Property Investment News and Analysis from Dominic Farrell.
Search
This Month
May 2007
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31
Year Archive
Login
User name:
Password:
Remember me 
View Article  US economy weakest in four years

The US economy grew at a pace of 0.6% in the first three months of 2007, its weakest rate in more than four years, official figures have shown.

Hit by Americans importing more goods and firms cutting their supply stockpiles, the figure was a downward revision on the initial 1.3% ...   more »

View Article  Irish house price woe

This latest fall comes after a drop in March that marked the first monthly decline in over five years, a survey showed on Wednesday.

The average price of a house in Ireland fell 0.8 percent in April versus a 0.6 percent drop the previous month according to the permanent TSB/ESRI ...   more »

View Article  Mortgage rate blunders cost borrowers thousands

Homeowners are being overcharged by up to £50,000 in a mortgage scandal involving some of Britain’s biggest banks and building societies.

Evidence drawn up by an independent financial auditor reveals a catalogue of mistakes made by Nationwide, Alliance & Leicester and Abbey that led to some customers being overcharged interest ...   more »

View Article  Rate rise puts brakes on investment property sales

Any property investor entering the market in recent years should have found it fairly simple to make money. Rental yields have been at a premium to interest rates, and phenomenal house price growth has meant that even unseasoned landlords have pocketed significant profits.

 

But as interest rates rise and ...   more »

View Article  Further rise 'could come next week'

Interest rates could be raised to 5.75pc as soon as next week, economists warned after the most dovish member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee said inflation was likely to remain high for some time.

David Blanchflower, who until last month was a proponent of lower borrowing costs, ...   more »

View Article  Mortgage lending dips to year low

New mortgage lending in the UK fell for the third month in a row in April to the lowest in a year, according to the Bank of England.

New home loans rose £8.9bn, down from a rise of £9.9bn in March, suggesting the exuberant housing market could be losing steam. ...   more »

View Article  Demand still outstripping supply

Regionally, Greater London saw the biggest rise in property supply with a 14% increase of properties going onto the market, whilst Wales saw the greatest drop of 5%. 

These regional variations may be contributed to the recent interest rate rise that helped stabilise the South East and Greater London property ...   more »

View Article  Rate rises damp Eurozone mortgage lending

Mortgage lending growth in the 13-country eurozone has slowed to the lowest for more than three years as higher interest rates begin to bite, according to European Central Bank figures.

The steady deceleration in lending for house purchases over the past year will cheer the ECB, which has been wary ...   more »

View Article  City fears interest rates at 6% this year

The City was last night braced for two further increases in interest rates to 6% by the end of the year after the Bank of England signalled that continued robust growth in the economy would lead to higher borrowing costs.

Amid evidence that some members of the Bank's nine-strong monetary ...   more »

View Article  RICS calls for planning reforms

Ahead of the UK government's White Paper on planning, RICS has called on them to push their sustainability agenda in the built environment by reforming the planning system.

RICS believes that all new development proposals should be given a sustainability rating which integrates environmental and social value as well as ...   more »

View Article  Irish house-building boom steadies

Much has been said of late about the level of housing development in Ireland, with some concerns being expressed as to whether Ireland’s housing market is oversupplied.

There is no doubt that Ireland has enjoyed a very buoyant period of expansion in recent years, significantly ahead of our European counterparts....   more »

View Article  Taxman warns landlords over buy-to-let bill

Officials from the Revenue & Customs department warned that an estimated 80,000 landlords could be liable to pay extra tax on their buy-to-let rental income - many because they have incorrectly assumed that they can offset the full cost of a repayment mortgage against their profits for tax purposes.

"We ...   more »

View Article  US home sales figures fall back

Existing homes sales in the US dropped by 2.6% in April, making it the ninth month in a row that the volume of non-new build homes fell.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said that the pace of monthly sales, at 5.99 million units, was the slowest since June 2003. ...   more »

View Article  US slump draws buyers to Florida Market

A report from GE Money Home Lending claims a 100% increase in business this year. In spite of low house price inflation in the US, it remained steady at 9.5% in Florida last year, and the strength of Sterling against the Dollar is attracting more buyers and investors.

