Credit Suisse and Citco face £430m lawsuit over Chelsea property deal that lost Vatican £100m London The filing of a €500m (£430m) lawsuit against Credit Suisse and Citco over the loss of millions in charitable funds through a Chelsea property deal has led to calls for greater transparency around the “origins of money used to purchase high-value property” in Britain. The calls come after Anglo-Italian financier Raffaele Mincione’s WRM Group filed [...]
Run on equity release: Cash tied up in properties fund £1 in every £90 spent by retired Brits weekend read A new analysis published this week showed that equity release finances around £1 in every £90 spent by retired Brits. Total retirement spending funded by equity release could top £4bn this year and £5bn in 2025, according to modelling by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), as homeowners increasingly look to property wealth [...]
UK mortgage arrears hit highest level in more than 12 years as debts to banks creep past record £2bn 'a red flag' The value of mortgage arrears in the UK has reached its highest level since 2010, with £2.05bn of mortgage debt delinquent at the end of the first quarter of 2022, according to new data shared with City A.M. this morning. As interest rate rises and the cost-of-living crisis hit household finances, more families are now [...]
Middle class stampede for equity release as Brits use their property as ATM by withdrawing billions via later life mortgages June 14, 2022 UK homeowners have already released equity to the tune of £1.4bn so far this year, with this figure estimated to hit almost £5.6bn by the end of the year. In fact, during the first three months of this year, over 12,500 homeowners opted to utilise the pent up value accumulated within their property via later [...]
Brits to be allowed to use housing benefits for a mortgage to buy their homes June 9, 2022 Allowing lower-paid workers to use housing benefits to buy their homes and an extension of the right to buy for housing association tenants should give Tory support a boost. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to confirm his intentions in a major speech today as he seeks to repair his fortunes after a bruising Tory [...]
UK house price skyrockets to record £289k: ‘Any mutterings of a market crash are greatly exaggerated’ June 8, 2022 The average UK house price hit a record high of £289,099 in May, but the pace of growth in values is slowing, according to an index this morning. Russell Galley, managing director of Halifax, said: “The average cost of buying a home in the UK is up 1 per cent, or £2,857, on last month, [...]
UK housebuilding tumbles into ‘stagnation’ amid reversing economy June 8, 2022 Higher raw material costs and ongoing supply chain disruption clamped down on the UK construction sector last month, according to a closely watched survey released today. Construction businesses cut back on activity amid rapid cost inflation persisting in May making projects unviable. Just over seven in 10 firms said input prices climbed in May, driven [...]
Swelling of ‘generation rent’ means many won’t be homeowners until 40s, 50s or even pension age June 8, 2022 Almost 15 per cent of renters think they may be picking up their pension before becoming homeowners, as the cost of living crisis continues to eat into savings. With so-called ‘Generation Rent’ continuing to be impacted by soaring house prices that prevents them from getting onto the property ladder, a new survey commissioned for NatWest [...]
Exclusive: Staggering £130bn worth of homes left empty in London alone with record 87,731 vacant properties May 30, 2022 It has emerged that the value of vacant homes in London equates to over £130bn. London has a total of 87,731 vacant homes, making it the top city in the UK for the prevalence of empty houses. With house prices averaging £1.49m in the capital, the cost of vacant homes is approximately £130.8bn. A recent study [...]
London is back on the global property radar as foreign home buyers shrug off Brexit and stamp duty changes May 24, 2022 International buyers are returning to the London property market after three consecutive years of declining market activity, brought about by Brexit, changes to stamp duty and, of course, the pandemic. Since last year, international interest has started to return to the capital, with transactions climbing by 0.6 per cent. At the same time, the market [...]