DEBATE: Should the Bank of England cut interest rates this week? January 29, 2020 Should the Bank of England cut interest rates this week? Simon Ward, economic adviser at Janus Henderson Investors, says YES. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) keeps making mistakes because it ignores monetary trends. It hiked rates in August 2018 even though 12-month broad money growth (as measured by non-financial M4) had slumped from 6.5 per [...]
First time buyer mortgages hit 12-year high October 15, 2019 The number of first time buyer mortgage completions in August soared to the highest level since before the financial crisis. There were 35,010 mortgage completions for new buyers – an increase of 0.7 per cent on August last year – reaching the highest level since 2007. Read more: Mortgage approvals grow despite Brexit uncertainty Andrew [...]
UK house prices grow nearly three times quicker than salaries since 2008 October 1, 2019 UK house prices’ growth over the last decade has vastly outsripped that of people’s salaries, with property value increasing in value nearly three times faster than the wages of their occupants, according to research. The average UK home has risen around 43 per cent in value between 2008 and 2018, from £160,954 to £229,861. But [...]
Days of soaring London house prices ‘are long gone’, says UBS September 30, 2019 The capital’s real estate market has moved out of bubble-risk territory for the first time in four years amid cooling London house prices, according to a new UBS report. An end to London’s housing boom has pushed the capital down a UBS index that ranks the cities with the biggest real estate bubbles in the [...]
US Federal Reserve cuts interest rates by a quarter point September 18, 2019 The US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates for the second meeting in a row amid concerns about a global economic slowdown, in a move which was largely expected by economists. The central bank lowered its main federal funds target rate by 25 basis points (0.25 percentage points) to between 1.75 and two per cent, [...]
Second home ownership soars towards the value of £1 trillion June 15, 2019 The number of British people owning a second home has soared by more than 50 per cent since 2001 as the value of additional property wealth nears £1 trillion, according to a new report. Research from think tank the Resolution Foundation revealed that 5.5 million people – around one in ten of the UK population [...]
Just Group completes £375m fundraising to meet new regulations March 25, 2019 Retirement services firm Just Group shares fell again this morning as it announced it had completed a £375m fundraise to comply with new capital requirement rules. The firm, which unveiled heavy 2018 pre-tax losses earlier this month, said it had issued £300m worth of bonds and raised an extra £75m via an equity placing. Read [...]
Remortgaging in London hits decade high as homeowners capitalise on competitive deals February 27, 2019 Remortgaging in London has reached a decade-high and the number of first-time buyers also rose at the end of last year, according to UK Finance data. The number of new homeowner remortgages in the capital rose to 60,400 in 2018 – a 6.2 per cent increase on 2017 and the highest annual figure since 2008, [...]
Most home purchases made by first-time buyers in 2018, research shows February 23, 2019 The majority of home purchases were made by first-time buyers last year for the first time in 23 years, according to new research. The number of first-time buyers reached 372,000 in 2018, the latest Halifax First-Time Buyer review shows, and now account for more than 50 per cent of all house purchases with a mortgage. [...]
UK house prices get unexpected December boost but market remains subdued January 8, 2019 UK house prices rose 1.3 per cent in the three months to December compared to the same period last year, according to new figures from Halifax. The annual growth rate was up from the 0.3 per cent recorded in November, but house prices were 0.4 per cent lower than in the preceding three months. Read [...]