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UK Rightmove house price index recorded a drop in December In the UK, the Rightmove house price index registered a drop of 3.30% in December on a MoM basis. The Rightmove house price index had registered a drop of 1.70% in the prior month.
U.K. construction output shrinks in October: Britain’s builders have had a poor start to the final quarter of the year with an unexpected 2.2% drop in construction output in October.
First-time buyers boost mortgage lending: Mortgage loans to first-time buyers jumped by 12% in October compared to the previous month, according to data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
UK RICS house price balance fell in November In November, the RICS house price balance dropped to 13.00 in the UK, compared to market expectations of a drop to a level of 15.00. In the prior month, the house price balance had recorded a reading of 20.00.
LONDON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - British house prices grew at their slowest rate in a year and a half during the past three months, a property industry body said on Thursday, but a planned cut to property taxes is likely to temper the lull in sales. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors said its monthly house price index sank to +13 in November, down from +20 in October and its lowest level since May 2013, when Britain's housing market started to pick up strongly. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the index, which measures surveyors' view of price trends over the preceding three months, to drop less sharply to +17. Britain's housing market has been slowing since the middle of this year, due to tighter mortgage regulation and annual price rises of more than 10 percent that have far outstripped meagre wage growth. But RICS saw the potential for a boost from tax changes announced last week by finance minister George Osborne which, he said, will result in lower payments of the stamp duty tax for more than 90 percent of home buyers.
Buy-to-let lending at highest level since 2008: Buy-to-let lending jumped from £5.9 billion in the third quarter of 2013 to £8 billion in the corresponding period this year - the highest quarterly amount since the crash of 2008, official data from the Bank of England has shown
LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of London's storied police force and one of the British capital's most famous landmarks, has been sold to an Abu Dhabi investor, paving the way for its macabre but private museum to open to the public elsewhere. The 20-storey block in central London is famous around the globe as the home of the Metropolitan Police Service and for the rotating triangular sign in front of it nicknamed "the revolving cheese" by local wits. The Met, as the service is often called, is as well-known for its role as Britain's leading police force as for its links with famous fictional sleuths such as Sherlock Holmes. The sale, for 370 million pounds ($580 million), is part of a trend that has seen well-known public buildings sold in recent years to tap soaring real estate prices. The building, which sold for 120 million pounds more than the suggested price, will be transformed into luxury flats. The transaction paves the way for a remarkable collection of artefacts -- from the ricin-filled pellet fired from an umbrella to kill Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov on a London bridge in 1978 to cooking pots used by a serial killer to boil up his victims -- to go on public display. They had previously been housed in a private invitation-only "Black Museum" at New Scotland Yard but will now be moved to a new public museum in a location that has yet to be chosen. The London Mayor's Office said policing enthusiasts and fans of Scotland Yard-related detective stories such as Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and novels by the likes of Agatha Christie and P.D. James would benefit.
Labour mansion tax worries fuel record luxury rents: Rents in central London have risen sharply over the past 12 months as wealthy individuals and families delay buying more expensive properties until after the general election because of fears over Labour’s mansion tax.
Berkeley warns of tax change effect on sales of expensive homes: London housebuilder Berkeley warned that the government’s stamp duty reforms would hit sales of houses valued above £2 million, but said the impact would be mitigated by more transactions that are cheaper.
Scramble to buy £30 million Surrey field: A 77 acre piece of land in Surrey is believed to have become the most expensive field in the country when its sale was rushed through for £30 million.
Berkeley Group Holdings Plc (BKG.L) Announced, in its interim results for the six months ended 31 October 2014, that revenues rose to £1,022.2 million from £821.0 million and profit after tax widened to £241.7 million from £131.0 million recorded in the same period a year ago. Diluted earnings per share stood at 158.8p, up from 84.7p. The board has declared a further interim dividend of 90p per share (£121.7 million).
Stamp duty reform triggers panic buying of high-end London homes: Forget bread and milk, wealthy individuals, families and investors were panic buying high-end London homes right up to midnight.
UK Halifax house price index rises more than expected in November The Halifax house price index in the UK recorded a rise of 0.40% in November on a monthly basis, compared to a drop of 0.40% in the previous month. Market expectations were for the Halifax house price index to advance 0.30%.
UK services PMI climbed in November In the UK, the services PMI rose to a level of 58.60 in November, higher than market expectations of a rise to 56.50. In the previous month, the services PMI had registered a level of 56.20.
