China’s modest rate cut surprises markets expecting greater stimulus August 21, 2023 The recovery in the world's second-largest economy has lost steam due to a worsening property slump, weak consumer spending and tumbling credit growth
House prices: August sees biggest fall since 2018 as signs of crash mount August 21, 2023 The average price of a home fell by 1.9 per cent in August, the biggest dip for the month since 2018, following a season of surging mortgage rates which led sellers to slash the prices of their homes in order to secure a sale. During the tail end of the summer the cost of a [...]
Chinese property giant Evergrande files for bankruptcy in US amid debt overhaul August 18, 2023 Embattled developer China Evergrande Group has filed for bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court as part of one of the world’s biggest debt restructuring exercises, as anxiety grows over China’s worsening property crisis and a weakening economy. Once China’s top-selling developer, Evergrande has become the poster child of the country’s unprecedented debt crisis in the property sector, which accounts for [...]
House prices rise 1.7 per cent – but Brits advised they will keep coming down August 16, 2023 Average UK house prices increased by 1.7 per cent in the 12 months to June down from a revised 1.8 per cent in May 2023, but property experts are warning this won’t continue for long. New figures from the Office for National Statistics show the cost of a home in the UK is £5,000 more [...]
Santander becomes latest bank to cut mortgage rates amid falling inflation August 14, 2023 Santander has become the latest high street lender to reduce the rates of its mortgage deals, following a stream of other cuts by fellow banks last week, in a signal of hope for prospective buyers. On Monday, the bank cut its selected residential purchase and remortgage fixed rates by between 0.05 per cent and 0.29 [...]
Mortgage and rent payments ‘difficult’ for almost 40 per cent of Brits August 11, 2023 Some 38 per cent of Brits have confessed to finding it difficult to afford their rent or mortgage payments over the past month, as the cost of living crisis continues to wreak havoc on the public’s personal finances. This figure was around 29 per cent in early August 2022, new figures from the ONS show, [...]
Persimmon slashes number of homes built as rate rise rattles business August 10, 2023 Persimmon has cut the number of homes it’s building by more than a third as the housebuilder faces up to rapidly rising mortgage rates and a slowdown in consumer confidence. The construction company built a total of 4,249 homes in the first half of the year down from 6,652 homes compared to the same period [...]
Rents likely to continue rising sharply despite cost of living crisis August 10, 2023 Rents are likely to continue rising sharply despite the cost of living crisis, surveyors are warning. Property professionals’ expectations that rents will rise in the next few months are at the strongest levels seen so far this century, the findings from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) indicate. A net balance of 63 per [...]
Brokers predict ‘mortgage price war’ as lenders including HSBC and Nationwide cut rates again August 9, 2023 Brokers have suggested there could be a “mortgage price war” as lenders continue to reduce rates amid hopes inflation is finally on the way down. Nationwide reduced prices on some of its fixed products by up to 0.55 percentage points while HSBC reduced rates by up to 0.2 percentage points. TSB also lowered rates by [...]
Bellway ‘taking steps to reduce headcount’ as rate hikes continue mortgage slowdown August 9, 2023 British housebuilder Bellway’s underlying operating margin will contract from 18.5 per cent to 16 per cent as mortgage rates continue to slow down demand in the sector. The home construction company completed the build of 10,945 homes in the year ended 31 July falling from 11,198 in the same period last year. As the central [...]