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Home loan rates set to drop more as HSBC introduces record low mortgage of 0.99pc
Posted on November 20th, 2014 by admin
Mortgage rates are poised to break new records and edge even further down.
HSBC recently made headlines by introducing a record low mortgage rate of 0.99 per cent, with economists from the bank predicting policy rates would stay at their all-time lows of 0.5 per cent until at least 2016.
It looks unlikely to end there.
“We see lenders further reducing rates in order to achieve this year’s annual lending targets,” Rob Killeen from mortgage brokers Capital Fortune told City A.M.
“Many report to us they have fallen short due to implementation of the Mortgage Market Review [MMR].”
MMR rules make it harder for banks to grant mortgages.
Killeen also explains that many banks anticipate policy rates staying low due to low inflation and weak economic growth in Europe. As a result, markets have pushed their expectations of the first Bank of England interest rate hike to November 2015 from the beginning of 2015.
Competition between banks has also driven down mortgage rates.
“There is intense competition still going on and lenders are probably a bit under-lent compared to where they want to be,” Brian Murphy, head of lending at the Mortgage Advice Bureau told City A.M.
“For the last four or five weeks, we’ve seen successive rate reductions. I think rates can go a little lower,” Murphy said.
Murphy expects competitive pressures in the mortgage to increase in 2015. Challenger bank TSB which was separated from Lloyds Bank will be allowed to offer mortgages through third party brokers in January, allowing them to be more competitive.
“TSB are going to be a relatively significant player. That creates more competition and more choice for consumers, therefore, we should see prices remain relatively low in the short to medium term,” Murphy said.
HSBC’s 0.99 per cent mortgage rate is a discounted variable – it tracks slightly below an in-house interest rate set by the bank which will typically change in line with policy rates. The Post Office offers the cheapest fixed-rate mortgage at 1.43 per cent for two years, according to moneysupermarket.com.
The downward pressure on mortgage rates comes despite it being revealed that two of the Bank of England’s (BoE) nine interest rate setters voted for a hike two weeks ago. Ian McCafferty and Martin Weale, the two voters in question, have voted for a hike every month since August. The pair believe low inflation is temporary and is at risk of rising quickly if wages spike.
The other seven policymakers cite falling commodity prices and weak global economic growth – which may not be temporary – as reasons to keep policy rates down.
Fresh move to restart London’s stalled Pinnacle tower
Posted on November 3rd, 2014 by admin
A consortium of investors is understood to be in talks to buy the stalled Pinnacle tower development.
French fund manager Axa is leading a consortium of other overseas investors that hope to buy the 22-24 Bishopsgate site in the city, according to a report in the Sunday Times.
Pinnacle developer Arab Investment and Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund Sedco have been looking for a buyer after funding dried up on the landmark London project.
The 63-storey tower, nicknamed the helter-skelter because of its complex twisting profile, would be the tallest building in the Square Mile.
Brookfield Multiplex started the project in 2010 but funding dried up just after Byrne Brothers started pouring the building core back in 2011. The seven-storey core has since been nicknamed the Stump.
Several attempts to refinance the project failed and architects have been commissioned to draw up a less costly tower design for the site, but property agent CBRE was also called in to find a buyer for the site last year.
Read MoreMace to start London Elephant & Castle resi tower
Posted on November 3rd, 2014 by admin
Mace will start work in January on the next major tower project at London’s £3bn Elephant & Castle regeneration scheme.
London Mayor Boris Johnson, with developers Mace and Canadian residential operators Realstar, has confirmed work is to begin on the 457-home Newington Butts project.
The site is owned by the Greater London Authority and will become one of the largest long-term rental developments in the capital when finished in 2018.
Homes in the 44-storey tower, designed by Rogers Stirk and Harbour, will be available on long leases and will mirror similar style longer-term rental apartments in large cities in the US.
The tower will also include a new theatre space for the Southwark Playhouse and a café as well as retail and marketing space.
The Newington Butts site was among 670 hectares of surplus public land taken on by the Mayor in 2012, more than 85% of which has now been moved into the development pipeline.
The new development will include 179 low cost homes for rent and shared ownership, being delivered by social housing provider Peabody.
The project bears a strong resemblance to the One the Elephant housing block being built by lend Lease.