Stamp Duty on homes Stamp Duty on residential property is being reformed and a new tiered basis will apply from 4 December 2014. The new regime replaces the current ‘slab’ regime which can create market distortions. For example, many properties are sold at £250,000, where Duty is currently paid at a rate of 1% (£2,500) whereas they are seldom sold for £251,000 which would attract a 3% rate (£7,530). The new rates will apply as follows: Property value Tax rate on each progressive band £0 - £125,000 0% £125,001 - £250,000 2% £250,001 - £925,000 5% £925,001 - £1,500,000 10% £1,500,000 plus 12%
.. :: London close: Upmarket housebuilders hit as investors digest Autumn Statement Wed, 3rd Dec 2014 16:29 Upmarket housing stocks took a hit but airlines were flying higher as investors reacted to the UK's Autumn Statement on Wednesday. Shares in Berkeley Group Holdings were 76p off at 2468p and estate agency Foxtons subsided 2.6p to 152.8p as Chancellor George Osborne introduced a new stamp duty regime set to benefit anyone buying a home worth less than £937,000. But house-builders that build mid-market and cheaper homes were on the up, with Persimmon rising 15p to 1540p, Barratt Developments gaining 7.9p to 458.9p, Bovis Homes advancing 14.5p to 872p and Taylor Wimpey increasing 2.2p to 132.5p.
LONDON (Alliance News) - FTSE has confirmed that the following changes will take effect to its UK indices from the market open on Monday, December 22, following completion of its quarterly review. ------- FTSE 100 Adds: Barratt Developments Taylor Wimpey -------
Britons spend less on leisure as rents climb: British households are spending less on eating out, hotels, alcohol and smoking, according to the annual official survey of family budgets released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
UK construction PMI fell in November The construction PMI registered a drop to 59.40 in November, in the UK, higher than market expectations of a fall to a level of 61.00. The construction PMI had registered a reading of 61.40 in the prior month
London estates to get overhaul in £150 million pledge: A shortlist of London housing estates in the running for regeneration is to be announced by Ministers, as part of a £150 million scheme. The estates will be named ahead of the Autumn Statement as part of a pledge first announced in the Budget earlier this year.
Mortgage data point to U.K. housing slowdown: U.K. mortgage approvals have fallen to their lowest level since June last year in a further sign that momentum in the housing market is slowing.
Government plans to convert unused office space into affordable housing have backfired, according to a new broker report. Instant global office broker Daniel Szweda has spoken out about the UK government's temporary initiative that launched early 2013 permitting developers in the UK to convert offices into homes without needing to obtain full planning permission. "When the planning minister approved the changes, he claimed the move would create 130,000 badly needed new homes by using up 5% of vacant office space," Szweda said. "What Instant has seen however, particularly in London and the South East, is that many of the offices were in fact not vacant at the time of conversion. This policy has therefore created a sharp increase in demand which, coupled with the decrease in availability, has resulted in driving up the price for leased space." But he went on to argue that the serviced office market has not yet been affected by the artificial price increase because operators are focused entirely on servicing SMEs. He added: "If businesses are affected I would definitely recommend evaluating the serviced office option further for its unique blend of availability and flexibility at the right price." The government has so far announced no plans to continue allowing offices to be converted into flats without planning permission after 2016, when the rule expires.
UK house prices rose as expected in November In November, the seasonally adjusted house prices climbed 0.30% in the UK, on a monthly basis, meeting market expectations. House prices had recorded a rise of 0.50% in the previous month.
SLOWEST HOUSE PRICE GROWTH FOR A YEAR House prices rose 8.5pc in the year to November, according to the latest data from Nationwide. This is the smallest annual gain since December last year.
Bashing the banks: The share prices of the U.K.’s big five banks are down an average of 5% over the past year. Britain’s biggest building society, Nationwide, by definition has no share price. But if it did, it would probably be soaring. One reason is simple enough – Nationwide’s business is doing rather well. It is benefiting from banks’ ongoing weakness, as they struggle to repair damaged balance sheets, firefight smouldering scandals and sweat to convince customers they can be trusted again. It even seems to be off the hook with regulators, who in the middle of last year slapped it with aggressive new capital requirements but are now setting leverage demands lower than expected. Clearly there are risks. The overheated southeast of England property market could suffer a tumble in prices, especially once interest rates start to rise. The issue could be exacerbated in interest-only mortgages ahead of a glut of maturities in the next five to 10 years. But Nationwide may be better insulated than most. Only 30% of its mortgages are interest-only, compared with the typical market-wide ratio of 40-50%. It also has the benefit of not being egged on by shareholders to ramp up risk and returns. It can retreat from a market if it feels in danger of getting carried away.