"The Florida ...   more »

View Article  House inflation slows

Hometrack's latest housing survey revealed that property prices went up by 0.6% during the month, down on the 0.7% rise recorded in April.

Annual house price inflation also slipped back from 6.8% to 6.7% in May. The average home in England and Wales now costs £175,600, Hometrack's figures showed.

Richard ...   more »

View Article  Taxman to ‘swoop’ on buy-to-let

HM Revenue & Customs will target tens of thousands of property owners who have failed to declare rental income or capital gains made from sales or claimed too much tax relief.

Revenue officers will be given powers to impose financial penalties which can be backdated six years and equal the ...   more »

View Article  Dominic Farrell - New development scheme

Dear Investor

It's a very warm start to the morning here in Cyprus and I am looking forward to jumping into my pool after writing this newsletter before going to the office for a couple of hours before hitting the beach this afternoon.

Why am I telling you this?

Well, ...   more »

View Article  Prices to hit 12-year high says CBI

Economists have put the chances of 6pc interest rates this year at one in three, after fresh signs emerged that the Bank of England has lost control of prices and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said Britain has the worst inflation problem in Western Europe.
  
The ...   more »

View Article  Houses 'are priced 65 per cent too high'

The housing market in Britain is up to 65 per cent overvalued and needs further interest rate rises to cool it, reports the Daily Mail.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development revealed that UK property prices are among the most stretched of any major world economy.

At the same ...   more »

View Article  HIPs now ‘irrelevant’

Energy Performance Certificates should be removed from the HIPs pack, according to the judge hearing the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors application for a judicial review of Home Information Packs.

This latest move all but renders HIPs irrelevant following the announcement that their introduction is to be postponed from June ...   more »

View Article  Energy meters allow ‘spies’ in your home

Every home in Britain is to be fitted with a high-tech meter to track its energy usage, the Government an­nounced yesterday, reports the Daily Express

So-called “smart” meters will show precisely how much gas and electricity is consumed by households – down to the nearest penny.

They then send the ...   more »

View Article  Greenspan warns of Beijing shares crash

Alan Greenspan has warned of an impending Chinese stock market crash, saying that sharp rises in Beijing shares were "clearly unsustainable".

His warning caused US shares to stall and is expected to cause a subdued opening to trading in London today.

The former Federal Reserve chairman, addressing a Madrid conference, ...   more »

View Article  Bank may flag push for bigger rate hike
Only one person has voted for a 50 basis point rise in domestic interest rates since the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee was set up in 1997.

So news that anyone had followed in the maverick Willem Buiter's footsteps at the bank's last meeting would certainly cement expectations of ...   more »
View Article  Are Brits over-reliant on property?

The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) considered recent Datamonitor research which found that 55% of the UK’s national wealth is held in property (compared to 58% held in financial vehicles and other investments in 1996). With this proportion forecast to rise to 60% by 2009, NIESR director ...   more »

View Article  Hips delayed until August

The government today announced plans to delay the introduction of controversial home information packs (Hips).

Communities secretary, Ruth Kelly, told the Commons that a judicial review of the energy performance certificates in the packs meant the government had decided not to introduce the packs as planned on June 1.

Instead, ...   more »

View Article  House prices up 20,000 pounds in a year

The average property price has risen by more than 20,000 pounds in the past year, an overview of the main house price indices shows.

It jumped by 20,498 pounds to 208,174 pounds in the year to end-April, according to property investment firm Assetz.

Its "House Price Watch" pulls together data ...   more »

View Article  House price surge 'could be last'

The surge in Scottish house prices in the last quarter could be followed by a slowdown, an economist has warned.

The price 'spike' has been partly attributed to concerns over rising interest rates prompting buyers to rush to take up low fixed-rate mortgages.

The low number of properties on the ...   more »

View Article  Mortgage lending growth slows

Leading mortgage lenders have said that the mortgage market is slowing following four successive interest rate rises since August.

