Posts by Allen Walkey
Metro Bank lending more than doubles.
Shares in Metro Bank edged higher early today, the Bristish lender which listed on the London Stock Exchange in March and opened the first branch of Metro Bank in Holborn in central London, revealed its first quarter loss narrowed on the back of solid growth in commercial lending and residential mortgages. Metro Bank said its…
Read More(LCCI) London Mayoral Election 2016
The agenda from London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) identifies new ways in which it believes the new mayor can tackle London’s housing crisis. London’s chronic housing undersupply impacts on employees and employers. Liberating more land and empowering more builders is required. To fix the housing crisis the new Mayor or London should: 1.…
Read MoreZoopla Property Group to aquire PSG
Zoopla Property Group has conditionally agreed to acquire Property Software Holdings Limited for GB75m on a cash-free, debt-free basis. Established in 2007, PSG is the UK’s market-leading provider of software solutions to property professionals, used in over 8,000 agency branches. PSG provides workflow tools to over 40,000 estate and lettings agents across the UK through…
Read MoreLetting agents ran drugs factory
Two men who ran a lettings agency in south London, Aidan Lynch, 51, and Jason Smart 47, were both jailed for a total of eight years last Friday at Woolwich Crown Court, an accomplice Patrick McArdle, 37, was jailed for five years and six months for conspiracy to produce cannabis and another seperate charge. The estate…
Read MoreAverage asking price hits record high
According to the most recent Rightmove House Price Index, buy-to-let ignites chain reaction, driving prices to record high Average price of property coming to market up by 1.3% (+£3,843) to set a record high of £307,033 A last minute rush from investors to buy before April 1st helped to ignite an onward chain reaction: Stamp…
Read MoreDeciding what to believe as the referendum approaches.
The in’s and out’s have now begun their campaigns in earnest leading up to the referendum in June, hopefully the multitudes of questions that voters are worried about will get answered, or will it just make everyone more confused? The vote to decide whether we stay in or leave the European Union is probably one…
Read MoreThe ESTAS Awards
Regional and National winners were announced at the 13th annual ESTAS ceremony on Friday 15th April at the Grosvenor House London. The mission at The ESTAS is to highlight the great service provided by different firms involved in the residential property sector. Here are some of the awards from the long list of Regional and…
Read MoreRail Network and House Building
In a recent press release from the Gov.Uk website on the subject of Rail Network and Housebuilding it headlines ‘Regeneration of stations set to deliver thousands of new properties and jobs’ A massive programme of development of railway stations and surrounding land will deliver thousands of new homes and jobs and significantly boost local growth.…
Read More“Granny Flats” now not to be included
The controversial new tax for buy-to-let and second homes introduced from 1st of April will not now include homeowners with self-contained “granny flats”, the government will table an amendment to correct the error and ensure fair treatment for annexes. The problem was the changes would have meant anyone buying a home with a granny flat…
Read MoreLending up in February says CML
A press release published yesterday by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) stated on an unadjusted basis, lending in February: Home-owners borrowed £8.7bn for house purchase, up 4% month-on-month and 21% year-on-year. They took out 48,000 loans, up 4% on January and 12% on February 2015. First-time buyers borrowed £3.4bn, up 3% on January and 21% on February last year. This totalled 22,000 loans, up…
Read MoreHomeLet Rental Index March 2016
HomeLet posted today the latest figures and research from the HomeLet Rental Index Main points: Greater London, the East Midlands and Scotland show fastest rent rises over three months to March; North West is the only area to decline Average rent in the UK (excluding Greater London) is now £755 per month – 4.9% higher…
Read MoreTelford Homes Trading Update
Telford Homes PLC today released it’s Trading Update ahead of its preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2016, which will be released on Wednesday 1 June 2016. Some of the highlights in the release are: (To see the full trading update go to their website ) Profit before tax for the year…
Read MoreONS House Price Index Feb 2016
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released today the house price index February 2016. Monthly output based on mortgage completions data from the Regulated Mortgage Survey. Main points. UK house prices increased by 7.6% in the year to February 2016, down from 7.9% in the year to January 2016. House price annual inflation was 8.2%…
Read MoreCountrywide announces acquisition of Mortgage Bureau
Countrywide PLC the UK’s largest property services and estate agency group announced on their website yesterday that it has aquired Mortgage Bureau, by doing so it has further enhanced its focus on the residential development mortgage market. With a team of 50 professional consultants and with access to a broad spectrum of the UK’s mortgage…
Read MoreLenders compete for BTL mortgage business
Buy-to-let mortgage rates are being slashed to record lows in an effort to keep the market alive following the continued efforts by the Chancellor George Osborne to keep the buy-to-let boom under control. In fact these efforts by the Chancellor appears to have triggered what might be called a ‘price war’ as lenders compete to…
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