In September, the Mayor announced two further Greater London Authority owned sites, Silvertown Way in Canning Town and Pontoon Dock in Newham which are now being brought forward for institutionally backed private rented sector homes.
Chief operating officer of Mace Investment, David Grover, said, “Since Mace was selected as the GLA’s partner for Newington Butts, we have been working through the options for this complex project to deliver much needed housing for the capital.
“We are now able to move forward and deliver an iconic piece of real estate, which will be a strong addition to the London skyline, reinforcing the capital’s position as a major city in the world to live in and work.”
Read MoreLONDON RENTAL & MANAGEMENT
Posted on October 21st, 2014 by admin
We are delighted that we have been able to demonstrate the strength of our rental and property management service to a range of clients.
Highlights include:
- Renting and managing an entire development in Holborn within a week of the development being completed with most rented prior to completion
- Renting an apartment for £4,000 pw in Knightsbridge and managing the property for the owner
- Renting a range of apartments in Bloomsbury. In each case tenants where found before the new owner took legal ownership of the property- achieved by working with the previous owner and lawyers. We manage the properties for the new owners
- Renting and managing a range of apartments in Canary Wharf, Mayfair, Deptford, Surrey Quays, Fitzrovia, Kings Cross and other areas of London, achieving rent in excess of the level previously achieved.
We provide:
- Highly experienced team and a personal approach
- Broad marketing of your property
- No hidden charges and payments from other parties
- We are fair but ultimately on the landlord’s side- giving you honest, pro-active and straightforward guidance
- Across London coverage allowing you to deal with one company for your entire portfolio
- 24 hours maintenance service to personally address issues as they arise.
We hope that we will be working with you soon.
Read MorePlan for new Canary Wharf curving tower
Posted on October 21st, 2014 by admin
Detailed plans have been submitted for one of the last remaining sites on the Canary Wharf estate.
A 28-storey office with a facade curving to a wider lower basement is being proposed for 1 Bank Street at Heron Quays West.
The 146m high building has been designed by KPF, with a view to signing up two major tenants for the new building.
Outline plans were approved by Tower Hamlets back in April for the site. The detailed plan contains an atrium giving the office design a wider skirt on the lower floors and roof terrace.
Adamson Associates, acting as executive Architect is leading a full consultant team, which includes Arup is structural engineer and Hilson Moran the mechanical engineer.
Canary Wharf Group is aiming to obtain a pre-let before construction starts and is reported to be in talks with French bank Societe Generale.
The Heron Quays West site was previously earmarked for a three building scheme, with the highest tower being 33 storeys.
This has been revised to two major buildings of a lower height.
A similar height office block is planned for the adjacent 10 Bank Street, on Heron Quays West. Enabling works have begun after it received full approval.
Read MoreBinnacle House, Wapping
Posted on October 12th, 2014 by admin
We are delighted to be able to offer a modern studio apartment in the Binnacle House, 21 Wapping Lane.
- Good buy-to-let investment or London base
- Fourth floor
- 344 sq ft
- Completed and available without any chain
- Balcony with views of Canary Wharf
- Luxury development with wide range of facilities and 24 hour security
Asking price: £369,000
More information is available at: http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/34813216
Click here to access the particulars: Particulars
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For further information please email
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+ (44) 07443 939300
Read MoreResidential Market Update
Posted on October 1st, 2014 by admin
Source: Chestertons Research
Report Highlights
- Highest ever fall in August house asking prices
- July mortgage lending volume reached highest monthly level since August 2008
- Homes located 500 metres from a tube or rail station command a 10.5% premium
- The average loan-to-value ratio for London mortgages is 75%
The June price deceleration was reversed in July with annual house prices rising by 19.3% according to the Land Registry. This takes the average house price in the capital up to £457,072 which is almost double the South East average and just over 4.5 times the North
East figure.
Only two boroughs (Harrow: +9.3% and Hounslow: +9.4%) are now experiencing less than double digit annual price growth while 11 boroughs report growth in excess of 20% per annum. Waltham Forest (+29.3%) has overtaken Lambeth (+28.0%) as the borough
with the fastest rising house prices.
