While UK property market slumps, London remains a beacon of growth

January 31, 2012 Leave a comment

While UK property market slumps, London remains a beacon of growthWhile the rest of the UK property market has been experiencing a downturn for the last year and a half, the London property market has been the only region to experience an increase in its overall property value throughout the same period. This trend confirms London’s position as a safe haven for wealthy investors fleeing the euro-zone crisis. Additionally, the upcoming Olympic Games only seem to assure the prospects of further property value increases.

The flagship house index data recently released by the Land Registry shows that the overall UK property market has decreased in value by 1.3 per cent in 2011. This means that the UK property market as a whole has not had a single value growth month for the last year and a half. There are of course regional differences with the North East experiencing the biggest annual price decrease with 7.1 per cent. Average houses prices throughout the UK property market stand at £160,384. Read more of this post

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London no longer a favourite for commercial investors

January 30, 2012 Leave a comment

A survey carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers has shown that London has now fallen behind Istanbul, Munich and Warsaw, as investors look elsewhere for promising cities to invest in commercial property. Low or zero growth in the UK’s capital city has led investors to start choosing cities such as Istanbul, Warsaw and Munich for their promising economic growth and stability.

The survey ranked Istanbul the most promising property investment market for a second year running due to its booming economy and youthful population. Munich followed closely in second place due to having one of the lowest unemployment rates in Germany and a stable economy. Warsaw, which has fast become the financial hub of Eastern Europe found itself in third place. Read more of this post

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Are families paying for the booming rental market?

January 28, 2012 Leave a comment

Demand for rental properties has spiked over the last few years and a generational shift is taking place towards renting. Britain is not however falling out of love with ownership, it is simply responding to market conditions that make it increasingly difficult to own a home. So many variables are set against the home owner now that the market has determined renting as a more viable option. For example, roughly 12 million people cannot get a mortgage, and 5 million people are self employed and are unable to verify their earnings. House sales and house prices are down,  whilst repossessions and redundancies are up. A perfect storm. Read more of this post

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First time buyers turn to grandparents for help

January 27, 2012 Leave a comment

A report carried out by house builder Taylor Wimpey, interviewed 1000  young people and found that 1 in 10 were turning to their grandparents to help them secure house deposits for their first homes. It has shown that first time buyers are now being forced to ask grandparents to step in to help out with securing a house deposit as parents no longer have the money to spare for their children.

The report has also shed light on many of the difficulties and the worries that young buyers are facing today to try and get on the housing ladder. The report revealed that in order to save enough money for a house deposit, many young adults were being forced to live back with their parents, which for many is causing family relationships to suffer. Furthermore, many adults still living with parents fear that they will still be living there into their 40’s and 50’s, as securing a home becomes a more distant prospect. Read more of this post

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Flooding to threaten to British property

January 26, 2012 Leave a comment

Heavier rainfall caused by the warmer temperatures brought on by climate change, are predicted to cause mass flooding, damaging property and infrastructure and expected to threaten up to five million people over the next hundred years.

The Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA), have predicted that if further preventative action against climate change is not taken, then the costs of Britain’s annual flood damage bill rising from the current £1.2billion to £12billion by the 2080s.

Extreme weather, such as last year’s snowfalls, which cost £600m per day, and the floods of the summer in 2007 is expected to become a more frequent occurrence. Further flood risks are expected to cause a shortage of mortgage and insurance availability in at risk areas, making home ownership more difficult. Read more of this post

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Welfare Reform defeated, but government still determined to push for change

January 25, 2012 Leave a comment

The Welfare Reform Bill has suffered defeat. The bill, which was to be imposed by the Coalition Government would see a dramatic deduction of “out of work” payment allowances, to be capped at £26,000 per year, per household in order to cut £600m from the public deficit.

Although “disappointed” by the defeat that saw voters back an amendment from a bishop which would see child benefit being excluded from the caps, the government has said that it still intends to push the cap and make sure that it is carried out “in full”, when the issue goes back to the House of Commons.

Iain Duncan Smith, the welfare and pensions secretary, has underlined that the caps will not force families into poverty and that it is merely an incentive to get people back to work. Cameron has suggested that it has become “acceptable” for children to grow up in a household where nobody goes out to work and that with easy access to benefits, people have little incentive to go out to work. Read more of this post

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Princes Mall worth £50m could be sold for less than 40p

January 24, 2012 Leave a comment

Princes Mall worth £50m could be bought by former Rangers owner Sir David Murray at a cost of less than 40p. Princes Mall is a shopping centre in the heart of Edinburgh on Waverly Bridge, formerly known as Waverley Market.

Murray has a long-term lease on the shopping centre through Premier Property Group (PPG), his property corporation. However, a change in the Scottish Long Leases Bill could mean that any leaseholder who owns a piece of land or property with a lease of more than 100 years will get the chance to become the owner of said land or property. In this proposed change, Murray could therefore buy the 1.68 acre site for the small fee of less than 40p, although it was first estimated that he might have to pay a higher fee- of £2.60. Read more of this post

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Government’s next budget to include ‘mansion tax’

January 23, 2012 Leave a comment

vince cableThe government’s next budget is set to have a ‘mansion tax’, as proposed by the Liberal Democrats Business Secretary Vince Cable. Despite little popularity and opposition from chancellor George Osborne, Cable insists that it is still “on the agenda” and that Conservative MPs support his idea.

When questioned about this ‘mansion tax’ for the government’s next budget, Cable stated: “It is good for two reasons. It would constitute a tax on wealth rather than income, which we believe to be right, and also in economic terms it creates the right sort of incentives for the property market.” Read more of this post

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Rental market demand plummets

January 20, 2012 1 Comment

The rental market demand in the UK is showing signs of declining, as recently discovered in the recent index by LSL Property Services.

Within England and Wales in the month of December, the typical drop in rent was 0.8% to an average of £711. This trend had already started in November with a 0.4% drop, which was first time in 10 months that rental market demand was decreasing. However, LLS Property Services predicts that due to potential buyers’ current battle to obtain a mortgage, rents would soon rise once again as demand increases.

Surprisingly, rents in London dropped by 0.9% to an average of £1,023 a month. The South East fell by 1.9% to £727. However, the Midlands managed to rise by 1% to an average of £562.

Read more of this post

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Grant Shapps’ scheme to help the elderly downsize met with strong opposition

January 19, 2012 Leave a comment

Housing minister, Grant Shapps, will be facing strong opposition from over 50’s group, SAGA. As he lays out his plans to help the elderly downsize, he hopes to fill around 25 million empty bedrooms in the UK, to make room for younger families and solve the nation’s housing crisis.

The government backed scheme, labeled as the “Freespace Project”, is to be first conducted by the Redbridge council in London, before becoming the blueprint for expanding the project nationally. The project would see the property rented out to a younger family, and then any extra profit would be handed back to the owner, who would move into accommodation more equipped to the needs of the elderly. Read more of this post

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