When was London last not No1 for average loan-to-income lending? Less than 20 years ago June 26, 2014 As many people were expecting, the Bank of England (BoE) has moved to control mortgage lending, restricting to 15 per cent the proportion of mortgages that can exceed a loan-to-income ratio (LTI) of 4.5. A look at recent data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) however shows that nowhere in the UK has ever approached that [...]
Wood you buy a home like this? Meet London’s new timber homes June 20, 2014 AN ENGLISHMAN’S home is his castle and his castle is almost always made out of bricks and mortar. Many house buyers take these building materials – along with stone and concrete masonry – for granted but it’s actually something of a national obsession. In Southern Germany and Austria, the cold mountain climate is perfect for [...]
Here’s why new Bank of England staffer Kristin Forbes is defending inflation targeting June 18, 2014 In a mission to understand UK monetary policymaking, Kristin Forbes has already been asking important questions. Speaking before the Treasury Select Committee (TSC), Forbes told MPs that she had asked the Bank of England why its inflation mandate sees the central bank target a two percent inflation level. The answer Forbes received was "very vague", [...]
How £5m of diggers came to reside under London’s most expensive houses June 5, 2014 The only thing possibly bigger and swankier than the biggest and swankiest houses in London is the titanic subterranean lairs underneath them. With spaces (but not cost) at a premium, more and more owners are expanding downwards, building cinemas, swimming pools, gyms, games rooms and other luxury spaces underneath their visible homes. And Ed Smith, [...]
Britain’s mortgage prisoners must act now or face financial meltdown May 22, 2014 IT’s BEEN a busy week in the world of monetary policy. On Sunday, Mark Carney said that rising house prices pose the biggest threat to economic recovery. On Tuesday, the official statistics told us what we already knew – that house prices in London are soaring, by 17 per cent year-on-year. Some homeowners are finding [...]
Tenants have rent covered today May 11, 2014 A TYPICAL British tenant will today have earned enough money so far this year to pay their rent – though Londoners will have to wait until July before they can celebrate rent freedom day. At 132 days into the year, a UK renter works the equivalent of more than a month longer than a homeowner [...]
Housing market boosts Pimlico Plumbers’ sales April 28, 2014 PIMLICO Plumbers, one of the UK’s biggest independent plumbing companies, is on track to hit record sales of £20m this year after benefiting from a rebound in the housing market. Charlie Mullins, the founder and chief executive of the London-based group, said homeowners in the capital were taking on bigger “pre-recession property projects” such as [...]
London barometer April 24, 2014 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DOUGLAS & GORDON THE SPRING market is already as busy as we expected with buyers up around 15 per cent and stock levels increasing slightly each month. Homeowners seem keen to take advantage of the strong sales market but many are surprised at the speed with which their properties are going under offer. [...]
Average London house price to top £700,000 by 2020 April 14, 2014 LONDON house prices are set to rise 54 per cent over the next six years, leaving the rest of the UK’s property market even further behind, new research claims. A typical home in the capital will be worth more than £700,000 in 2020, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). This rapid [...]
Buy a family home in seclusion next to Richmond Park April 10, 2014 Find out why creative types are leaving central London for new leafy townhouses PRIVACY is becoming the new buzzword in high-end property. As London’s population grows and house-building becomes a top political priority, homeowners are becoming increasingly reluctant to live on top of their neighbours. In search of a room of their own, away from [...]