Posts by Allen Walkey
Local authorities given more powers when dealing with rogue landlords
Announcement today from Department for Communities and Local Government and Gavin Barwell MP. New rules which come into force from today (6 April 2017) will help crackdown on rogue landlords that flout the rules and improve safety and affordability for renters. Announcing the measures, Housing Minister Gavin Barwell confirmed the powers will give local authorities…
Read MoreHSBC signed one year contract extension with Hometrack according to ZPG
News item released yesterday from ZPG stated: HSBC has signed a one-year contract extension with property analytics business Hometrack, securing the delivery of valuation and risk services for a twelfth consecutive year. Hometrack is part of ZPG plc and currently partners with 15 of the top 20 mortgage lenders in the UK as well as…
Read MoreTelford Homes expects to report record revenues and profit.
Telford Homes Plc, the residential property developer focused on non-prime London, has today 5th April 2017 given an update on trading ahead of its final results for the year ended 31 March 2017, which will be released on Wednesday, 31 May 2017. Telford Homes expects to report record revenues and profit for the year to…
Read MoreA new tax year begins tomorrow along with changes for buy-to-let landlords
Tomorrow the 6th April is a new tax year, it is when buy-to-let landlords will begin to feel the direct effects of the next tightening of taxation of the sector. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) in a recent news release headlined ‘Tax changes put more pressure on buy-to-let landlords’ point out that, from the…
Read MoreUK construction firms experience slowdown in growth in March.
The UK construction purchasing-managers’ index from Markit and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) slipped to a seasonally adjusted 52.2 in March from 52.5 in February and against market consensus for a reading of 52.4 the survey revealed on Tuesday 4th April. March data revealed that a slowdown in growth was seen across…
Read More2016 is another good year for Belvoir
Belvoir Lettings plc, the UK’s largest property franchise, today announced preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2016. it reported revenue increased by 43 per cent to £9.9m, up from £6.9m in 2015. Mike Goddard, Chief Executive Officer of Belvoir Lettings, commenting on the results, said: “2016 was another good year for Belvoir as we…
Read MoreFalling unemployment and creation of more jobs key driver to house price growth according to Lloyds Bank.
Recent media and research centre report from Lloyds Bank headlines ‘House price growth outperforms in areas where unemployment has fallen most since 2017’. Areas where improvements in unemployment are at their greatest have typically experienced above average house price rises, seeing prices soar by almost £100,000 in past decade, according to the latest research from…
Read MoreCompetition and Markets Authority reviewing acquisition of ‘Expert Agent’ by ZPG.
In a recent ‘Breaking News’ article posted 2nd March we highlighted the fact that ZPG PLC had acquired ‘Expert Agent’. In a UK regulatory announcement released on Friday 31st March ZPG stated that the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) is reviewing the Company’s acquisition of Websky Limited (“Expert Agent”) and that, accordingly, the CMA has…
Read MoreAverage rents increased in Q4 2016 according to Belvoir.
The latest Belvoir Rental Index Report for Q4 2016 is now published on their website. Belvoir Lettings is one of the UK’s largest specialist residential lettings agencies with over 150 offices nationwide and a 20+ franchise support team based at Central Office in Grantham. Belvoir report that the National Rental Trend for offices in England,…
Read MoreAnnual rate of house price growth slows in March according to Nationwide
Released today the Nationwide House Price Index (HPI) for March headlines ‘House price growth softens in March’ The annual rate of house price growth slowed in March to 3.5%, lower than the rate reported for February at 4.5%. House prices fell by 0.3% month on month in March, a turnaround from the rise in February…
Read MoreMore than 1 million people using Help to Buy schemes.
Help to Buy statistics released yesterday 30th March on Gov.UK website show that more than 259,000 completions have taken place using one or more of the Help to Buy schemes, the majority of these are first-time buyers. More than 215,000 (84% of total completions) first-time buyers are now on the housing ladder thanks to Help…
Read MoreStrongest rent growth seen outside London says Your Move
The latest Buy to Let Index March 2017 report for England and Wales from Your Move headlines ‘East and South East rents rise as demand outside London Rockets’. The average rent in Egland and Wales for Febraury 2017 was £798. Strong rent growth was seen outside London with Wales seeing rents rise faster than anywhere…
Read MoreApprovals of loans secured on dwellings fell slightly in February according to (BoE)
The Bank of England (BoE) monthly Money and Credit statistical release published yesterday 29th March 2017. Key points from the data to the end of February 2017 for lending to individuals included: Lending secured on dwellings rose by £3.5 billion in February, similar to the flows in recent months. Approvals of loans secured on dwellings…
Read More“Brexit” Theresa May will formally trigger Article 50 today.
Today 29th March 2017 is the day that Theresa May will formally trigger Article 50, notifying the European Union of the intention of the United Kingdom to withdraw from membership. This starts the clock running on a process that is supposed to take 2 years, however many believe that it could take longer. The timescale…
Read MoreBuyers with smaller deposits growing in number says e.surv
The latest Mortgage Monitor for February from e.surv Chartered Surveyors headlines ‘Strong performance continues for small deposit buyers’. Small deposit buyers continue to grow market share and make up a fifth of the market for all new mortgage approvals – a significant increase in the past year. In January 2017 small deposit borrowers took 18.7%…
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