A study from Nationwide has analysed the impact of tube or train stations on house prices. A property located 1,000 metres from a station commands a 4.9% premium, whilst at 750 metres this increases to 7.6% and to 10.5% for a home 500 metres from a station. London houses closest to Circle line stations are the most expensive while those nearest the Metropolitan line are cheapest. Only 6% of properties in London are more than 1,500 metres away from a station.
Council of Mortgage Lenders data show that first-time buyer loans totalled 12,300 in Q2 in London – 4% up on the previous quarter,
and 17% up on Q2 2013. Home mover loans (9,000 in total) were also up – by 1% on Q1 and by 7% on Q2 2013. First-time buyers typically borrowed 3.9 times their gross income, more than the 3.83 recorded in the previous quarter and the UK average of 3.46. The average loan-to-value ratio in London remained at 75% compared to the national average of 80%.
The Mayor intends to create London’s first Long Term Infrastructure Investment Plan in order to ensure that the capital has the necessary infrastructure needed to cope with projected growth up to 2050. Total planned public infrastructure expenditure in the capital at the beginning of this year stood at £35.8 bn, of which £28.25 bn was allocated to transport projects.
Capital Gains Tax
Posted on October 1st, 2014 by admin
Capital Gains Tax (CGT)
Background
The Government consultation on the proposals to introduce a capital gains tax liability on non-resident owners of UK residential property closed in June and the Minutes from the working groups that were held during the consultation period were published on 31st July. Whilst the final rules and regulations have yet to appear (we are told they will be published in “early Autumn 2014”) the Minutes do provide some clarity with regard to the likely tax position for collective investment vehicles.
What is the current situation?
Currently, non-resident owners of UK residential property are not liable to capital gains tax in the UK.
What are the proposed changes?
The Government has confirmed that, with effect from April 2015, non-resident owners of UK residential property will be liable to capital gains tax in the UK upon disposal of their properties. The Government has stated that pension funds and other diversely owned collective investment funds are not intended to be brought within the scope of the extension of CGT to non-residents.
However, there appear to be definitional issues regarding the different types of collective investment schemes which are unresolved and the proposed solution is to introduce a “close company” test to limit the scope of the extension of CGT. This could become a fairly complex exercise in trying to establish precise ownership of these structures, including a grey area regarding the treatment of large listed property companies. One encouraging signal which has emerged is that the Government wishes to encourage institutional investment in the residential sector, so it could be assumed (although by no means guaranteed) that the final regulations will err on the generous side rather than being overly restrictive.
Various other issues were discussed, including the definition of “residential property”, notably whether student housing and disposals of undeveloped land, mixed-use buildings, buildings under construction and buildings being converted should be brought within the scope of the new tax. The other key issues of what reliefs should be available and whether properties should be re-based as at April 2015 with regard to assessing their CGT liability were also discussed but without conclusive outcome.
What are the potential implications for you?
In summary, this document has not taken us much further forward in terms of knowing what the final regulations will be. We hope that these will be published as soon as possible in order to give non-resident owners sufficient time to decide how they will react before the tax is introduced in April 2015.
Source: Chestertons Research team
Telford Homes plans £75m East London resi scheme
Posted on September 30th, 2014 by admin
London apartment builder Telford Homes has struck a deal to progress the first phase in the redevelopment of Poplar Business Park in East London.
It lifts Telford Homes’ development pipeline to over £1bn future revenue for the first time in the group’s history.
The three-phase scheme will create a total of 392 new homes in a location only 800m from Canary Wharf and just to the North of the new Crossrail station.
Telford Homes will pay land-owner Workspace £16.3m for the first phase, which will be developed with 120 open market homes, 50 affordable homes, and 8,000sq ft of light industrial space for Workspace.
The development rises to 22 storeys with construction expected to be completed in 2018.
Jon Di-Stefano, Chief Executive of Telford Homes, said: “We are delighted to partner with Workspace on this fantastic opportunity.
“For the group’s development pipeline to be in excess of £1bn is an exceptional milestone and, along with a strong forward sold position, Telford Homes is in an excellent position to deliver substantial growth over the next few years.”
Read MoreLandmark debuts in London with £8m Battersea scheme
Posted on September 28th, 2014 by admin
Developer Landmark Estates has made its first foray into the London market. The firm, which has been responsible for a slew of projects along the south coast over the last fifteen years, has just snapped up a site in Battersea with plans for a new £8m resi scheme.
Read More