Posts by Allen Walkey
London Mayoral elections in May
The EU referendum planned for the 23rd June is really taking the limelight at present what with David Cameron pushing for “remain” since his return from Brussels In February, Boris Johnson putting his weight behind the “leave” campaign, the resignation of John Longworth Head of The British Chambers of Commerce following his fallout over “Brexit”…
Read MoreFoxtons Group plc announce financial results
Foxtons Group plc, London’s leading estate agent, today announces its financial results for the year ended 31 December 2015. In their operational summary they state: Revenue growth across all segments (Sales +3.4%, Lettings +2.3%, Mortgage broking +31.8%) Both Sales and Lettings segments operating at Adjusted EBITDA margins in excess of 30% A strong lettings business…
Read MoreAnother landlord fined for breaching the rules.
A recent article appearing in the Barking and Dagenham post reports on a Barking landlord who breaches the rules appertaining to her letting licence, do we now have an epidemic in the lettings industry where crimes are being comitted day on day by those not just satisfied with their financial returns but through sheer greed…
Read MorePurpleBricks shareprice doubles in under 2 months.
Since the latter part of January this year we have seen the shareprice of PurpleBricks double from the low of 70p, this now values the company at around 330m pounds as of last friday, thats not bad for a company still in its infancy with massive advertising costs, is the market however about to embrace…
Read More“Remain” and “Leave” campaigns.
Since coming back from Brussels in mid February, David Cameron appears to be winning for the “Remain” campaign, that is according to the most recent polling by YouGov. YouGov has been conducting regular polls to gauge the relative success of the campaigns in their infancy. YouGov has carried out five surveys, four of which put…
Read MoreHalifax HPI for February
In it’s monthly House Price Index (HPI) report, the Halifax reported yesterday that house prices in the three months to February were 9.7% higher than in the same three months a year earlier. House prices in the latest three months (December-February) were 3.0% higher than in the preceding three months. Commenting, Martin Ellis, Halifax housing…
Read MoreHousing market slowdown expected from April.
In just under 4 weeks time, starting the 1st April the new stamp duty rate for buy-to-let investors and second home buyers comes into force, many are trying to beat the deadline so as to make the saving of the extra 3% they would be paying after the cut off date. Agents and conveyancers alike…
Read MoreWeaker pound on Brexit
A reported study by FXcompared this week showed that more than half of Britons are worried a vote to leave the European Union will cause the pound sterling to weaken, in a regional breakdown the poll showed 69% of Londoners were worried about the impact on the pound, with around 50% saying its performance before…
Read MoreNationwide HPI for February
In it’s monthly House Price Index (HPI) report, the Nationwide reported house prices increased by 0.3% in February, no change from the previous month, a slight acceleration in annual house price growth to 4.8%. Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist said: “UK house price growth remained steady in February, with prices increasing…
Read MoreMortgage approvals in January
UK mortgage approvals reached a 2 year high in January according to data recently released from The Bank of England, mortgage approvals for house purchases were numbered at 74,581 in January from 71,335 in December. Consumer credit is also on the rise, many households spend more as they see the value of their home rise…
Read MoreHousing Market Bulletin February.
Housing Market Bulletin for February 2016 published yesterday by the Home and Communities Agency. House prices: Despite the seasonal price dip, the trend for average house price change continues to be steady growth. Housing market: Estimated gross mortgage lending for 2015 was 8.2% higher than in 2014, and the highest annual total since 2008. The…
Read MoreSolutions to the housing crisis
The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has today released a briefing whereby it identifies causes of Housing crisis and suggests solutions. The Institute headlines the briefing “Political leadership needed to solve housing crisis” This briefing explains how we have come to have such an extreme housing crisis and suggests how best the government can rectify…
Read MoreHomebuyers save hundreds of millions from stamp duty reform
A government announcement published at the beggining of this week states that over 780,000 homebuyers saved an estimated £657 million on Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) in the year since the tax was reformed. Transactions levels at the top end of the market remained constant under the new regime and stamp duty receipts from homes…
Read MoreVarious factors weighing on housing market activity
Interest rates are expected to remain at their record lows until 2019, according to recent forecasts, the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, was recently reported as saying “an unforgiving global environment was likely to keep rates at a record low of 0.5pc for longer than previously expected”. With the average mortgage loan-to-income…
Read MoreNew estate agents open in London every other day.
Statistics published by the online estate agent HouseSimple.com show that a new estate agent opens somewhere in the capital every 1.6 days, Ealing Broadway and Turnham Green are west London’s hot spots, there are 17 property vendors within a quarter of a mile of each station, more than anywhere in London except Walthamstow, Borough and…
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