 

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) announced today that the total lending last month was £28.8bn, a figure 18% higher than the same time last year, but down on the ...   more »

View Article  Asking price growth at slowest rate of 2007

Property website Rightmove have announced in their latest survey that asking prices for homes in Britain rose at their slowest rate so far this year over April and early May.

 

Asking prices rose just 0.4% between the 8th April and the 12th May, easily the slowest increase ...   more »

View Article  Sub-prime crisis to hit market, says Fed chief

US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke warned that the sub-prime lending crisis crippling homeowners across the US would hurt the housing market for at least the next 18 months as foreclosures continue to increase.

But he forecast that the problem would not spread to other areas of the economy or ...   more »

View Article  US home construction accelerates

According to the Commerce Department, 1.528 million new homes were started in April, up from 1.491 million in March.

However, analysts warned that the outlook for the construction industry may not be rosy, underlining fears that the housing market may be softening.

Building permits - a measure of future construction ...   more »

View Article  'Big rise in payments' for borrowers on fixed rates

Borrowers with fixed-rate mortgages due for renewal could be in for a shock, Nationwide Building Society has warned.

Graham Beale, Nationwide's chief executive, said: "A very high percentage of borrowers have fixed-rate mortgages, which were the most popular product two years ago, and so they have been desensitised to rising ...   more »

View Article  UK Prices set to soar in May
Your Move’s new monthly house price predictor is forecasting a 1.65% increase in the exchange price of the average UK property in May. 

The predictor is based on Your Move’s agreed sales data (Jan / Feb) adjusted to reflect the Land Registry’s sales distribution in those months. The predictor anticipates the ...   more »
View Article  Tory HIP operation fails

Conservative leader David Cameron had tabled a motion calling for the regulations to be annulled, but that was defeated by 306 votes to 234 -- a government majority of 72.

The packs -- designed to making the home-buying process more efficient, cut the number of transactions that fall through and ...   more »

View Article  Bank of England hints at more rates rises
The Bank of England dropped a broad hint yesterday that interest rates would be raised for a fifth time within a year over the coming months after its quarterly health check of the economy pinpointed risks that would push up inflation.

Mervyn King, the Bank's governor, issued a stiff warning ...   more »
View Article  Euro area annual inflation stable 1.9%

Euro area annual inflation was 1.9% unchanged compared with March. A year earlier the rate was  2.5%. Monthly inflation for April 2007 was 0.6%, illustrating that the inflation rate for the Euro area remains beneath the target figure of 2%, and is relatively stable.

For the European Union, the annual ...   more »

View Article  Dominic Farrell - Returns on Investment

Dear Investor

Another week of airports and aeroplanes, culminating in an extended visit to Cyprus and a slower more sedate few weeks in the sun. I had a long meeting with my architect, civil engineer and other stakeholders yesterday to take my new development scheme to the next stage which ...   more »

View Article  Cyprus and Malta get euro boost

Cyprus and Malta look set to be the next EU members to adopt the euro after their applications cleared the first major hurdle. 

Their bids to join the single currency next year were backed by the European Commission and European Central Bank.

They will become the 14th and 15th members ...   more »

View Article  Japanese central bank appears set on rate rise course

Strong growth is usually a cause for cheer. But when Japan's first-quarter gross domestic product figures, which are expected to show the economy growing above what economists consider its current potential, are released tomorrow, they could spark concern.

If growth is shown to have risen strongly, it will strengthen the ...   more »

View Article  U.S. April CPI up 0.4 pct

U.S. consumer prices advanced 0.4 percent in April on a continued rise in energy and food prices, but that was below expectations and painted a somewhat stable inflation picture, a government report on Tuesday showed.

Richard Dekaser, Chief Economist of National City Corp commenting on the figures, said  “On the ...   more »

View Article  Government taken to court over HIPs

The government is being taken to court over an alleged failure to consult properly on its controversial home information packs (HIPs) legislation.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said it had started Judicial Review proceedings against the Department for Communities and Local Government for what it regards as its ...   more »

View Article  Inflation slows to 2.8% in April

The UK's rate of inflation slowed in April after energy bills were cut, official figures have shown.
Consumer price inflation fell to 2.8% last month, against 3.1% in March, the Office for National Statistics said.

