PROPERTY NEWS
HAMPTONS RELEASES IPAD APPLICATION
Hamptons International has this week become the first UK residental estate agent to launch an app for the iPad. The app allows you to view high-resolution photos and floorplans for properties and to pinpoint the location of properties on a full-screen map. You can also use GPS to search for properties near to your location. The app gives you the ability to email the agent directly and look up phone numbers as well. The iPad app is available to download from the iTunes store.
THE HERON LAUNCHES SECOND PHASE
Heron International, the pan-European property group, will this week release the second phase
of apartments at The Heron, its 26-floor luxury residential development near the Barbican. One hundred and twenty eight of the 284 apartments have been sold off-plan since the launch in March this year. In the next phase, apartments up to the 30th floor will be available to purchase. Flats in The Heron’s second phase cost from £450,000 to £2.75m. www.theheron.co.uk
FIRST-TIME BUYER MORTGAGE DEAL
HSBC will launch two new mortgage deals on Monday aimed at first-time buyers. The new products allow prospective buyers to borrow up to 90 per cent of the total value of the property and incur a fee of just £99. The variable mortgage will track at 3.69 per cent above the Bank of England base rate (currently 4.19 per cent). The two-year fixed rate deal has a rate of 5.09 per cent. First-time buyers are reminded that their stamp duty holiday will expire at the end of the year.