How shared ownership can help get Londoners on the housing ladder October 22, 2014 The Scottish Parliament has set out plans to levy its first tax since 1707. In an effort to support first time buyers, it proposed reforming stamp duty into a marginal – rather than a “slab” – tax, meaning that house sales in Scotland will no longer incur the highest rate on the whole price. These [...]
Three things to look out for from Tesco’s results tomorrow – other than the numbers October 22, 2014 When Tesco publishes its first-half results tomorrow, including an update on its investigation into an expected £250m profit black hole, all eyes will be on the numbers. Initially, investors will look for the specifics of exactly how much profits were "overestimated" by, and what effect it has on the supermarket's previously reported profits and future [...]
Diane Abbott: Labour’s mansion tax on £3m properties will not save the NHS October 21, 2014 Labour MP Diane Abbott has urged shadow chancellor Ed Balls to rethink his so-called mansion tax policy, warning that the “tax on London” will fail to raise enough to support the NHS as promised. “I am worried about how much this policy will actually raise and I am worried about it as a sustainable funding [...]
London house prices: Property market stalls in September October 21, 2014 The inexorable rise in London’s house market stalled in September according to Sequence, a national estate agency network. The number of transactions fell by one per cent, adding to the body of evidence pointing to a marked slowdown in the London housing market. “What we are seeing is a return to normality in the housing [...]
As its growth falls yet again, could a flagging China spell disaster for the global economy? October 21, 2014 Freya Beamish, economist at Lombard Street Research, says Yes. The Chinese authorities are in no man’s land. They have accepted slower growth but are not yet ready to go for the financial and wider reforms that would usher in a new phase of expansion. We calculate our own Chinese GDP numbers. Our estimate shows that [...]
Luxury in the air at Earl’s Court’s Lillie Square October 20, 2014 The designers behind the north hall of Covent Garden Market and the Met Bar unveiled a new collection of luxury penthouses in Earl’s Court to bring it up to the standard of its illustrious west London neighbours. The penthouses are part of the Lillie Square development, a residential scheme that’s the centrepiece of the regeneration [...]
On the frontline: Does a slowing rate of growth mean lower house prices? October 20, 2014 One quarter is a long time in the property market. Our Investor View reports show Q1 growth across 18 offices at 6.5 per cent, Q2 2.1 per cent and Q3 0.1 per cent. So does a slowing rate of growth mean house prices will fall? Messrs Osborne and Cameron will be hoping not, and Douglas [...]
Why British homeowners are mad about mews October 20, 2014 It’s a common complaint that all the best properties in London are being bought up by foreign, cash-rich investors, looking to tie their money up in our constantly expanding property market. But there is one section of the market that, until now, has remained largely untapped by foreign investment, a last bastion of British buyers: [...]
UK property: South east overtakes London as region with fastest-growing house prices October 20, 2014 The south east has overtaken London as the region with the fastest-growing house prices, figures published today show – despite the average asking price in the capital hitting £596,000 in the year to October. According to research by Rightmove and Oxford Economics, prices in the capital grew 9.6 per cent during the period, while [...]
Dalian Wanda puts One Nine Elms homes on sale October 20, 2014 Another 200 homes will go on sale in London’s Nine Elms regeneration area as China’s biggest property company prepares to launch its £700m residential scheme this week. Dalian Wanda, which is led by the country’s wealthiest man Wang Jianlin, bought the Market Towers site at Vauxhall last year from Irish developer Green Property, marking its [...]