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Galliford Boss to leave after set of record profits: Galliford Try’s outgoing Executive Chairman Greg Fitzgerald will leave the company on a high note after unveiling a record set of full-year profits, buoyed by a string of contract wins and a recovery in the construction and housing markets.
Tycoon buys U.S. consulate in India’s most expensive property deal: Pharmaceutical billionaire Cyrus Poonawalla has bought a former maharaja’s mansion in Mumbai from the U.S. government for around 7.5 billion rupees (£73 million), making it the most expensive ever residential purchase in the country
Rent prices go up again but rises are slower: Rents are still rising at double-figure rates on an annual basis, and are now 10.5% higher than a year ago, according to the latest HomeLet rental index, out.
Scotland’s retail parks race ahead of rest of U.K.: Out-of-town retail parks in Scotland are performing “significantly” better than those elsewhere in the U.K., according to the latest snapshot of the sector.
Housebuilders retreat from English countryside: The number of homes built on the greenbelt near towns and cities in England has halved since the turn of the century.
London property prices soar in outer boroughs creating 11 new ‘£1 million neighbourhoods’: London has 11 new £1 million neighbourhoods and most of them are in the suburbs, thought to be the last affordable areas of town for people hoping to get on the property ladder.
Pressure is building as construction slows down: Activity in the construction sector slumped in July, increasing fears sparked by a disappointing performance in manufacturing that the economy got off to a bad start in the third quarter of the year
UK Halifax house price index advanced more than expected in August On a MoM basis, the Halifax house price index recorded a rise of 2.70% in August, in the UK, higher than market expectations for a rise of 0.50%. The Halifax house price index had registered a revised drop of 0.40% in the previous month. UK Halifax house price index rose more than expected in the June-August 2015 period In the June-August 2015 period, the Halifax house price index registered a rise of 9.00% in the UK on a YoY basis, higher than market expectations for a rise of 7.90%. In the May-July 2015 period, the Halifax house price index had advanced by a revised 7.80%.
Housebuilding giant highlights strong demand for homes in Scotland: Barratt Developments has said Scotland remains a key market amid strong demand for new homes within commuting distance of cities such as Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen
U.K. house prices will end year 6% higher, say surveyors: House prices in the U.K. will end the year 6% higher than they started it, a group of surveyors has predicted
Northern Ireland leads the way as house prices soar: House prices have risen at their fastest pace in more than a year, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, which has doubled its forecast for growth this year
UK house price balance advanced in August In August, house price balance in the UK advanced to 53.00, compared to market expectations of an advance to a level of 46.00. In the previous month, house price balance had recorded a level of 44.00.
Barratt Developments reported a 44.8% increase in full-year pre-tax profits to £565.5m, in line with guidance published by the housebuilder in July, on revenue up 19% to £3.7bn. Chief executive David Thomas said the new financial year had started "very well", with a strong forward sales position and "very good progress" being made towards our full-year 2017 targets.
International students splash out £600 million in rent on flats in London: London’s international student population is contributing £600 million in rent to the capital, new research shows, with some of the wealthiest students spending three times the average U.K worker on their home.
Help to Buy lays the foundations for record profits at housebuilder: The Government’s Help to Buy scheme has propelled housebuilder Redrow to record profits – and another payday for its multimillionaire founder Steve Morgan.
Still leading the board!
Berkeley Group was continuing to see stable operating conditions at the half-year mark, prompting the homebuilder to reiterate its medium-term commitments as regards dividends and profits. Normal transaction levels had been maintained across the firm's sites, with the number of underlying reservations in line with last year, the company said in a trading statement ahead of its annual general meeting. Berkeley Group attributed that to good demand fundamentals and a shortage of quality homes on the market. In particular, those steady sales meant the amount of cash due on forward sales over the next three years remained in line with previous guidance. During the period the group continued investing in the acquisition of new sites for development, including one at Battersea and another at West End Green in Paddington. "Since the start of the financial year, Berkeley has continued to invest in the business, contracting to purchase five new sites and further investing in build to deliver the enhanced profitability over the next three years as previously guided," management said. The company maintained its plans to pay an additional 433p per share in dividends by September 2018 through regular equal payments. "Following this positive start to the year", the Board reiterated its previous guidance for aggregate earnings in the region of £2 billion over the three years to 30 April 2018.
