If a city wants to be taken seriously as a financial centre, attracting a big investment bank would be a smart move. They don't come any bigger than Goldman Sachs.
"UK stocks hit record high." reads the headline. The newspaper article goes on to say that the FTSE 100 passed 6880 shortly after the market opened today. What it didn't say was that for investors, the UK stock market has returned almost zero for over 20 years.
A slight softening in demand was expected with stamp duty relief ending on 31st March. That changed, of course, but the effect will probably not be seen for another month or two. Here are last month's numbers from Nationwide and Zoopla.
Hardly a week goes by without news of another famous retail chain scaling back or closing it's high street presence. In a post-Covid world, is more town and city centre housing the way forward?
22/3/2021
Strong 5 year price growth predictedSavills price forecast has been revised upwards in light of the measures announced in the recent budget and more positive expectations for the UK economy. Properties in the North, the North West and the Midlands are expected to see the greatest gains.
12/3/2021
London exodus going into reverseThe seat of government and a world leading financial centre. History, culture and premier universities. Theatreland, museums, major tourist attractions and leading resaurants, clubs and bars. London has it all. Until you put it into lockdown. Now, according to Rightmove, city dwellers are heading back.
8/3/2021
UK property - Budget updateEstate agents, surveyors, mortgage lenders, conveyancers and 200,000 buyers will be offering the Chancellor a collective thank you. The pressure to complete an absurd number of house sales by 31st March is now off. There was also some good news for first time buyers, at least in the short term. A quick glance at the budget from a property perspective and a brief look forward.
With the Stamp Duty holiday coming to an end, January's small decline in house prices was expected to continue into the next month. Not so, as February reversed that decline and then some. The figures from Nationwide and Zoopla...
23/2/2021
Don't under-estimate Preston...For the fourth year running, the Demos-PwC Good Growth for Cities Index has rated Preston as the best city to live and work in the North West and 14th nationally. When combined with much lower property prices than Manchester, the city has become an investment hotspot.
15/2/2021
No mortgage please, we're British!In one of the many quirks thrown up by Brexit, British nationals living in the EU may find they have issues landing a UK mortgage.
10/2/2021
Rental market snapshotThe numbers are in and they confirm what the anecdotal evidence has been saying for a while. Central London has taken a pasting, but other areas have fared somewhat better.
A new month, a new year and the property market seems to be off to a fast start with the UK's biggest property portal having their busiest January ever. A look at the numbers from Nationwide and Zoopla.
29/1/2021
Big surge in London pricesThe Land Registry's numbers may be slow to arrive, but they are the most accurate. When they say that prices shot up in November, it's because they really did.
By some estimates, as many as 100,000 property sales could fall through at the last moment, unable to meet the deadline. Many in the industry are clamouring for an extension when the Chancellor presents his spring budget.
A recent survey of international asset managers by law firm DLA Piper ranks the UK as their number one choice for European property investment investment in 2021.
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Top floor? Corner unit?Subscribers get first choice. We'll let you know the day we post a new development to the website.
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15/4/2021