Revealed: How the mansion tax could cost taxpayers £175m April 20, 2015 More than 120,000 households could face a bill of up to £4,800 each to have their property revalued thanks to Ed Miliband's mansion tax. The total cost to homeowners of revaluing their properties would come to around £110m, according to upmarket estate agent Savills. But it's not only owners of high-end property who are in [...]
Brits spent £7.5bn on moving house last year: That’s £23,000 in stamp duty, surveyors and other fees if you live in London April 17, 2015 The average cost of moving house in London shot up to £23,000 last year – that's higher than the average (median) UK annual wage. The figures The price of moving house in the UK rose by £431 last year, bringing the average total figure to £8,698 in 2014, up from £8,258 in 2013 and £7,552 in [...]
UK property prices: Have renters given up on owning their own home? Just 40 per cent of renters are saving for a house April 7, 2015 The UK's renters have given up on graduating to property ownership, it seems – after new research suggested just 43 per cent of renters aged between 20 and 45 are saving to buy a home. The figure has fallen by six percentage points since last year, Halifax's Generation Rent report showed. More than half [...]
UK House prices: Generation rent downbeat on buying outlook April 6, 2015 A generation of Britons still fear that they will never be able to buy a home despite the number of first-time buyers reaching a seven-year high in 2014, a survey reveals today. Some 79 per cent of 20- to 45-year-olds believe banks do not want to lend to first-time buyers, while 21 per cent think [...]
London barometer: How General Election uncertainty is influencing home buyers and sellers March 26, 2015 Politics continues to shape the property market as demand falls and supply increases ahead of one of the most divisive elections in generations. The outcome is causing uncertainty in the sales market and a general mood of caution, with some buyers and vendors hedging their bets before committing to selling or buying. Valuations remain consistent [...]
Aldermore share price jumps on its first day of trading March 10, 2015 Shares in Aldermore rose 10 per cent to 212p as its first day of conditional trading began on the London Stock Exchange this morning. The challenger bank priced its offering of 34.8 per cent of issued share capital at 192p per share, near the top of its 155p-195p range. The price gave it a market [...]
UK property market: Number of mortgage-free homeowners now outstrips those with property loan February 25, 2015 The number of people in the UK who own their home outright has surpassed the number of those with mortgages for the first time since the 1980s. Of the 14.3m who own their house, 7.4m owned outright, compared to 6.9m who bought with a mortgage. Last year these two types of owner were equal, according [...]
Aldermore confirms plans to IPO (again) February 24, 2015 Challenger bank Aldermore has dusted off its IPO plans, which it scrapped in October, confirming its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange. The bank, which specialises in lending to small businesses, is thought to be gearing up to raise £75m through the flotation, representing approximately 40 per cent of the issued share capital [...]
UK house prices: A return to optimism? – CNBC Comment February 16, 2015 The UK housing market is a favourite topic of conversation – a national pastime, even. But an abundance of different data types mean that statistics can swamp and confuse anyone looking to gauge the current climate. Property website Rightmove just announced its busiest ever month for house hunters, while Halifax saw its biggest January monthly [...]
London is the centre of the world, but it looks to New York for its property ideas February 12, 2015 London isn’t only a global capital, it’s the global capital, if we’re to believe Forbes, which ranked London as the most influential city globally last year, leaving New York snapping at its heels. While political uncertainty in the UK may have knocked confidence, it’s still widely thought that London’s reign will continue. However, beyond the [...]