Breaking News
No to housing refugees
Is there now a change of mood re housing refugees following the Paris shootings and other recent terrorist incidents in USA and here in the UK? When the pictures of the child washed up on the beach were seen across Europe and the World just a few months back, there was an outpouring of emotion…
Allen Walkey
House Price Index for October
The House price Index for October released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics. UK house prices increased by 7.0% in the year to October 2015, up from 6.1% in the year to September 2015. House price annual inflation was 7.4% in England, 1.0% in Wales, 0.9% in Scotland and 10.3% in Northern Ireland. Annual…
Allen Walkey
Right to buy boosts home ownership
According to a recent press release from the Department for Communities and Local Government and Brandon Lewis MP, Right to Buy is boosting home ownership across the country. Nearly 270,000 households have now been helped to purchase a home through government backed schemes including Right to Buy and Help to Buy since 2010. This has…
Allen Walkey
England’s most expensive residential street
Victoria Road in West London’s Kensington, has been crowned the most expensive street in the UK according to research out last week from Lloyds Bank. Just around the corner from Kensington Palace in the the heart of Kensington, Victoria Road is now England’s most expensive residential street, with an average house price of £8,006,000, 12…
Allen Walkey
Rightmove predict 6% rise in 2016
According to Rightmove House Price Index report, the strongest December since 2006 and a forecast of 6% rise in 2016. In their latest report Rightmove urges first time sellers and financially-stretched landlords to sell by April, while first-time buyers may want to wait for a better deal until additional stamp duty on buy-to-let properties gives…
Allen Walkey
Buying cheaper than renting for FTB’s
Recent research from Santander Mortgages suggests that potential first time buyers would find it cheaper to buy than rent at the present time, they state that average rental prices are greater than average mortgage repayments in every region of the UK, a saving for first time buyers on average of £2,300 per year if they…
Allen Walkey
easyProperty postpones IPO plans
According to a recent report, the Chief Executive of Online estate agent easyProperty and the largest shareholder says, the company is not looking to list on the stock market for at least the next two years or more. Rob Elliice, Co-Founder and CEO reportedly told Reuters, “With Tosca on board, and they’re very keen to…
Allen Walkey
New instructions continue to fall.
According to the latest market survey from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) new instructions continue to fall and the lack of stock is causing unrealistic housing market in parts of the UK Simon Rubinsohn Chief Economist for the RICS reports house prices continue to rise across the UK driven by an ongoing shortage…
Allen Walkey
Continued assault on Buy-to-Let
The continued assault on buy-to-let is now having its affect, landlords are already feeling somewhat deflated as they question the viability of their business and are now considering their positions regarding their buy-to-let investments, the last attack on landlords was the increase in stamp duty to be introduced next April for buy-to-let and second homes….
Allen Walkey
Britain’s best known landlords sell up.
Fergus and Judith Wilson probably Britain’s best known buy-to-let landlords have sold their entire portfolio of homes to a consortium of foreign investors for more than £250m, according to the Guardian. In a statement to the Guardian, Fergus said: “We reached an agreement today with a consortium of buyers to sell our entire portfolio for…
Allen Walkey
Rents to remain flat into 2016
According to the latest figures released by HomeLet, their Rental Index reveals that rents on new tenancies agreed over the three months to November fell in most areas of the country. November HomeLet Rental Index shows rents on new tenancies remained flat or fell in 10 out of 12 regions of the UK over the three…
Allen Walkey
Government help for flood-hit communities
Flood affected communities will not face Council Tax or business rate bills for the homes and businesses they have been displaced from, Greg Clark announced yesterday. The Communities Secretary said this forms part of wider government efforts to ensure areas affected by the aftermath of Storm Desmond get the support they need. Communities Secretary Greg…
Allen Walkey
Effects of extra stamp duty cost.
In the recent Autumn Statement George Osborne announced that there would be an additional 3% stamp duty on second homes and buy to let properties, this increase will come into force from April 2016, adding thousands in tax. Potential buy-to-let purchasers in a rush to avoid the additional stamp duty rate could fuel a 7%…
Allen Walkey
Halifax HPI for November
Halifax House price Index released today. Quarterly house price growth eases to 1.4% House prices in the latest three months (September-November) were 1.4% higher than in the preceding three months. Prices in the three months to November were 9.0% higher than in the same three months a year earlier. Commenting, Martin Ellis, Halifax housing economist,…
Allen Walkey
The future for Buy-to-Let
Following the election back in May of this year there was one sector that shined out above the rest in the property industry, that was buy-to-let, how things can change in just over 6 months. Very few buy-to-let stakeholders would have imagined that when the Conservatives were returned to office without the hinderance of the…
Allen Walkey