The Retail Prices Index, an inflation measure often used in pay bargaining, fell to 4.5% ...   more »

View Article  Uk inflation down from record high

Cheaper household utility bills helped push inflation down in April from its record high, but the measure has now been above the government's target for a full year, data released on Tuesday showed.

The Office for National Statistics said its index of consumer prices rose by 0.3 per cent between ...   more »

View Article  Rates may not yet have hit peak, say economists

Borrowers should brace themselves for the possibility of another interest rate rise this year, as economists are warning that this week's increase to base rates is unlikely to herald the peak of the cycle.

Base rates were increased by a quarter of a point to 5.5 per cent on Thursday ...   more »

View Article  BTL a ‘safer bet’

Buy to let mortgages are now, in some cases, cheaper than homebuyer loans as lending to investors is seen as a safer, lower-risk, option by lenders…

Lenders offering cheaper deals include BM Solutions whose buy-to-let mortgage rate currently tracks 0.50% below Bank of England base rate for two years, according ...   more »

View Article  UK property prices move upwards

UK house prices rose 1.1% between February and March, according to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).

The DCLG index showed the average home cost £206,890 in March, up from £204,556 in February.

The figures mirror those of the Nationwide and Halifax which have both shown a buoyant ...   more »

View Article  House price inflation unchanged say Halifax

House price inflation remained largely unchanged in April, according to Halifax bank’s latest monthly survey.

Halifax say prices rose by only 1.1% last month, lowering the annual rate slightly from 11.1% in March to 10.9% for April – meaning the average cost of property in the UK is now £196,745....   more »

View Article  Federal Reserve keeps US interest rates steady
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, extending a nearly yearlong period of stability that has positives for savers and borrowers.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his central bank colleagues on Wednesday left an important interest rate unchanged at 5.25 percent, where it has stood since last June. The decision ...   more »
View Article  US economy tops competitive table

The US economy has remained the world's most competitive, despite the country's soaring trade deficit, a study says.

The world's biggest economy topped the rankings of 55 nations compiled in the Swiss-based IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2007.

Singapore was the second most competitive nation, moving up a place from last ...   more »

View Article  Interest rates rise to 5.5%

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has today increased the interest rate by .25%, to 5.5%.

The widely anticipated move has been brought about be the persistently high levels of inflation, which is well over the target figure of 2%.

The surprise surge in inflation to 3.1% in ...   more »

View Article  Affordability worsens for first-time buyers
Higher interest rates are causing first-time buyers to spend more of their income on mortgage interest payments, according to the Council for Mortgage Lenders (CML). Data from the regulated mortgage survey revealed that first-time buyers in March spent an average 18.3% of their income on mortgage interest payments, compared to ...   more »
View Article  London property the world's most expensive

London is home to the most expensive property in the world, followed by Monaco, New York and Hong Kong, a new report shows.

Prime property in the British capital costs 2,300 pounds ($4,585) per square foot, just above Monaco, playground of the rich and famous, at 2,190 pounds, according to ...   more »

View Article  Money supply jump sparks Governor's warning of higher interest rates
Bank of England Governor Mervyn King has issued his clearest warning yet that recent jumps in the money supply could be a signal that rates are not high enough to bring inflation back under control.

His warning, which formed part of a lengthy lecture delivered last night to the Society ...   more »
View Article  Mortgage approvals fall as rates bite
Mortgage approvals fell to their lowest level in a year in March in a sign that higher interest rates are finally starting to bite and may not need to rise much further.

The Bank of England is widely expected to raise borrowing costs to 5.5 percent next week to tackle ...   more »
View Article  Interest rates 'must hit 5.75%'

The Bank of England should raise interest rates to 5.75% by June in order to guard against wage-driven inflation, a think tank has warned.

While rates are expected to go up from 5.25% to 5.5% next month, the National Institute for Economic and Social Research says a bigger rise is ...   more »

View Article  Home information packs under fire

A House of Lords committee has described the opposition to the introduction of Home Information Packs (HIPs) as "striking" and "widespread".

