Hammond shuts down Javid’s plan to borrow billions at record low rates October 24, 2017 Philip Hammond has slapped down communities secretary Sajid Javid’s proposal to borrow billions of pounds at current interest rates to build homes. Speaking at the weekend, Javid made the case to “sensibly borrow more… take advantage of some of the record low interest rates” for housing, as well as other infrastructure needs such as the [...]
This property investment trust’s shares are up 28 per cent as it prepares to upgrade to a premium London listing October 24, 2017 Aim-listed K&C Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) saw its shares shoot up by 28 per cent this morning, as it announced it would raise a new £150m and prepare for a listing on the premium section of the London Stock Exchange. The REIT, which invests in UK residential property, will raise the money by issuing [...]
Commercial property investment in the City set for a record year, according to Savills October 24, 2017 Commercial property investment in the City is set to reach or beat the record of £12.6bn set in 2014, according to research from Savills. Investment in the Square Mile for the first three quarters of this year has already beaten the full-year total for 2016. Volumes hit £8.5bn by the end of September – six [...]
London house prices: The 10 London neighbourhoods with the most £10m plus homes | City A.M. October 23, 2017 London’s high-end housing market may be struggling, but more than 50 homes worth more than £10m have been sold so far this year, new analysis has suggested. Not surprisingly, the place with the most ultra-high end deals is Belgravia, where seven sales worth more than £10m have taken place, totalling £151m. Meanwhile, Knightsbridge came second, [...]
London’s office market is “highly overvalued” and set for a correction, ratings agency Fitch says October 20, 2017 A leading ratings agency has said London’s overvalued office market is set for a correction next year due to Brexit uncertainty. Fitch Ratings said the core London office market had cooled since the Brexit vote last year, but it remains “highly overvalued”. “Tight office supply has supported prices to some extent, while sterling’s weakness has [...]
Holiday Homes in Porto, Portugal: We scout out the bargains October 20, 2017 The snaking queues of tourists outside Porto’s 19th century Livraria Lello bookstore are not people seeking a good read. They’re tourists wanting to glimpse the second floor café where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone while raising her daughter and teaching English in the City. Potter fans believe the shop’s spiral art [...]
The Land Registry’s tapping tech startups to make property more digital with artificial intelligence and chatbots October 19, 2017 The government department in charge of the country's property and land records is turning to startups for technological innovation. Land Registry will work with three property technology, or proptech, startups as part of a new programme aimed at improving property transactions A startup using artificial intelligence to help conveyancers asses risk, Orbital Witness, and another [...]
Esure and Direct Line founder Sir Peter Wood to flog chunk of Gocompare stock to pursue property investment interests October 18, 2017 Sir Peter Wood, the insurance tycoon founder of Direct Line and Esure, today revealed plans to dump a multi-million slug of Gocompare shares on the market in order to fund his London and US property interests. In an after-market announcement, Wood said he will place 21.3m shares on the market. With Gocompare’s stock trading at [...]
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 [...]
London property prices: Office sales smash through £13bn barrier after German investment boost October 16, 2017 A surge in investment from German and UK property firms has pushed London office transactions past the £13bn barrier. Buyers from 27 different countries are active in the central London office investment market, estate agent Savills said today. There have been £13.4bn of office transactions so far this year, some 23 per cent than 2016 [...]