Mortgage approvals fall faster than expected in wake of Budget January 3, 2025 65,700 mortgages were approved in November, down from 68,300 in October and comfortably below economists' expectations.
House prices rise at fastest rate in two years – Nationwide December 2, 2024 New figures from Nationwide show that house prices rose by 3.7 per cent year-on-year last month, up from 2.4 per cent the month before.
Budget: Parents facing 20 per cent childcare fee hike after NIC raid November 30, 2024 Experts are suggesting parents will face up to a 20 per cent increase in fees to cover rising costs at British nurseries. The sector warned on Friday there will be a “disproportionately adverse” impact on women who want to work and children’ s health. This comes after the government’s Autumn Budget included an increase in [...]
UK property market surges but warnings of Budget’s impact linger November 29, 2024 Transactions in the UK residential property hit over 100,000 in October but expects warn the full impact of the Budget has yet to be filtered in
UK housing market returns to growth as north outpaces south November 29, 2024 Zoopla has predicted positive house price growth in all regions and counties of the UK in 2025, with the north expected to outpace the south. The real estate platform has forecast sales growth at five per cent and house price growth at 2.5 per cent across the UK, with the fastest price increases in Northern [...]
Coventry Building Society to take over Co-op Bank in January November 28, 2024 Regulators have given the green light for Coventry Building Society to acquire The Co-operative Bank in January as consolidation sweeps through Britain’s mid-sized banking sector. The two lenders said on Thursday that the Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority had approved the £780m deal, which was agreed in May. The takeover [...]
Forget Reeves’ CV – there’s a bigger transparency problem in monetary policy November 28, 2024 The real discussion shouldn’t be about whether Reeves deserves to call herself an “economist”. It should focus on the unchecked power of current central bank leaders, the far-reaching consequences of their decisions, and how we hold them to account, says Tim Focas The recent controversy over Rachel Reeves’ tenure as an economist at the Bank [...]
London rents rise again as Savills warns of double-digit UK increase November 20, 2024 Analysts have warned rents are being pushed to unsustainable levels amid another yearly jump and concerns there is no natural plateau in sight. The average UK private rent rose by 8.7 per cent in the year to October, up from 8.4 per cent in the year to September, according to the ONS. The increase was [...]
Lower interest rates not enough to rally consumer confidence November 18, 2024 After a steady climb throughout the year so far, consumer confidence dipped in November amid warnings it could continue to fall into 2025. Overall confidence fell from 47.3 in October to 46.9 in November, according to the S&P Global UK Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) survey. The neutral mark is 50. Chief business economist at S&P, [...]
Strong governments must be prepared to upset the markets (a bit) November 12, 2024 The bond markets are a potent opposition, but governments must be prepared to take risks if they are ever to reap rewards, says Charles White-Thomson With a large majority and an election years away, the Prime Minister and Chancellor likely don’t feel the need to worry too much about what the electorate think. But one [...]