Breaking News
Rail 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….
Allen Walkey
Kensington raises maximum loan size amid mortgage criteria changes
Kensington Mortgages has announced it will be increasing its maximum loan limit for both first time buyers and buy to let mortgages. Having raised the maximum loan on buy to let mortgages to £1.5 million from £1 million, first time buyer loan values have also now increased to a maximum of £1 million – up…
Enness Private
Record first quarter and 14% growth for Auction House
Auction House – the UK’s biggest auctioneer in terms of lots sold – has recorded its highest performing first quarter in the nine year history of the company. Between January and March this year, the award-winning auctioneer sold an impressive 729 lots from 939 offered – a figure which is over 14% up (14.3%) on…
Christopher Walkey
“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…
Allen Walkey
Lending 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…
Allen Walkey
Mansfield extends maximum mortgage lending age to 85
Mansfield Building Society has revealed that it will now be extending its maximum age limit from 80 to 85 on its existing 2 year discounted rate product to 60% loan to value (LTV). Available for both purchase and remortgage deals with a maximum repayment term of 30 years, the maximum age limit of 85 is…
Enness Private
HomeLet 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…
Allen Walkey
Telford 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…
Allen Walkey
Aston Mead calls on councils to produce local housing plans soon or face Government intervention
Leading land broker Aston Mead is advising councils without up-to-date local housing plans in place to act quickly before the Government steps in to write their plans for them. Local authorities have been given until March 2017 to produce a local plan in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which was introduced in…
Christopher Walkey
ONS 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%…
Allen Walkey
Countrywide 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…
Allen Walkey
Lenders 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…
Allen Walkey
Property licence applications made easy: new service launched today for London landlords!
A new service launched today (11 April 2016) will help landlords and letting agents navigate the complex world of property licensing and ensure they comply with the law. With an estimated 160,000 private rented homes in London needing a property licence, many landlords find themselves struggling to understand the rules and yet fearful of getting…
Christopher Walkey
Is PurpleBricks valued too high?
PurpleBricks a new generation “online estate Agent” made headlines in December last year when they started trading on the London AIM (Alternative Investment Market) at a market capitalisation of £240.3 million. The share price as of today puts a value on the company of around £400million, to put that into perspective Foxtons have a market…
Allen Walkey
The ESTAS AWARDS 2016
The ESTAS Awards 2016 take place this Friday April 16th at the Grovenor House Hotel London. Each April an audience of some 1,000 guests gathers at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London to watch the annual ESTAS Ceremony, the ESTAS highlight the great service provided by different firms involved in the residential property sector. The…
Allen Walkey