House prices rising at fastest rate since 2007 Halifax has reported that house prices rose 2.4% in February, the fastest pace recorded since October 2007. The average UK home now costs £179,872 – 7.9% more than February 2013. The lender said the pick-up was mainly due to better economic conditions. Stephen Noakes, mortgages director for Halifax, said: “Several factors appear to have boosted demand, such as the improved economic outlook, unemployment falling faster than expected, improvements in consumer confidence and low interest rates.” However, Mr Noakes added that continuing pressures on household finances would keep a lid on the rate of growth of house prices. Oliver Atkinson, director at urbansalesandlettings.co.uk, said the speed UK property prices are rising was bordering “madness”. While Matthew Pointon, property economist at Capital Economist, called for the Government to cool policies it put in place to support the housing market. “Cuts to the Help to Buy scheme would send a stronger message that the authorities are willing to take action to cool an overheating market,” he said. Financial Times, Page: 4 The Times, Page: 44 The Guardian, Page: 29 The Independent, Page: The Daily Telegraph, Business, Page: 1 Daily Express, Page: 31 Daily Mirror, Page: 60 The Sun, Page: 32 The Herald, Page: 27 Scottish market flourishing The number of properties being sold in Scottish cities has increased substantially over the last two years. Statistics published by Registers of Scotland revealed that Edinburgh recorded the largest percentage rise, 24.9%, from 2012 to 2013. The capital overtook Glasgow as the city with the highest sales volume, with 9,412 residential house sales. Inverness showed a 20.4% rise, while Aberdeen experienced an 18.8% uplift. The lowest increase in residential sales, 13.9%, was in Dundee. Price changes across Scotland were more mixed, with an overall increase of 1.4%. The Herald, Page: 10 The Scotsman, Page: 14 Rogue agents return An investigation by the HomeOwners Alliance has found that homeowners are routinely being duped into handing over thousands of pounds in hidden fees to estate agents. The investigation revealed evidence of dubious practices in one in six telephone calls to estate agents. These included hidden charges of up to £500 for items such as marketing fees, registration charges and prime listings on property search engines. Some firms locked sellers into contracts of up to five months even if the property did not receive any interest. Daily Mail, Page: 29 HOUSING Johnson criticised over affordable homes The Guardian reports that Boris Johnson’s commitment to affordable housing has been called into question after council bosses hit back at a move to sell almost 90% of a planned 700-home estate on the private market. The boroughs of Islington and Camden released an expert report that claims Royal Mail could afford to fit four times more affordable homes on its Mount Pleasant sorting office site than it is proposing as part of an estimated £1bn selloff. The two boroughs claim Royal Mail could still make a profit if half the homes were affordable - for social housing or shared ownership. The Guardian, Page: 12 RESIDENTIAL One third of homeless have lost tenancies Vulnerable tenants thrown out by private landlords accounted for a third of all homelessness in London last year, according to new data from the Government. The number of London households classed as homeless by local authorities rose by 3% to 4,350 in the three months to December. The biggest reason cited for “loss of last settled home” was the ending of a tenancy by a landlord – which resulted in 33% of new homelessness in London, up from 28% in 2012. Evening Standard, Page: 8 Woolwich lifted by Crossrail Peter Bill in the Evening Standard looks at the impact a new Crossrail station is having on the development of new homes in Woolwich. Evening Standard, Page: 52 BBC Scotland HQ for sale RBS has appointed Savills to sell the 3.4-acre former BBC Scotland headquarters site in Glasgow. RBS has achieved planning permission for 94 homes at the site. The Times, Page: 42 COMMERCIAL PROPERTY Shaftesbury proposes fundraising Shaftesbury has proposed a fundraising for the acquisition of a long-leasehold interest in the commercial elements of a block in London’s Chinatown area. The Reit has recommended the placement of up to 25,250,000 new ordinary shares, representing approximately 9.99% of the current issued share capital of the company. It will finance the acquisition of block fronts Charing Cross Road, Newport Court and Newport Place in London. The Times, Page: 46 Daily Express, Page: 53 Evening Standard, Page: 55 L&G completes deal Legal and General Property has completed the purchase of the Hyperion portfolio for £550m from Telereal Trillium. It includes 55 properties occupied by RBS, including the Coutts headquarters in The Strand, London. CBRE advised L&G. The Times, Page: 42 FIRMS Estate agency eyes IPO Ludlowthompson is looking to raise up to £100m through an IPO. The London-based estate agency will use the funds to buy rented homes around the capital via a new real estate investment trust. Investec and Liberum have been appointed to manage the share offering, which will be floated on Aim. The new Reit is targeting an annual dividend yield of 4.5% and a total return of 8-10% a year. Financial Times, Page: 24 Profits slide at Balfour Beatty Balfour Beatty has suffered a disappointing 32% slide in annual profits amid difficult conditions in the UK and a downturn in the Australian mining industry. Although the firm said there was increasing evidence of improving conditions in some of its core UK and US markets, these would take some time to feed through to its bottom line. Underlying pre-tax profits fell to £187mn for 2013, down from £277m the previous year but ahead of City forecasts of £168m. Financial Times, Page: 25 The Times, Page: 46 The Daily Telegraph, Business, Page: 6 Evening Standard, Page: 51 LSL posts 4% rise in profits Britains buoyant housing market delivered a boost to LSL Property Services as it posted a 4% rise in underlying pre-tax profits to £33.9m for 2013. Its estate agency business saw a particularly strong performance in the second half. The Independent, Page: 55 Paddisons joins up with Altus Edwin Hill Paddisons Chartered Surveyors, a niche Business Rates firm, has joined Altus Edwin Hill. Press Release RETAIL Butchers and bakers coming back A foodie’ revolution is bringing traditional butchers and bakers as well as the corner shop back to high streets. Coupled with a backlash against big supermarkets after the horsemeat scandal - and an improving economy - it has fuelled a 27% rise in independent food and drink shops in town centres. This includes a 31% year on year rise in the number of bakers, a 28% boom in fishmongers, a 25% increase in delicatessens and a 9% rise in butchers. Daily Mail, Page: 34 RENTAL Best for buy-to-let The Times carries a guide to the best areas to invest in buy-to-let property in Outer London. According to a study by Rentonomy, the property letting website, the top three areas of the capital in which to buy a rental property are Ealing, West Ealing and Acton. The Times, Bricks & Mortar, Page: 15 PLANNING Park planning changes scaled back Plans to relax planning restrictions in national parks have been officially scaled back. The policy, which would have allowed the mass redevelopment of thousands of old farm buildings across Yorkshires national parks, had provoked an outcry from campaigners who feared that the historic character of the countryside would be blighted. Yorkshire Post, Page: 6 Barn conversion rule change Farmers will be able to convert more agricultural buildings into houses, under changes to the planning rules, which have been confirmed. Planning Minister Nick Boles said this would make better use of redundant or under-used agricultural buildings without building on the countryside. BBC News TAX Property taxation reform Anne Ashworth, in the Times, considers the options open to George Osborne as he comes under pressure to reform property taxation ahead of this month’s Budget. The Times, Bricks & Mortar, Page: 2 ECONOMY Skills shortages will continue Recruiters have warned that Britain’s skill shortages will continue to grow unless visa restrictions are eased for highly skilled workers. A survey of 400 job agencies by the Recruitment Confederation and KPMG found that vacancies were close to a 15-year high in February, but the number of candidates available to fill them continued to fall. Demand for permanent staff was strongest in engineering, construction and the medical and care sector. Financial Times, Page: 2 The Times, Page: 44 The Daily Telegraph, Business, Page: 4 BoE holds interest rates steady The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has voted to hold interest rates at 0.5% for another month. It has also kept its £375bn quantitative easing programme unchanged. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank has also opted to leave rates unchanged, at 0.25%. Financial Times, Page: 4 OTHER Forty years of rising prices The spending power of money has fallen by more than 90% in the last 40 years, according to new research from Lloyds Banking Group. More than a tenfold increase in retail prices means that £9.48 in 1973 would have the same spending power as £100 today. The Daily Telegraph, Page: 3
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 14:07:51 +0000
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