Global: Move over Hong Kong. Macau, China’s former sin city is suddenly looking like a safe bet on the property market June 29, 2016 Established in the 1960s as a gambling hotspot, Macau was once infamous in Asia as the ultimate vice town. Gambling was entirely legal, but it wasn’t the sort of place you went for a weekend unless you had friends in the people-removal business. Skip forward to 2002 and the lifting of the monopoly on Asian [...]
Now trending: The simple tile is the unsung hero of 21st century interior design; here are some of the best to transform your home June 29, 2016 There is a story, probably apocryphal, that when architects were designing Apple’s new Cupertino headquarters, Steve Jobs spent a few minutes looking at the blueprints before telling the architects to go away and make the building half a foot longer. “Half a foot? How on earth will that make a difference?” they implored, knowing it [...]
My House: Make-up artist Laura Pye, whose portfolio includes working backstage at the BAFTAs, talks about her converted church in Stepney June 29, 2016 The flat is in a converted church, so it has loads of funny architectural quirks where the developers had to work around existing features. My favourite part is the beautiful stained glass windows, which let in loads of natural light. I’m a make-up artist so that’s really important; it means I can invite people round [...]
UK house prices rose in June – but will Brexit hit house prices? Three experts give their view June 29, 2016 It seems the nation's house buyers were unperturbed at the prospect of a Brexit vote, after new figures showed house prices rose in June – despite warnings by the chancellor. Figures from Nationwide this morning showed prices crept up 0.2 per cent in June, or 5.1 per cent in the year to the end of [...]
Nearly a fifth of Londoners are less likely to sell their home post-Brexit June 29, 2016 Nearly a fifth of Londoners say they are less likely to sell their property after Britain voted to leave the European Union. A survey of UK homeowners found an average of 12 per cent are less likely to put up a 'for sale' sign in the next three years – and the figure rises to 18 per cent of [...]
First-time buyers beat off Brexit fears and paid record prices for property in May June 29, 2016 Brexit fears didn't put first-time buyers off from mounting the property ladder, as data out today shows they spent record sums on their homes in May. First-time buyers paid an average of £173,282 on their first ever home in May – a record high – according to data from estate agents Your Move and Reeds [...]
Remortgaging in May was at its highest level since 2008 – but experts predict Brexit woes will hang over the market until aumtumn June 29, 2016 Remortgaging hit £5bn in May, the highest value for May since 2008, according to research released today. At 32,334, the number of remortgage loans was 31 per cent higher in May than in the same month last year, according to research from Legal Marketing Services (LMS). The average amount of equity withdrawn was £33,600, up 43 per [...]
Investors pull out of property and UK equity funds after Brexit June 28, 2016 Retail investors are pulling out of property and UK equity funds, according to an online investment platform. The number of trades on Rplan.co.uk was up 175 per cent over the weekend after the Brexit vote compared with the previous weekend. The company said 76 per cent of withdrawals were from property funds and 22 per [...]
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger? Housebuilder shares stage partial recovery June 28, 2016 Housebuilders showed that any reaction is a good reaction this morning, after almost all their share prices staged partial recoveries following yesterday's carnage. FTSE 100-listed Barratt, Berkeley Group, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon all triggered the London Stock Exchange's circuit breaker yesterday, meaning their shares were suspended from trading for five minutes after they fell more than [...]
Shares in housebuilder Redrow rise again as it reassures shareholders over Brexit vote June 28, 2016 Housebuilder Redrow has been one of the biggest casualties of post-Brexit market turmoil, with shares falling 30 per cent between Thursday's close and last night. But it seems investors just needed a little bit of reassurance: this morning shares bounced 9.5 per cent to 322.6p after it put out a statement pointing out everything's going [...]