Taylor Wimpey upbeat on UK housing market as buyers shake off General Election jitters April 23, 2015 The figures Taylor Wimpey has made an upbeat start to 2015, with an average private net reservation rate of 0.76 sales per outlet per week for the year to date – suggesting house buyers aren't worried about the impact of the general election (and given housebuilding is one of the few sectors that stands to benefit, [...]
London house prices: Capital homes increasingly unaffordable April 19, 2015 Homes in London have become drastically less affordable under the current government, according to a new report published today. A consumer’s capacity to buy a home in the capital is now 77 per cent worse than it was in 2010, according to the latest Ability to Buy index from the estate agent Hamptons International. London [...]
Brits spent £7.5bn on moving house last year: That’s £23,000 in stamp duty, surveyors and other fees if you live in London April 17, 2015 The average cost of moving house in London shot up to £23,000 last year – that's higher than the average (median) UK annual wage. The figures The price of moving house in the UK rose by £431 last year, bringing the average total figure to £8,698 in 2014, up from £8,258 in 2013 and £7,552 in [...]
House prices on the rise as lending slows April 14, 2015 HOUSE price growth cooled in February but remains elevated, while pre-election jitters may have caused a slowdown in mortgage borrowing. House prices climbed by 7.2 per cent in the year to February, down from 8.4 per cent in the year to January, according to figures released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics. Meanwhile, the [...]
Don’t worry about zero UK inflation: The outcome of the election will be far more significant for markets April 14, 2015 Britain narrowly avoided heading into deflation last month, with prices unchanged compared to a year ago. But over the past six months, prices have fallen by 1 per cent annualised after adjusting for seasonal trends. Should we worry about deflation and the prospect of falling prices? Well, after stripping out some of the more volatiles [...]
General Election 2015: Uncertainty hangs over UK mortgage lending data April 14, 2015 The uncertainty surrounding the General Election hit mortgages in February, as lending dropped, with the total number of loans falling one per cent on January’s figure and 16 per cent compared to last year. The figures According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML),a total of 40,600 loans valued at £6.8bn were granted in February, meaning the [...]
Best of the Brokers for 14 April 2015 April 13, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com DIAGEO Shorecap has reiterated the “hold” rating for the drinks giant with a target price of 1,923p a share. Analysts continue to see the firm as being in transition under boss Ivan Menezes, and said this will involve further short-term pain in return for [...]
Broker warns UK house price rise could accelerate April 9, 2015 House price growth has cooled since last year’s boom, but price growth remains high and could pick up again, a mortgage broker has warned. The average UK house price was £192,970 in March, 8.1 per cent higher than a year ago, according to figures released by Halifax yesterday. A boom in house prices last year [...]
UK property prices: House price growth still falling – but mortgage approvals are up April 9, 2015 Growth in house prices fell again in the three months to March, to 8.1 per cent, down from 8.5 per cent in January, research by Halifax suggested today. That puts growth at a "similar" rate to September 2014 – although it's now "significantly" below July's peak of 10.2 per cent, it added. Month on month, [...]
UK’s economic growth spurt helps big banks April 8, 2015 BANKS’ losses on bad loans dived last year as the economic recovery took hold, and analysts at credit ratings agency Standard and Poor’s expect the trend to give the sector a further boost in the years ahead. Loan losses plunged dramatically in 2014, collapsing from £17.1bn in 2013 to £3.3bn last year. And the analysts, [...]