Ireland tops the EU league for Buy-to-Let Investments.

According to new research by WorldFirst, Ireland is once again the top European location for buy-to-let investments. This comes as UK yields fall to 4% putting the country in the bottom 5 for buy-to-let investment returns in Europe. UK landlords have seen average yields plummet 19% over the past year following a raft of tax…

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NHF warns social housing funding is in crisis

National Housing Federation (NHF)report published today headlines ‘Social housing spending at record low.’ The report shows that the nation’s commitment to building homes has fallen from £11.4bn in 2009 to £5.3bn in 2015 – from 0.7% to 0.2% of the total GDP. Despite this, more than a million families remain on the housing waiting list.…

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Proposed planning changes to help boost housing supply and improve affordability

Announcement from Department for Communities and Local Government and the Communities Secretary Sajid Javid 14th September 2017 headlined ‘New planning approach to speed up delivering homes’. An innovative approach to planning new homes will ensure they’re built where most needed, save councils millions of pounds every year and help deliver more affordable homes has been…

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Interest rate remains on hold at 0.25%

bank of england interest rate

Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee Announcement 14th September 2017. At its meeting ending on 13 September 2017, the Monetary Policy Committee voted by a majority of 7-2 to maintain Bank Rate at 0.25%. The Committee voted unanimously to maintain the stock of sterling non-financial investment-grade corporate bond purchases, financed by the issuance of central…

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Negative trend in prime central London according to RICS

RICS UK Residential Market Survey report – August 2017 released today headlines ‘Growth at the headline level, but regional house price picture remains mixed.’ Although the headline level shows a return to growth, sentiment is less positive in prime central London and to a lesser extent the wider South East, alongside the North and East…

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Housing market is a daily nightmare for many families says Shelter

The National Audit Office homelessness report is published today 13th September. Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office said: “Homelessness in all its forms has significantly increased in recent years, driven by several factors. Despite this, government has not evaluated the impact of its reforms on this issue, and there remain gaps in its…

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Mortgage lending for house purchase in July was lower than in the preceding month according to UK Finance

UK Finance data  shows that mortgage lending for house purchase in July was lower than in the preceding month but higher than a year earlier. First-time buyer lending increased year-on-year. Remortgaging by home owners increased both month-on-month and year-on-year. Commenting on the data, UK Finance’s Head of Mortgages Policy June Deasy said: “Remortgaging strengthened in…

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Number of BTL mortgages available now at 10 year high

The number of buy-to-let mortgages available has risen to its highest level in almost 10 years according to figures taken from the latest Moneyfacts UK Mortgage Trends Treasury Report. The latest Moneyfacts UK Mortgage Trends Treasury Report, due to be published later this week, show that the number of buy-to-let (BTL) products has increased by…

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Housing Strategy for London – ‘Have your say’

The Mayor of London has launched his Draft London Housing Strategy headlined ‘Have your say – tackling London’s housing crisis’. It sets out his plans to tackle the capital’s housing crisis and to provide all Londoners with a decent and affordable home. The housing crisis is the greatest challenge facing London today, and tackling it is…

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