresponsibly over-pricing properties February 23, 2018 The average London home is now sold at 4 per cent below its original asking price, according to the Hometrack Cities Index, up from just 0.5 per cent in 2014. Many are taking it as a sign that homeowners are desperately discounting their homes in an effort to sell, and that the capital has now [...]
UK house prices: First-time buyers £27,000 better off than renters – and more than £50,000 more privileged in London February 17, 2018 Britons are pouring thousands of pounds in the pockets of landlords each year by renting their home rather than buying it. UK first-time buyers are an average of £27,000 better off than renters over a mortgage term, Halifax said today. And in London, the savings are even greater. Homeowners in the capital save an average [...]
First-time buyers at 10-year high in 2017 but the mortgage market weakened in December February 13, 2018 The number of mortgages taken out by first-time buyers boomed last year to its highest level since 2006, buoyed by the Help to Buy subsidy. Banks lent money to 365,000 first-time buyers in 2017, an increase on the year before of 7.4 per cent, according to UK Finance, the lenders’ industry body. However, the December [...]