News Tag: Wales
March 18, 2010
The latest house price index from the Department for Communities and Local Government claims that in January, prices were up 6.2% year-on-year, having risen 2.2% since December.
The analysis puts the value of the average UK home at £207,159 in January, having shown an increase of 4.8% over three months.
The quarterly figure compares with a smaller rise of ...
Official: house prices up an annual 6.2% in January
by Gill Montia
March 12, 2010
Since the start of the year, house sales in England and Wales have fallen dramatically, the BBC reports.
New data obtained by the BBC from research-based consultancy, Acadametrics, show January transaction levels down 52% on December, at 36,000.
February looks little better with an estimated 40,000 completed sales, although seasonal trends, winter weather, and the end of stamp duty holiday ...
House sales plummet but prices recover to 2007 levels
by Gill Montia
February 17, 2010
Latest UK house price statistics from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) show the value of a typical home up 2.9% in December, compared to a year earlier.
The month saw a 0.8% increase on November, taking the average house price to £200,307 and completing a 2.9% gain for the final quarter of 2009.
However, the three-month ...
Official figures show 2.9% house price gain for 2009
by Gill Montia
February 2, 2010
Hometrack has declared that the housing market in England and Wales has seen a "sluggish" start to the year, after an unexpectedly strong end to 2009.
In its January survey, the housing intelligence firm detected a 0.1% rise in the price of the average home, compared with December; however, the year-on-year rate of grow stood at a disappointing minus 0.1%.
Both the number of ...
Hometrack: house prices down year-on-year
by Gill Montia
January 28, 2010
Homeowners in England and Wales saw a 20% drop in the proportion of their take-home pay spent on monthly mortgage repayments in 2009.
The latest mortgage affordability research from Barclays' Woolwich lending arm reveals that in December 2008, mortgage borrowers spent an average £196 of every £1,000 of their monthly take-home pay on their home loans.
However, a year later the proportion has ...
Positive shift in mortgage affordability
by Gill Montia
December 29, 2009
Halifax has identified the most expensive addresses in England and Wales, with Wycombe Square in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea topping the league at an average property price of £5,401,447.
According to the lender's research, the Royal Borough provides half of the 20 most expensive residential streets in the survey, while Greater London lays claim to the top ten.
Outside the ...
Halifax reveals most expensive addresses
by Gill Montia
December 28, 2009
Hometack expects the housing market in England and Wales to feel the effects of rising unemployment in the months ahead.
The housing intelligence firm is predicting a 1% fall in the average cost of a home in 2010, despite a rise of 0.1% in December, which followed on from a 0.2% increase in November.
However, December also saw the number of potential ...
Rising unemployment to scupper house price growth
by Gill Montia
December 15, 2009
Rightmove has reported that the average asking price for a home in England and Wales fell for the second consecutive month during December.
The property website recorded a typical 2.2% drop in vendors' ambitions over the four weeks to 5th December (to £221,463) following a 1.6% decline during the previous four week period.
Meanwhile, the number of homes on the market has plummeted ...
Rightmove asking prices down 2.2%
by Gill Montia
November 30, 2009
House prices in England and Wales increased 0.2% in November, according to Hometrack.
The fourth consecutive monthly rise eased the annual decline to 2.9%, compared with 4.2% in October.
The research also revealed that price rises had a strong regional bias, with London and the South East reporting growth in 79% and 57% of post code areas respectively, compared to an average of 37%.
A ...
House prices put on 0.2%
by Gill Montia
November 28, 2009
Land Registry figures shows house prices in England and Wales rising 0.6% in October 2009, compared to a month earlier.
The average value of a home increased for the fifth successive month, to £159,546, with the annual decline falling back to minus 3.4%.
The North West of England saw the biggest monthly gain, at 1.9%, followed by the North East and South ...
Official figures show October house price rise
by Gill Montia
November 17, 2009
With the stamp duty holiday due to end on 31st December, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is warning that a return to the previous structure of the tax could have a detrimental affect on the UK's fragile property market.
According to the body, regions that are already lagging behind in the recovery will be worst affected.
In a recent ...
Regional response to end of stamp duty holiday
by Gill Montia
September 26, 2009
Carmarthenshire Council has been slammed for profiting from cancer, disease and death by investing £12 million in cigarette company British American Tobacco (BAT).
The money is from Dyfed Pensions Fund, which pays for the pensions of council workers and councillors in the Welsh counties of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire.
Church leaders in Carmarthen lambasted the council for investing in tobacco at the same ...
Anti-smoking council invests £12m in tobacco
by David Masters
September 18, 2009
Businesses need to start behaving ethically or risk losing customers, a consumer trends specialist claimed this week.
James Alexander, founder of online marketplace Zopa, said businesses that fail to develop ethical values will struggle to attract and maintain customers in the future.
"Companies need to be aware that their customers want them to behave responsibly towards the community and the environment," Alexander said.
"Information ...
Unethical businesses will lose competitive edge
by David Masters
August 29, 2009
Official figures show house prices in England and Wales rising by 1.7% in July, compared with June, marking the biggest monthly increase since July 2004.
According to Land Registry data all regions recorded a monthly rise in values, nudging the average cost of a home up to £155,885 (from £153,046 in June) and easing the annual rate of fall to ...
Official figures show 1.7% rise in house prices
by Gill Montia
August 7, 2009
The Insolvency Service has today revealed the impact of the recession after the number of people being declared insolvent in England and Wales hit a record high.
According to the figures, a record 33,073 people in England and Wales were declared insolvent in the second quarter of 2009.
This represents a rise of 9% compared with the first quarter of 2009 and 27.4% ...
Personal insolvencies soar to record high
by Kay Murchie
June 22, 2009
Rightmove has reported that the average asking price of homes in England and Wales fell 0.4% in the five weeks to 13th June.
The decline follows a 2.4% rise in the same period to 9th May, equating to a jump of £5,000 in a typical vendor's ambitions.
According to the property website, the average asking price now stands at 226,436, down 5.5% ...
Asking prices slide 0.4% in June
by Gill Montia
June 1, 2009
Housing intelligence firm, Hometrack, has reported that house prices in England and Wales stabilised in May, following a 20 month period of decline.
The result follows a 0.3% fall in April and leaves the average cost of a home at £155,600, down 9.6% on a year ago.
Last month only 13% of postcode districts recorded price falls, compared with 32% in April and over ...
House prices stable in May
by Gill Montia
May 29, 2009
Two thirds of Brits are proud of the region in which they live, according to a poll by Halifax Home Insurance.
North-east England is the proudest region, with 73% of Brits living here feeling regional pride.
Wales came in second place, with 71% declaring pride for their homeland.
The East Midlands was the least proud, with just 45% of residents asserting pride for their region.
“In difficult ...
Brits declare regional pride
by David Masters
May 18, 2009
The average asking price of a home in England and Wales has increased for the fourth consecutive month, according to Rightmove.
The property website has reported a 2.4% rise in the four weeks to 9th May, equating to a jump of £5,000 in the average vendor's ambitions and taking the average asking price to £227,441.
The increase is the ...
Asking prices up 2.4% as vendors mourn loss of equity
by Gill Montia
