London house prices: Now a forecast says house price growth won’t rise until 2020 November 2, 2017 House prices will contract in London this year and next, a new forecast has suggested, before finally beginning to rise in 2020. Prices in the capital will fall 1.5 per cent this year and two per cent in 2018, then remain flat in 2019, before rising five per cent in 2020. In total, house prices [...]
Cohabiting couples: Don’t get caught out November 1, 2017 As fewer couples choose to tie the knot, it’s clear that marriage is no longer widely seen as the be-all-and-end-all to a relationship. Instead, many couples are opting for the cohabitation route – as sexy as that sounds. Figures from insurance giant Zurich estimate that there are more than 400,000 cohabiting families in London alone. [...]
Nationwide UK house price index: Annual growth rate picked up in October November 1, 2017 The annual rate of house price growth rose to 2.5 per cent in October, from 2.3 per cent in September, according to the latest Nationwide house price index. Prices went up 0.2 per cent on a monthly basis, down slightly from 0.4 per cent growth in the previous month. Nationwide’s chief economist Robert Gardner said: [...]
The tech evolution of the mortgage market October 25, 2017 Babylon, 611 BC: the year of the first recorded loan using real estate as security. Written to Mr. Nabu-etir with an interest rate of 11.3 per cent, our ancient ancestors agreed to the financial instrument that survives two and a half thousand years on. Now this loan forms the bedrock of the modern financial system [...]
What will an interest rate hike mean for house prices? October 17, 2017 Inflation hit three per cent in September, adding fuel to the fire for commentators calling for a rate hike. There has been talk of a rate rise for years now, although it hasn’t moved above 0.5 per cent since March 2009. The Bank of England hasn’t increased the rate since December 2007, when it began [...]
Rate rise will not leave challenger banks exposed says Hampshire Trust chief executive Mark Sismey-Durrant as profits surge October 16, 2017 A widely expected interest rate rise from the Bank of England will not leave the specialist lending sector exposed, according to the chief executive of a challenger bank which has seen profits surge in the last year. Hampshire Trust Bank recorded rapid profit and loan book growth in the first half of 2017 said its [...]
The 19 UK towns most at risk of a house price bubble: Cleveland, Blackburn and Blackpool come top October 12, 2017 UK house prices may still be rising, but with the Bank of England on the brink of hiking interest rates, the market may be about to change trajectory. Now, by comparing lending levels with house price rises, new research has listed the UK towns and cities most at risk if lending conditions change. Mortgage broker [...]
London house prices have fallen for the first time in eight years says Nationwide’s house price index for September September 29, 2017 Year-on-year house prices in the capital have dropped for the first time in eight years, according to Nationwide’s latest house price index. Prices in the capital dropped to an average price of £471,761 this month, down 0.6 per cent compared with September last year. That makes London the weakest performing region for the first time [...]
London house prices are still at risk of a bubble, according to this wealth manager September 28, 2017 London’s property market is still firmly in “bubble-risk” territory, one of the UK’s largest wealth managers has warned, as it ranked the capital’s housing market as one of the most vulnerable in Europe. Investors should take caution in the capital’s housing market, UBS Wealth Management said, as it published its Global Real Estate Bubble Index [...]
Global bank fines from financial crisis aftermath could top $400bn by 2020 says report September 27, 2017 Fines for misconduct levied on the biggest banks since the financial crisis by US and EU regulators could top $400bn (£298bn) by 2020, according to a report published today. Authorities in the US and EU have forced the world’s 50 largest banks to pay up $342bn since 2009, according to analysis by consultants Quinlan and [...]