Warnings over number of interest-only mortgages maturing in 2016 as wave hits April 25, 2016 Up to 20,000 interest-only mortgage holders across the country could be without plans to repay their home loans when they mature this year. As many as 40,000 interest-only mortgages are set to be called in during 2016, kicking off a new wave of maturities expected to run until 2020. The high level of mortgages reaching maturity has sparked [...]
Consumer confidence the worst in London, according to report by Deloitte April 25, 2016 London consumer confidence is the lowest in the UK according to a report by Deloitte released today. Against a backdrop of falling confidence across the country, London scored the worst in the first three months of 2016 with job security confidence falling six per cent and disposable income confidence down nine per cent. According to [...]
New homes on sale this weekend, including the former BBC Television Centre in White City April 22, 2016 Television Centre, White City From £700,000 The former home of the BBC forms the centrepiece of the regeneration of White City, which will see 5,000 new homes built in total. The first batch of homes will go on sale from 23 April at 11am in the Television Centre Pavilion. The first phase will consist of [...]
Londoners: Stop whinging about astronomical rents. It’s so much worse in these other cities April 22, 2016 Renters in London probably think they have good reason to feel hard done by. House prices seem to be going one-way, while wages just aren't keeping up. Map: How much you need to earn to live in every London postcode But a new report, out today, from the Global Cities Business Alliance, shows that Londoners [...]
Competition warnings over OnTheMarket were pretty much inevitable April 22, 2016 Anyone with even a passing interest in technology and its history could have predicted this one: just as the Luddites were eventually overwhelmed by power looms, online property portal OnTheMarket was destined to stumble. And lo, yesterday it came to pass: the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) effectively took a sledgehammer to the site’s business [...]
Property firm exposes how Nine Elms agents and developers are delisting and relisting same homes April 22, 2016 Dozens of new flats on sale in Nine Elms have been listed, taken down and relisted by developers and agents in the area, sometimes as many as 15 times in six months. This practice, known as “portal juggling”, potentially creates the illusion that there are more properties on the market than there actually are and [...]
When Brent meets Chelsea: How buying property in all 32 London boroughs over the last 20 years would have made a savvy investment April 21, 2016 Judging which areas will generate the best returns over the next 20 years can be tricky even for the wisest property sage. Data from estate agent Knight Frank show that Hackney was the best performing borough during that time, with an annual price growth of 11.9 per cent, followed by Lambeth at 11.2 per cent. However [...]
Estate Agent Wars: Competitions watchdog warns firms over suspected collusion in OnTheMarket antitrust row April 21, 2016 Has the government just hammered the final nail in the coffin for OntheMarket? Estate agents have been sent a warning by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), telling them they may be breaking the law by making "joint decisions" to join the portal and exit rivals such as Rightmove and Zoopla. Those who are suspected of [...]
Mortgage lending rockets in March 2016 as stamp duty tax changes prompt a borrowing spree April 21, 2016 Mortgage lending ballooned in March as landlords and investors piled into the property market to beat a slew of tax changes which came into effect at the start of April. A total of £25.7bn was borrowed for home purchases in March, according to figures released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) this morning – 43 [...]
London house prices will continue to grow even if the UK leaves the EU, say homeowners April 21, 2016 Parts of London's property market might be stumbling, but that's not stopping the capital's homeowners being the most confident people in the country that Brexit would not affect their house prices. Foolhardy? Maybe. But according to a new survey, London's homeowners expect to see double-digit growth in their property prices over the next six months – [...]