Chinese buyers look to put cash in London’s ‘safe haven’ property: Economic turmoil in China has led to a jump in the number of Asian investors property hunting in London, according to estate agents
Shortage of homes set to fuel new price boom as figures show enquiries from potential new buyers are surging: There could be another boom in house prices by the end of the year as the supply of homes being put up for sale dwindles.
Bumper payouts for housebuilding Executives as market booms: Two of Britain’s largest housebuilders, Berkeley Group and Persimmon, could hand out about £1 billion to their top Executives and Managers in pay and bonuses over the next six years, boosted by strong U.K. house prices and government-subsidies for home-buyers
High house prices take toll in Europe: Britons are not alone in their struggle to step on to the property ladder, with the majority of Europeans believing that the housing crisis is growing more acute and that society would benefit if house prices fell.
Bellway planning to build on success in Scotland: Housebuilder Bellway aims to acquire more than 100 acres of land in Scotland during the coming 12 months following a strong performance north of the Border.
Demand for Glasgow office space at highest in 10 years: The level of outstanding demand for office space in Glasgow city centre from would-be occupiers is at its highest in 10 years, a survey has revealed. Real estate consultancy Knight Frank, publishing its twice-yearly Regional Office Market Portal report, also declared that the take-up of Edinburgh office space could approach levels last seen 12 years ago if current trends were to continue
Stamp duty change hits top London house prices: House prices in the most expensive boroughs of London rose at the most sluggish annual pace in five years last month as higher stamp duty rates deterred would-be buyers nearly nine months after they were introduced
ShareCast News) - Lloyds Banking Group has held onto its lead as the UK's biggest mortgage lender, but lost some market share to Santander, which hopped above Nationwide to take the second spot in the gross lending list. Data on the largest mortgage lenders in calendar 2014 compiled by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and published on Friday showed Lloyds lent £40.3bn, up from £35.5bn the year before, but its market share slipped very slightly to 19.8% from 20%. Santander's share jumped to an estimated 13.5% from 10.3% as it upped its mortgage loan levels to £27.5bn from £18.3bn. Nationwide was left with a 13.2% market share, down from 15.1% as it lent almost exactly the same amount year on year, with more market share also notably lost to Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland. Barclays remained the fourth largest lender but upped its market share to 10% from 9.5%, with home loan lending upped to £20.3bn from £16.9bn. Royal Bank of Scotland upped its total mortgage lending to £19.7bn from £14.3bn, lifting its share of the market to 9.7% from 8%. The CML noted that, boosted by government home-buyer initiatives and ultra low interest rates, aggregate gross lending excluding to housing associations last year showed strong growth, rising by 14% to £203bn. "We are still a long way from the levels seen at the peak in 2007, when aggregate lending totalled £357bn, according to the revised Bank of England data." Excluding the government support, lending levels and competition in the market had looking more "normal" than we saw throughout the credit crunch, the trade body added. Market concentration also appeared to have normalised in the past two or three years, having during the financial crisis seen the top six lenders grab 86% of new business in 2009. But the CML noted that although gross lending in 2014 was 14% higher, the overall effect on balances outstanding was negligible, with the total mortgages assets of the largest 20 firms increasing from £1.16trn to £1.17trn, or by around 1%. "Our forecasts show a stable path for gross lending, which is expected to rise modestly to £209bn this year before accelerating a little to £230bn next year. A number of lenders' interim results so far suggest that next year we are likely to be reporting a similar picture of lender growth and competition when we publish a complete list of the largest lenders for 2015."