The US housing market remains depressed after figures today revealed sales of previously owned homes plunged 15% on an annual basis last month, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The industry body also said sales were down 3.8% on the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.81 million units – [...]
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has today revealed a slight rise in the number of homes sold in February in the UK. According to HMRC, 57,000 homes worth at least £40,000 or more were sold in the month – 4,000 more than January‘s levels. The figures come as the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) revealed a [...]
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has revealed sales of previously owned homes in the US rose in January. The industry body said sales grew 2.7% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.36 million units – beating forecasts of 5.23 million units. Sales were also up 5.3% compared with January 2010 levels. [...]
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has today revealed sales of previously owned homes in the US rose more than expected in December. The industry body said sales grew 12.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.28 million units – beating forecasts of 4.85 million units. Economists had expected a lower reading due to [...]
Barratt Developments completed 11,377 homes in the year to the end of June, down from 13,277 in the previous 12 month period. Furthermore, over the 10 weeks since the group’s financial year end, net private reservations averaged 0.48 per active site per week, down from 0.51 in the same period of 2009. Cancellation rates remained [...]
Agency Express has reported a 13.6% increase in the number of homes put up for sale in May, compared with April, leaving prospective purchasers their best level of choice in over two years. The firm’s managing director, Stephen Watson, comments: “The decision by the new coalition Government to immediately suspend the requirement to have a [...]
The Government’s decision to scrap Home Information Packs (HIPs) has resulted in a surge of new instructions. The UK’s biggest estate agency has reported that the number of homes being put up for sale has risen by a third since 20th May, when ministers called time on the packs. According to Countrywide, new instructions are [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
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