News Tag: homes
March 3, 2010
Government plans to improve the energy efficiency of the UK's homes involve as "Pay as You Save" scheme that will provide long-term loans to householders keen to install additional insulation, solar panels, wind turbines and the like.
The eco-loan will be repaid in instalments that should amount to less than the savings made on energy bills.
However, the debt will be tied to ...
Green homes plan raises eco-mortgage concerns
by Gill Montia
February 15, 2010
House builder, Redrow, has launched a new range of homes inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement of the early 1900s, which focused on simplicity and good, functional design.
The group's chairman, Steve Morgan, is also calling on planning authorities to actively encourage the building of traditional family homes, rather than residences that are "more at home in Stalingrad".
Mr Morgan ...
Redrow turns its back on “Stalingrad” homes
by Gill Montia
December 23, 2009
There were concerns over a recovery in the US housing market today after the Commerce Department revealed a fall in sales of new homes for the month of November.
According to the Commerce Department, new single-family home sales dived by 11.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 355,000 units, down from a revised 400,000 in the previous month and represented ...
US new home sales fall in November
by Kay Murchie
December 22, 2009
New figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) show the number of homes sold in the UK falling to 87,000 in November, compared with 90,000 in October.
However, last month's total for properties worth £40,000 and above is the second-highest so far in 2009, and the dip still leaves completed transactions at over twice the 41,000 low recorded ...
House sales hold steady as RICS forecasts 2010 price rises
by Gill Montia
September 3, 2009
Flats and apartments are now more popular than houses in the high-end property market, it emerged this week.
London-based property consultancy firm Black Brick said whereas 12 months ago people were looking for big houses to live in as a home or second home, the focus now is on buying flats and apartments as an investment.
"We've noticed a real demand for apartments as ...
Apartments popular for high-end investors
by David Masters
August 11, 2009
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) believes that house prices will rise over the next few months due to a shortage of homes for sale.
According to Rics, part of the renewed optimism within the housing market comes as a result of demand from new buyers outstripping supply.
The organisation said just 8% more surveyors reported seeing ...
Rics: House prices expected to rise due to house shortage
by Kay Murchie
June 25, 2009
Latest figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) show a rise in the number of homes sold in the UK during May.
Transactions involving properties worth over £40,000 increased by 7% last month to 62,000 and were at their highest since October 2008.
However, they remained significantly below levels seen at the height of the housing market boom in 2007.
The news follows a 40% ...
House sales up in May
by Gill Montia
June 16, 2009
A specialist large-loans mortgage broker has reported a dramatic fall in sales of the UK's more prestigious homes.
According to largemortgageloans.com, sales of properties costing in excess of one million pounds collapsed by 41% last year.
Only 5,302 transactions were completed, compared with 9,003 in 2007.
However, using data from the Land Registry, the firm has established that million pound properties actually accounted ...
Million pound home sales slump by 40%
by Gill Montia
February 23, 2009
A newly formed body is urging the Government to build more than 100,000 affordable homes over the next two years.
The 2020 Group, which is chaired by former Government housing adviser, Kate Barker, is arguing that the economy could be kick-started by a building programme on this scale, which would cost in the region of £6.3 billion.
Housing associations, unions and local ...
New lobby group wants 100,000 affordable homes
by Gill Montia
December 30, 2008
The extent of the stagnation in the UK property market has been revealed by research from Globrix.
The property search engine found that across the UK, 5% of homes for sale first appeared on the market at the beginning of this year.
In certain areas, one in four properties for sale have remained on the market throughout the whole of 2008.
Towns ...
Homes languish on the market for a year
by Gill Montia
December 22, 2008
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) is urging the Government to make use of an estimated 750,000 empty homes to house people who are already homeless or will become so by being repossessed.
Since June 2006, local authorities in England and Wales have had the power to issue Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs) on properties that have been vacant for ...
Rics wants government action on empty houses
by Gill Montia
November 7, 2008
Housebuilder, Bovis, has announced that it expects to complete 1,800 homes during 2008, compared with 2,930 last year.
The group's stock of unsold homes stands at over 900, despite price reductions and an incentive scheme aimed at attracting buyers.
The slowdown in the private housing market is forcing the builder to focus more on the less profitable social housing sector and to ...
Bovis and Redrow epitomise housebuilders’ woes
by Gill Montia
November 3, 2008
Analysts at Citigroup are predicting that negative equity could afflict three million (one in five) UK households as the property market downturn continues and the economy enters a recession.
The forecast is based on a 30% peak to trough fall in house prices and a current negative equity estimate of around 0.5 million.
The figure compares with a record 1.8 million households ...
Negative equity could afflict three million households
by Gill Montia
September 12, 2008
Back in the 1960s the term "rabbit hutch" was commonly associated with towns that were designated overspill destinations for Londoners desperate for some country air and decent accommodation.
New housing estates sprung up and locals in towns such as Andover, Basingstoke and Swindon muttered that the homes were no bigger than rabbit hutches.
Nearly 50 years on, UK housing developers have been exposed ...
Britain’s new homes are too small
by Gill Montia
September 11, 2008
Over 10 million homes in Britain are to benefit from a government initiative to help reduce fuel bills.
With gas and electricity costs soaring in recent months ministers have been under pressure to introduce a windfall tax on utility providers as a means of funding cash handouts to the nation's poorer families.
However, the idea has been abandoned in ...
Ten million homes to benefit from energy saving measures
by Gill Montia
September 5, 2008
Property search engine, Globrix, has reported that the majority of homes for sale in the UK have now been on the market for over 90 days.
The company's research has revealed that the proportion of properties unsold after 90 days has risen from 25% at the beginning of the year, to 53% in August.
The trend is likely to continue as ...
For sale for three months and more
by Gill Montia
June 26, 2008
Homeowners sitting out the credit crisis rather than taking their chances with a "For Sale" board are turning to home improvements.
Research from personal loan specialist, GE Money, has revealed that property owners across the UK are improving and extending their dwellings as an alternative to entering a stagnating property market where according to property website, Rightmove, homes for sale now outnumber buyers ...
Homeowners improve rather than move
by Gill Montia
June 23, 2008
Rightmove has calculated that there are now over one million homes for sale in England and Wales.
According to the property website, the record number of homeowners eager to move include those anxious to make a sale before prices drop further and others who are keen to capitalise on the downturn by selling up and bartering with a ...
One million homes for sale in England and Wales
by Gill Montia
