Government admits most Brits will not benefit from Boris Johnson’s ‘benefits to bricks’ housing plans June 22, 2022 Most Brits will not be able to make use of Boris Johnson’s “benefits to bricks” scheme to allow welfare payments to secure mortgages, the government has admitted. Earlier this month, the Prime Minister announced a plan to enable people who are in work but also on housing benefit to use welfare payments towards a mortgage, [...]
Berkeley Group profits rise to over £550m after ‘exceptionally volatile period’ June 22, 2022 The boss of property developer Berkeley Group hailed “extraordinary” progress made in the past year today as the firm posted a 6 per cent rise in pre-tax profits for the full year to April.
Indignant brokers fiercely dismiss Martin Lewis’ notion many mortgages are ‘a ticking time bomb’ June 19, 2022 The well-known personal finance guru Martin Lewis recently warned that mortgages are a “ticking time bomb” for homeowners, as he said Brits should lock in cheap mortgage rates soon before monthly payments become unaffordable. Lewis’ comments come as the cost of living for most Brits is climbing fast, with energy bills going up by an [...]
Run on equity release: Cash tied up in properties fund £1 in every £90 spent by retired Brits June 18, 2022 A new analysis published this week showed that equity release finances around £1 in every £90 spent by retired Brits. Total retirement spending funded by equity release could top £4bn this year and £5bn in 2025, according to modelling by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), as homeowners increasingly look to property wealth [...]
36,000 new millionaires created off back of property boom despite cost of living pinch June 14, 2022 While many Brits continue to struggle with the cost of living crisis, there were 36,000 new millionaires in the UK over the last 12 months. A boom in property helped the High Net Worth Individual (HNWI) population of the UK grow by 6.3 per cent in 2021, as wealth increased by almost 7.5 per cent [...]
Bec to the future: We blow the horn for fabulous Tooting Bec June 11, 2022 The London housing market tends to flow outwards from the prime central postcodes in a series of expanding circles, like the splash of a pebble thrown into a lake. Areas that would once have been undesirable ride the wave into fashion, while those in the centre see new ripples begin to form. So it is [...]
Off-market property sales account for one in five in London: Is it for you? June 10, 2022 Despite ferocious headwinds, the London property market is fizzing, with estate agents from Wimbledon to Walthamstow seeing homes listed and sold within days. This fierce competition has led to a boom in off-market sales, which hit a new record high this year, according to Hamptons. In the first quarter of 2022 they shot up 23 [...]
Brits to be allowed to use housing benefits for a mortgage to buy their homes June 9, 2022 Allowing lower-paid workers to use housing benefits to buy their homes and an extension of the right to buy for housing association tenants should give Tory support a boost. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to confirm his intentions in a major speech today as he seeks to repair his fortunes after a bruising Tory [...]
Nowhere to go: One in three Brits fear ending up homeless or ‘sofa surfing’ within next five years June 7, 2022 Nearly one in three Brits are concerned they may end up homeless in the next five years due to housing costs. Some 31 per cent of people polled for Amnesty International UK said they are worried about ending up sofa-surfing or in temporary accommodation. It likened navigating England’s housing system to undertaking a “gruelling obstacle [...]
Exclusive: Staggering £130bn worth of homes left empty in London alone with record 87,731 vacant properties May 30, 2022 It has emerged that the value of vacant homes in London equates to over £130bn. London has a total of 87,731 vacant homes, making it the top city in the UK for the prevalence of empty houses. With house prices averaging £1.49m in the capital, the cost of vacant homes is approximately £130.8bn. A recent study [...]