Bonus season: If you’re thinking of spending it on property, here are the top London hotspots you should be looking at January 27, 2017 It’s bonus season in the City and now you’ve got the enviable task of deciding what to spend it on. Historically low interest rates means putting the whole lot into an ISA isn’t quite as appealing as it once was. But house price growth particularly in the outer boroughs – Newham, Havering, Brent and Croydon [...]
Tory infighting might be holding back the housing white paper January 26, 2017 The government's housing white paper has been repeatedly delayed – and infighting within the Tory party might be to blame. Prime Minister Theresa May has reportedly turned the policy document away because it wasn't substantial enough, and it is now thought it will be released on 6 February. Tories in safe seats, who are likely to [...]
Mortgage lending hit a nine-month high in December January 26, 2017 Mortgage approvals hit a nine-month high in December, and overall in 2016, gross mortgage lending increased 12 per cent. Figures from the British Bankers Association show that gross mortgage borrowing increased by 3.6 per cent year-on-year in December, reaching £12.6bn, with remortgaging approvals jumping 30 per cent to their highest level since October 2008. Read more: Restaurateur [...]
I can’t help but worry about the potential for the mother of all house price crashes January 26, 2017 The year opened with alarming newspaper headlines in The Daily Telegraph on the risk of a global property price crash. How worried should we be in the UK? The ratio of house prices to incomes in the UK is close to the all-time high it reached before the financial crisis. If that ratio mean reverts over [...]
Canada grants planning permission for new City skyscraper, 1 Leadenhall January 25, 2017 Another skyscraper has moved one step closer to becoming part of the capital's skyline, after Canada's planning and transport committee granted planning permission this morning. The committee approved a resolution to grant permission for 1 Leadenhall, which is set to tower over Leadenhall Market. The resolution was approved following a consultation with the [...]
Focus On Catford: A ‘ripple effect’ from Lewisham’s regeneration has caused price rises in nearby Catford, say agents January 24, 2017 With each great regeneration comes an even greater ripple effect, so sayeth London’s estate agents. And so it is in Lewisham, where new developments and major infrastructure investment have already made the surrounding areas of Deptford and New Cross appealing to first time buyers. But now it’s the turn of Catford, where the Borough Council’s [...]
Property of the Week: Restaurateur Peter Langan’s celeb haunt turned 4-bed penthouse in Mayfair January 24, 2017 This top-floor penthouse moments away from fashionable eateries Sketch and Pollen Street Social has links to a historic restaurant itself and once hosted some of Britain’s greatist contemporary artists. Built at the start of the 20th century by Ernest George, the same architect behind the grand, red brick Royal College of Music, this building on [...]
Property transactions were resilient throughout 2016 January 24, 2017 The number of property transactions fell 8.5 per cent year-on-year in December 2016 – but over the year as a whole, the market was resilient. Data from HM Revenue and Customs shows that there were 1,231,120 residential transactions last year, ahead of the number of transactions in both 2014 (1,225,120) and 2015 (1,225,970). However, the [...]
Crest Nicholson’s profit soars – but it warns about cost pressures and falling house prices in central London January 24, 2017 Crest Nicholson's share price remained largely flat as the company reported a 27 per cent jump in profit. The builder said it was selling more homes at higher prices – but warned of pricing pressures in central London and cost inflation due to the Brexit vote. The figures The housebuilder's profit jumped 27 per cent in [...]
Why I renovated a Victorian castle for my staff January 24, 2017 Star Wars cinema, tick. Gym, tick. Ice cave, tick. Library with secret door, tick. OK, they may not be essentials for an office space but when your office is a castle, why on earth not? For a company based outside of London, attracting and maintaining the best talent is paramount to our success, so I re-invested [...]
