UK house prices: Mortgage lending rose unexpectedly in December February 1, 2016 The rush to sneak that house purchase in before interest rates rise continues apace: figures published by the Bank of England this morning showed mortgage lending jumped unexpectedly in December, beating analysts' expectations. Mortgage lending for house purchases rose to 70,837 in December, up from 70,424 in November. That was against analysts' expectations of a modest fall, [...]
McCarthy & Stone on course to build 3,000 retirement homes a year February 1, 2016 Fresh from its £1bn November IPO, retirement home builder McCarthy & Stone remains on course to build more than 3,000 homes a year in the medium term and hit targets for 2016, it said today. Three regional offices which opened last autumn are also bringing in profit and land, the group said in a trading update. The company’s [...]
UK house prices: London Help to Buy is a thing now – but experts warn it could inflate risks (and only help high earners in the first place) February 1, 2016 Callooh callay, London's own Help to Buy scheme has launched this morning, the government's scheme to give first-time buyers a lift onto the housing ladder. The new scheme effectively doubles the help being given out previously, as the government makes loans of up to 40 per cent available for first and second-time buyers on new [...]
Countryside unveils price range for £1.1bn IPO February 1, 2016 What market turbulence? Housebuilder Countryside Properties has unveiled the price range for its IPO, which at the mid-range will give it a value of £1.1bn. In a statement this morning, the company said shares will be priced between 225p and 275p, while it will issue 450m shares. Once the IPO is complete, it's anticipated it will have [...]
CML warns of higher rents and a buy-to-let slowdown under Stamp Duty Land Tax proposals January 29, 2016 The new tax on second properties could lead to higher rents and a slowdown in the buy-to-let market, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). Days before HM Treasury ends its consultation period on the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) proposals, the CML has publicly criticised the plans, claiming that they will have a [...]
Crowdfunding site Property Moose has just lowered its minimum investment to £10 January 29, 2016 Crowdfunding site Property Moose has lowered its minimum individual investment to just £10. The site, which offers investors a chance to contribute to a fundraising pool to buy a residential property, is hoping to reach out to new types of investors, including students kick-starting their saving or parents looking to start building a nest egg for their children. A £10 investment obviously [...]
London house prices skyrocket at double the national rate but sales fall January 29, 2016 London house prices rose at almost double the average rate for England and Wales last year, with the average price of property in the capital now totting up to a lofty £514,097. The Land Registry’s House Price Index in December showed that the cost of getting on to the ladder in London rose by 12.4 per [...]
Crazy London house prices have pushed Aim-listed Formation Group’s revenues up almost 200 per cent January 29, 2016 London’s buoyant property market has helped construction management firm Formation Group report revenue growth of 199 per cent for the year ending 31 August 2015. Group revenues rose to £23.7m over the period, compared with £7.941m the previous year, while profits before taxation were £2.2m from continuing operations, up from a 2014 loss of £99,000. [...]
City Moves for 29 January 2016 | Who’s switching jobs January 29, 2016 Marsh Rob Powell has been appointed claims advocacy international leader at insurance broker Marsh. Based in London, Rob will report to Michael Poulos, global head of Marsh’s client advisory services. He joined Marsh in 2014 as a managing director in the international claims advocacy practice. Before joining, Rob was global chief claims officer at Torus [...]
First-time housing market booming in the UK despite fall in purchases over the Christmas period January 29, 2016 THE NUMBER of first-time home buyers in the UK fell in December due to the traditional Christmas period slowdown, but showed healthy growth over the year, new data has shown today. First-time buyer numbers fell by 1,300 or 4.7 per cent month-on-month due to the “traditional winter cooling” period, according to the first-time buyer tracker [...]