UK house prices: Is the government’s pension reform about to put strain on the property market? February 16, 2015 Britain is in the grip of a property shortage, and it could be about to get worse. New legislation means that from April many pensioners will be able to cash-in their pension pots, with many expected to invest in the buy to let market. The market seems ill-prepared for such interest. Data from Rightmove, the [...]
UK house prices: Housing shortage means property costs grow at fastest rate in 10 months February 16, 2015 Has a bombshell has landed in the housing market this morning? Britain’s chronic shortage of homes is the main driver behind the average asking price for a property surging by £5,729, or 2.1 per cent, this month, after what had looked to be a tempering market. The 2.1 per cent rise in February is up [...]
Hammerson pre-tax profit more than doubled last year due to revaluation gains February 16, 2015 The figures Profit before tax at the property firm more than doubled from £341.2m a year earlier to £703.1m for the year ended 31 December 2014. Net asset value – an important indicator for developers which measures the value of the buildings they own – jumped 11.3 per cent to £6.38m. Net rental income – comprised of income from [...]
Housing market activity picks up after cooling over winter February 15, 2015 THE AVERAGE London residential property price was 2.8 per cent higher in February than in January, new figures show today. However, the average time it takes to sell has climbed to 69 days, according to the data released by Rightmove. It marks seven straight months of increase in the time taken to sell a property, [...]
First-time home buyers should get a mortgage rather than rent, says Halifax February 15, 2015 Record low mortgage rates are contributing to a market where it is cheaper for first-time buyers to buy rather than rent. The average monthly cost associated with a first-time buyer buying a three bedroom house was £658 in December, according to figures released by mortgage lender Halifax at the weekend. It compares to an average [...]
Outgoing Morrisons boss Dalton Philips puts £1.65m York home up for sale February 15, 2015 WM Morrison outgoing chief Dalton Philips has put his £1.65m York townhouse up for sale, giving The Capitalist and all you other curtain-twitching, Kirsty Allsopp-watching property clickers a welcome chance to snoop through his home. And what a house you can get for that money in York! The tasteful five-bedroom listed Georgian pile comes complete [...]
Britain close to deflation as oil drags on prices – London Report February 15, 2015 CONSUMER price inflation is expected to have fallen to a record low, with figures out this week likely to show it reached 0.3 per cent in January. The rate was 0.5 per cent in December – at a low since comparable records began in 1989 – and it is forecast to have fallen further, as [...]
Tesco Bank moves into new mortgage territory with independent brokers February 15, 2015 Tesco Bank is extending its mortgage offering to include independent brokers, with the hope of dramatically increasing its customer base. In an interview with The Telegraph this weekend, the business said it would start selling the loans through intermediaries in 2016. The bank has already shown promise in the property market – [...]
London property: Capital’s Royal Docks business park development gets billion pound investment from China’s Minsheng February 14, 2015 A Chinese investment firm will spend a billion pounds creating a new financial and business district to rival Canary Wharf and the City in London. China’s largest private investment fund, China Minsheng Investment, will plough £1bn into the project to develop a 35-acre site at the Royal Albert Docks in east London. Plans for the [...]
A new Monopoly board is being crowdsourced by Hasbro and BuzzFeed February 13, 2015 Everyone's favourite feud-filled family game Monopoly is getting a makeover. The game-maker Hasbro is joining forces with millennial media giant BuzzFeed to crowdsource a new board which will feature 80 destinations around the world instead of famous city streets. Monopoly fans are being asked to vote on the locations they want to appear on the [...]