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British property industry wants more property investment vehicles

November 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Housebuilders

The UK’s property industry has strongly backed government plans to attract pension funds to invest in infrastructure but it also wants a fresh look at TIF and REIT reform to bolster investment in the sector. The British Property Federation believes that the overall scale of the UK's infrastructure challenge is beyond what can be afforded by the public or private sector and that innovative solutions such as tax increment financing (TIF) need to be implemented as soon as possible. It also wants the government to examine whether Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS) could provide a better … [Read more...]

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UK property industry welcomes finance statement but questions if it is enough

November 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The UK government’s autumn finance statement made today (Tuesday 29 November) by Chancellor George Osborne impacts on the property sector in a number of ways and has so far had a mixed reaction. For buyers it is not good news with property professionals pointing out that failing to extend the stamp duty holiday for first time buyers will have an impact. The temporary temporary first time buyer stamp duty concession will now end on 24 March 2012 as planned. Council of Mortgage Lenders director general Paul Smee said he was disappointed by the decision. ‘While the concession may not … [Read more...]

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AMA submit Edinburgh student housing plans

November 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A full application has been made by AMA Homes for a mixed use development of managed student flats for rent and homes for private sale at Slateford Road, Edinburgh. Designed by Oberlanders the scheme will incorporate a pocket park on the site of a former distribution centre. In their design statement Oberlanders write: “The previous proposal carried the tenement scale along the full length of Primrose Terrace and while it was acknowledged that this was an acceptable and appropriate urban design solution, the high number of windows looking down into Primrose Terrace was noted as a … [Read more...]

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Twenty-seven builders, including listed players, back 95% mortgages despite cash-call

November 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The House Builders Associations welcomes NewBuy mortgages but warned it could create further barriers for smaller house builders.

Twenty-seven builders, including listed players, back 95% mortgages despite cash-call At least 27 major housebuilders, including the vast majority of listed firms, have signed up to the government’s mortgage guarantee scheme, the centrepiece of the government’s housing strategy, launched this morning. The mortgage insurance scheme will see individual housebuilders sign deals with banks to provide 95% mortgages on sales of new homes. Housebuilders will have to put 3.5% of the sale value into an insurance pot, with the government contributing 5.5%. A spokesman for the Home … [Read more...]

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David Cameron is mad to spend £400m on the housing market

November 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment
House

I’m doing a recording for Newsnight this afternoon on David Cameron’s new housing initiative. Its centrepiece – and the bit that is getting all the attention – is a mortgage indemnity scheme. Right now the first-time buyer is a relatively endangered species thanks to the fact that the banks are demanding an average deposit of around 20% from them. That’s something not many people can come up with. So, even if they have the income to make their monthly payments, they can’t get a loan. The coaliton’s big idea is to underwrite a portion of the loan, so shifting the loan-to-value … [Read more...]

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Scots tenants paying ‘illegal fees’ to letting agents

November 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Edinburgh property values have risen by 509 per cent.

Letting agents across Scotland are making illegal charges to prospective tenants, housing charity Shelter has discovered. Many tenants who took part in a survey were not aware they did not have to pay the extra charges, the charity said. The law currently prohibits prospective tenants being charged "premiums" on top of their deposit and rent in advance. But Shelter said most letting agents surveyed charged a pre-tenancy cost, in some cases up to £180. "This is rip-off Scotland," Shelter Scotland director Graeme Brown told BBC Scotland. "Just at a time when people are desperately … [Read more...]

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Time to come clean on repos, urges agent

November 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

An independent estate agent has queried the ethics – and possible legality – of disguising the status of a repossessed property when it is marketed for sale. The practice, which is standard in the industry, could be outlawed as the result of a consultation by the Office of Fair Trading on how agents should conduct themselves in future. The consultation is in relation to the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, and the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008. The OFT draft guidance says that agents should not mislead by omitting information … [Read more...]

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House builders lobbied cabinet privately to get planning relaxed

November 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The House Builders Associations welcomes NewBuy mortgages but warned it could create further barriers for smaller house builders.

Barrat, Bovis and Redrow among firms that pressed for 'presumed yes' response to development applications Britain's biggest housebuilders privately lobbied cabinet ministers to secure a significant relaxation of the planning system, documents obtained by the Guardian reveal. The chiefs of housing firms, including Barratt, Bovis and Redrow, insisted that ministers introduced a planning policy that would mean the default answer to applications would be "yes" – a presumption that would hugely boost their business prospects. Ministers included the "presumption in favour of … [Read more...]

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House sellers drop asking prices by 3.1%

November 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment
estate agents

The asking price of homes being put up for sale has fallen by 3.1% in the past month, according to the property website Rightmove. The average asking price of newly marketed properties fell during November by £7,528 to £232,144. Rightmove said prices, and the number of homes up for sale, were being depressed by economic uncertainty. The fall in asking prices was the biggest in cash terms that Rightmove had recorded since December 2007. It was also the third largest in percentage terms recorded so far. Miles Shipside of Rightmove said the usual seasonal slowdown had now started early. … [Read more...]

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Rich Real Estate Agent or Poor Real Estate Agent…which one do you want to be?

November 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment
HiRes_realestateinfographic3 - Active Rain Research

Research from Active Rain What separates Rich Real Estate Agents from Poor Real Estate Agents? Are men better real estate agents than women? Does age or experience matter? Do top real estate agents use Trulia or Zillow? Or Realtor.com? Or Homes.com? Does FaceBook sell houses? Data provided by ActiveRain.com. Join 215,590 Real Estate Agents on the world's largest Real Estate Social Network. In real estate there is no "right answer" on how to be successful. BUT, we have found that some agents are "more right" than others. ActiveRain conducted a survey(1) of 1,758 real … [Read more...]

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