From 1 June house sellers in England and Wales must have a HIP containing title deeds, local searches and an energy performance certificate.

Estate agency and legal bodies have ...   more »

View Article  Mortgage approvals weaker than expected
Mortgage approvals fell to their lowest level in a year in March, official data showed on Wednesday, in a sign that higher interest rates are finally starting to bite.

The Bank of England said the number of approvals -- loans for house purchases agreed but not yet made -- fell ...   more »
View Article  Prices fall in Dublin

A new survey has revealed that property asking prices in Dublin have dropped by over ten per cent in some areas.

Year on year growth in asking prices has been slowing consistently over the last twelve months and stood at just 2.1 per cent in April last year, according to ...   more »

View Article  Housing market ‘cooling’

Higher interest rates are cooling the housing market and deterring consumers from taking on extra credit card debt.

Data from the British Bankers' Association indicated that the number of mortgages approved in March was down 8% on the same month in 2006, even though increasing house prices meant the total ...   more »

View Article  Mortgage approvals fall as demand weakens
The housing market is showing signs of cooling, but consumers have entered the new tax year in a fairly upbeat mood, reports released on Monday showed.

There were 75,098 mortgage approvals in March, said the British Bankers' Association, down 12 per cent on the same month last year.

Underlying net ...   more »
View Article  Eurozone data harden rate rise expectations

The eurozone's 'Goldilocks' recovery – not too hot, not too cold – extended into April, with economic confidence strong, mortgage lending slowing and inflation falling, according to latest data.

The flurry of economic news is likely to harden expectations that the European Central Bank will increase its main interest rate ...   more »

View Article  House prices ‘pick up’ for April

The latest figures from Nationwide show that the pace of house price growth has picked up for April – but that the overall trend may be towards a gradual cooling of house prices.

Figures for April show that house prices are up 0.9% from the March figure of 0.5%. Annual ...   more »

View Article  'Moderate' growth in US economy

Weakness in manufacturing and the housing market are behind modest overall growth in the US economy, a key snapshot of activity has indicated.

The Federal Reserve's Beige Book, a summary of business views about current economic conditions, found most areas were seeing only moderate growth.

Weakness in the housing market ...   more »

View Article  Buy-to-let home owners to double

The growing population has driven demand for rented homes.

The number of buy-to-let home owners may double in the next three years, a report suggests.

Market research organisation Mintel says 3% of homeowners are thinking of buying another property to let to tenants by 2010.

That would roughly double the ...   more »

View Article  Dominic Farrell - 35% of Liverpool city apartments empty & Polish interest rates

Dear Investor

Another busy week or so with a radio slot to discuss Jet-to-Let in Cyprus , the pitfalls of investing in the North and the latest hotspots. I also spent last Saturday discussing property investment with students on the Bewarethesharks.com course in London and as ever a great turnout ...   more »

View Article  Sharp decline in US house sales

Sales of non-new US homes fell 8.4% in March, the sharpest month-on-month drop for 18 years and a further illustration of weakness in the US housing market.
 
The data, from the National Association of Realtors, also showed the number of homes sold was at a near-four year low.

The ...   more »

View Article  UK sees economic growth quicken

The UK economy grew faster than expected in the three months between January and March, National Statistics figures show.

The economy expanded by 0.7% compared to the previous quarter - better than the 0.6% analysts had forecast.

The figures come after recent data showed a sharp rise in inflation, and ...   more »

View Article  CML reveals highest March lending figure ever
Gross mortgage lending reached a March record of £31.3 billion according to the latest data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. This was a leap of 22% from February's lending figure of £25.5 billion and is 10% higher than the £28.3 billion of lending reached in March last year.

Commenting ...   more »
View Article  Lenders put a stop to fixed rate mortgages
Nationwide, the UK's second largest mortgage lender, has withdrawn its fixed rates, while Alliance & Leicester, Portman, Skipton and Kent Reliance building societies -- all of which boasted best-buy deals up until early last week -- have also shut up shop on their most attractive fixed-rate products.

