EU referendum: Brexit risks compromising plans to build hundreds of thousands of new homes May 19, 2016 If Britain votes to leave the EU it risks sparking a chronic construction skills deficit, compromising plans to build hundreds of thousands of new homes. According to new research, a Leave vote could lead to a cut in the construction workforce, which would in turn jeopardise plans to expand the UK's housing stock that would otherwise ease [...]
Foxtons shareholders just voted through a 19 per cent wage hike for its chief executive – despite a fall in share price May 18, 2016 More proof that 2016's so-called shareholder spring is more of a trickle of dissent? Foxtons shareholders have voted through a 19 per cent payrise for chief executive Nic Budden – despite the fact shares have plummeted in the last year. In a statement this afternoon, the estate agent, which focuses on properties in central London, said [...]
UK house sales and purchases set to jump by a fifth by 2020 – but will still be below 2007 levels May 18, 2016 UK housing transactions are set to jump by a fifth by 2020, but this will still be eight per cent lower than pre-financial crisis levels, according to a new report today. Conveyancing services provider My Home Move predicts that the number of annual property transactions will rise from the 1.23 million recorded last year to [...]
The Netherlands is the most lucrative buy-to-let property hotspot in the EU according to study from World First UK May 16, 2016 You might have thought it would be somewhere coastal on the Mediterranean, or a country better-known for its second home culture such as Italy or France. But the most lucrative buy-to-let market in the European Union turns out to be the modest, not-so-hilly, tulip-saturated Netherlands. With the EU's highest rental yield rate in April, at [...]
Surprise: Asking prices have jumped to new record highs of £308,151 across England and Wales May 16, 2016 In what seems now to be an ongoing trend, asking prices in England and Wales jumped to a new record high of £308,151 on average in May. The "eye-watering" increase is a rise of £1,118 on the previous month, property website Rightmove said in figures released today. The price uplift has come despite a flurry to [...]
Housebuilder Crest Nicholson’s share price rises as it rides the house price wave May 16, 2016 Brexit threat? What Brexit threat? Crest Nicholson proved this morning that housebuilders continue to be on a high – despite market uncertainty. The figures In a trading update this morning, the housebuilder said it completed 1,206 homes in the six months to the end of April, up seven per cent from last year's 1,124 homes. Sales rate per outlet rose four per cent on [...]
British Land confident in resilience ahead of Brexit vote May 16, 2016 British Land said it remains confident of having a good 2016 despite uncertainty over the global economy, EU referendum and new London mayor Sadiq Khan. The FTSE 100 property giant today reported an increase in underlying profit in the year to 31 March 2016. The figures The company’s underlying profit was £363m, up from £313m in [...]
This bank just moved into the Cheesegrater May 13, 2016 Lettings in the Cheesegrater, aka the Leadenhall Building, are creeping up: this morning the City's tallest skyscraper announced the newest of its tenants. Clydesdale Bank has signed a 15-year lease on the 17,300 sq ft 15th floor of the building, British Land and Oxford Properties, which co-own the building, said this morning. That pushes lettings at the [...]
London landlords left £1,869 out of pocket as vacant rental properties take almost three weeks to fill May 13, 2016 LONDON landlords are typically left with a 20 day vacancy between tenants, often amounting to lost income of £1,869, new research has shown. Despite the highly competitive rental market in the capital, letting agents claim that it takes almost three weeks to fill a property in London, although this is still two days less than [...]
Will Brexit knock house prices? Not in prime central London May 13, 2016 In a bid to sway voters, George Osborne is predicting Armageddon in every economic sector as the collateral damage of Brexit. This week he pointed the finger at property prices, predicting a significant dampening if the UK votes to leave. The chancellor is correct that the property market does stall in the face of investor uncertainty, [...]