Property prices in 2016: higher or lower?
Category: Financial Planning for individuals/families & property
Squeeze on property market starting to slow London boom?
Category: Economy & Housing & property & Uncategorized
Sales of luxury property in London have seen a considerable slump following Chancellor George Osborneâs sharp increase to stamp duty. Property industry observers have given warnings that the situation is becoming more and more harmful to the property market. Douglas & Gordon, an estate agency with particular expertise when it comes to property in the capital, have seen a drop of almost two thirds in sales of top-end homes in the âprime centralâ areas of London.
A hit on the âBuy-to-Letâ market from the Autumn Statement
Category: financial planning & Housing & property & Uncategorized
Chancellor George Osborne landed buy-to-let landlords a shock during the Autumn Statement by announcing a 3% stamp duty surcharge on property purchases from 1st April 2016.
The addition of a 3% extra charge for buy-to-let and second homes on all stamp duty bands above a ÂŁ40,000 starting level will see some purchases taking on a much larger amount of stamp duty.
Is brownfield site house-building the answer?
Category: property & Uncategorized
Following proposals from both Labour and Conservative parties to deliver housing on UK brownfield land, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has today published research suggesting there is enough brownfield land available in England to build 226,000 houses by 2019. With the UKâs housing shortage a key issue and battleground in the general election, it is no surprise that the parties have prioritised the development on brownfield land in their manifestos.
The first step-up for house-buyers is the highest
Category: Housing & property & Uncategorized
At the Council of Mortgage lenders Annual Conference in November 2014, Michael Rhodes, of the Leeds Building Society, in his address to the Conference, said:
âOne of the biggest problems for anybody attempting to get on to the property ladder is funding the deposit â regardless of the lender they are looking to get a mortgage from. It can take a very long time to save up for a deposit, especially if the âbank of mum and dadâ are not able to fund the full amount at short notice in one lump sum.â
October Market Commentary
Category: Economy & Market commentary & property & Uncategorized
Just when it was all going so wellâŚ
By and large, the news coming out of world financial centres in September was good. In the UK, Jaguar was planning to create 1,700 more jobs and the OECD were revising their growth forecasts upwards. Shares in the US âroared to record levelsâ as the Federal Reserve decided to continue its $85bn a month stimulus plan and in the Far East there was a thaw in North and South Korean relations as the Kaesong industrial complex re-opened.