First-time buyers looking ...   more »
View Article  US to witness weak economic growth
U.S. corporate profits will be smaller, demand for goods will diminish, hiring will slow and weaker growth is expected later this year, a survey released on Monday showed.

The National Association for Business Economics survey of business conditions also found that mortgage defaults forecast later in the year were expected ...   more »
View Article  Mortgage lend in March at record figure

Gross mortgage lending reached a March record of £31.3 billion according to the latest data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. This was a leap of 22% from February's lending figure of £25.5 billion and is 10% higher than the £28.3 billion of lending reached in March last year. The ...   more »

View Article  Growth ease in Retail unlikely to stop interest rate rise

Retail sales growth eased in March – but the Bank of England is still likely to increase interest rates beyond their current level of 5.25%.

After February’s strong rise, the Office for National Statistics today announced sales rose 0.3% up to 4.8% for the year, considerably less than 0.5% rise ...   more »

View Article  US inflation fears ease in March
Concerns about the pace of US inflation eased slightly after official figures showed that a key gauge of price growth declined in March from previous months.

Core inflation, which excludes energy and food costs, rose by 0.1% in March, down from 0.2% in February and 0.3 in January, the Labor ...   more »
View Article  Pound reaches 26-year dollar high

Sterling has continued to climb against the US dollar, moving above $2.01, the highest rate since June 1981.

The currency broke through $2 level on Tuesday after unexpectedly high UK inflation figures indicated further UK interest rate rises were likely.

The Bank of England is widely expected to raise rates ...   more »

View Article  Inflation reaches all time high of 3.1%

Inflation in the UK unexpectedly rose to 3.1% in March, its highest level since comparable records began.

The Bank of England governor will now have to write an unprecedented letter of explanation to the government as to why consumer price inflation is over one percent away from the government’s 2% ...   more »

View Article  Sterling moves in on key $2 mark

Sterling today moved closer to the $2 mark as it hit its highest level against the dollar since September 1992.

Sterling closed in on the key figure after strong producer prices and housing data intimated that the expected interest rates rise is imminent.

Following the Group of Seven meeting at ...   more »

View Article  Asking prices at highest rate for five years

Asking prices for houses in England and Wales have rose at their fastest pace in five years this month, according to property website Rightmove.

According to their monthly survey, Rightmove say the average house price rose 3.6% (£8,300) in value between 11th March and 7th April, the strongest recorded figure ...   more »

View Article  Fed’s President: U.S. economy weaker than expected

Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Plosser said on Tuesday that the U.S. economy is not as strong as the Fed had expected two months ago and prices remained higher.

Personal consumption and employment were strong but business investment was weaker, Plosser said in response to a question after delivering ...   more »

View Article  Buy-to-let portfolios continue to grow

The number of properties in the average landlord’s portfolio has risen since last quarter, according to the most recent research by Paragon Mortgages.

In November 2006, the average number of properties owned by a landlord stood at 10.2, a figure which rose by February to 11.1. In addition, the average ...   more »

View Article  Britons fly the nest later as house prices rise
Spiralling house prices and the growing weight of student debt means young Britons are taking longer to fly the nest, according to the Office for National Statistics.

In 2006 around 60 percent of men and 40 percent of women aged 20 to 24 were living with their parents, significantly higher ...   more »
View Article  Record monthly price growth in Prime Central London

Research carried out by Knight Frank has revealed that house price growth in London has continued to break records. Prime property prices increased by 3.1% in the month of March, the highest monthly rate of growth on record, leading to an annual price growth of an astonishing 32.0%.

The report ...   more »

View Article  Interest Rates Remain at 5.25%

The bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) today decided to hold interest rates at 5.25% for the April meeting. 

Interest rates have risen three times since August, as the MPC try to reign in inflation; consumer prices have remained at 2.8% since falling slightly in January. For now at ...   more »

View Article  House price inflation breaks through 10% barrier
House price inflation broke through the 10% barrier last month as higher interest rates failed to dent activity in Britain's property market, the Halifax said today.

The March jump in prices - which is likely to add to pressure for a fourth upward move in borrowing costs since last summer ...   more »