Lending rises for remortgages but falls for UK house buyers at end of 2018 March 12, 2019 Mortgage lending was up for remortgaging and down for house purchasing in Britain in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to a year earlier, new statistics by the Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have shown. The proportion of high loan-to-income (LTI) loans, those greater than four times the value of annual income [...]
Greystar, PSP and Allianz buy Shoreditch student housing scheme for £160m March 11, 2019 Property giant Greystar has led a consortium of buyers that has snapped up a student accommodation project in Shoreditch from investment firm Apache Capital for £160m. Greystar, alongside partners Public Sector Pension (PSP) Investments and Allianz Real Estate, has exchanged contracts to acquire the Paul St. East development. Read more: Greystar and Henderson Park snap [...]
Sir Philip Green sells former BHS headquarters for £44m March 10, 2019 Retail tycoon Sir Philip Green has sold a former BHS headquarters in London as his fashion empire Arcadia faces challenges on the high street. Green, who has been under fire over allegations of racial abuse and sexual harassment – which he denies – has sold Marylebone House to property investment company Aprirose for £44m. Read more: [...]
Holloway prison to be turned into 1,000 homes after £81.5m deal with housing association Peabody March 9, 2019 Holloway prison in north London has been sold to housing association Peabody in a £81.5m deal and will now have more than 1,000 homes built on the site. The former women's jail occupies a 10-acre site and previously held murderers Myra Hindley and Rose West. Read more: Countrywide losses deepen amid housing market slowdown Peabody [...]
Countrywide shares tumble as it confirms heavy losses amid housing market slowdown March 7, 2019 Shares in estate agency Countrywide dropped more than eleven per cent today after it confirmed a widening of its full-year losses and warned of a tough year ahead. The figures Full-year revenue fell seven per cent to £627.1m, driven by a pipeline deficit in sales. The firm’s losses widened from £207.3m to £218.2m. Adjusted earnings before [...]
UK house prices: Experts cast doubt on ‘volatile’ Halifax price hike figures March 7, 2019 House prices rose almost three per cent at the start of 2019 compared to the same period last year, new figures revealed today. Annual house price growth hit 2.8 per cent in the three months to February compared to the corresponding time in 2018, Halifax’s house price index said today – much higher than the [...]
How savers can use an Innovative Finance Isa to reap the rewards from the property market March 6, 2019 "If things go wrong (and they can), then a property-backed Isa at least means that there is a tangible asset that can be sold to recover your money,” says Frazer Fearnhead, chief executive and founder of property peer-to-peer lending platform, The House Crowd. “While it’s not a guarantee, it does mean that the secured property [...]
Houseplants are all the rage, but are they are millennial cry for help? We speak to the companies cultivating this urban jungle March 5, 2019 Millennials have been accused of killing almost every industry there is, but there may be one that 25-35 year olds are actually propping up. Houseplants are taking off like an avocado tied to a racing drone among Generation Rent, prompting investigations by such serious organs as The Washington Post and New York’s Nylon magazine, in [...]
New London skyscrapers set to break record in 2019 March 5, 2019 The number of skyscrapers being completed in the capital is set to smash records this year, with demand for housing space driving a surge in new towers joining London’s skyline. Construction on 76 tall buildings is expected to be finished during the course of 2019, marking a three-fold increase on the previous year. Read more: What the [...]
Bumper Persimmon fails to shake off uncertainty March 5, 2019 | City Talk Despite the housebuilder's £1 billion profit and generous dividend, Persimmon shares are under a cloud. Just when investors thought it was safe to go back into mortar, the government's reported review of the Help to Buy scheme has dealt another blow to the sector. Persimmon (LSE:PSN) 6% share price decline represented the brunt of the blow, [...]