News Archive: 2006: December

22 December, 2006:

Buy-to-let investors made 11.4% this year

In another buoyant year for buy-to-let, the average investor made 11.4% this year in capital and rental income…

Alternative buyers drive the housing market

No longer is Mr & Mrs average with 2.4 children driving the housing market it seems…

Housebuilder looks to build up land bank

Housebuilder Persimmon foresees further increases in house prices a wants a bigger land bank…

21 December, 2006:

BoE minutes give little away about future hike

All nine members of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted to keep the interest rate on hold at 5% this month, but their differing views don’t give any clues for future movements…

4 hotspots to look out for in 2007!

International property company escapes2.com are tipping Panama City, Jersey, Istanbul and Slovakia as hot prospects for 2007...

Top forecaster predicts 15% house price hike

House prices will soar by 15% next year, according to Britain's top-notch forecaster…

Final growth spurt for French economy

Investors in France will relieved to hear that the country's economy has bounced back in the last three months of 2006 after a worrying performance in the preceding quarter, reports AFP...

Africa has fastest tourism growth

In 2006, Africa will be for the second consecutive year the fastest-growing region in international tourist arrivals, confirms the World Tourism Organization...

Hips association gets membership boost

The Association of Home Information Pack Providers has revived a boost in membership as more companies recognise the need for a proactive role ahead of the June deadline…

Indian economic growth cruising above 9%

India is still hitting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's "ambitious but feasible" 9% annual growth target, reports Nick Booker of www.in2perspective.com...

All-time mortgage lending record broken

Mortgage lending rose to an all-time record level in November, the Council of Mortgage Lenders reported…

South Africa acts to limit coastal construction

South Africa’s government has recently passed a draft bill limiting property development and ownership in coastal areas which many are interpreting as a step to restrict foreign investment in these areas, reports www.fly-2let.co.uk...

20 December, 2006:

Canadian rental vacancy rate inches down

The average rental apartment vacancy rate in Canada's 28 major centres decreased slightly by 0.1 of a percentage point to 2.6 per cent in October 2006 compared to last year, according to the Rental Market Survey released this month by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)...

House price index summary

An inclusive summary of all the major UK house price indices provides a comprehensive overview of market activity…

New home starts inch higher in Australia

The number of new home starts in Australia barely changed in the September 2006 quarter as new housing demand continued to struggle against poor housing affordability, reports HIA Economics Group...

New Zealand residential property rises 9.4%

QV’s November statistics released this month show national growth in residential property values of 9.4% over the past year...

Bonus expectations push enquiries

Forecasts of 18% higher bonuses have already pushed property enquiries by 20%...

‘Cut my tax to go green’

Half of all British consumers think it would be too expensive to make their homes energy efficient, but a growing number say they would go green if they were offered financial incentives..,

Under-30s to struggle with bills this winter

Winter bills may spell trouble for young Britons…

19 December, 2006:

Morocco market motors on

With the English & Irish now rubbing shoulders with the ever growing number of French & Spanish buying property in Morocco, the North Africa hotspot is set for a busy 2007, reports Property Borders...

Landlords manoeuvre over looming issues

The mainstream rental market continues to flourish, according to ARLA, but trouble could arise if some problems are not addressed swiftly…

Green light for power station sized wind farm

The world’s biggest wind farm with 341 turbines in 144 sq miles has been given the go-ahead by Whitehall…

Still a castle – but just one occupant

In 20 years time, the number of single person households will increase by over 50% as disintegration of the nuclear family will proliferate in the UK…

Lithuania tipped for top in 2007

Estate agents Knight Frank have predicted that Lithuania will experience the highest capital growth of any European residential property market in 2007...

Australian growth and inflation picking up

The last 4 weeks in Australia have proved frustrating and fascinating. The cricket has been depressing but the chance to see most of East Coast Australia has been a revelation, writes Douglas McWilliams of the Centre for Economics and Business Research...

Rental ROI in Cyprus is 6.3%, survey reveals

With Cyprus earmarked as one of the investment hotspots for 2007, leading ‘for rent by owner’ holiday home site, www.holiday-rentals.co.uk surveyed its owners in order to quantify the actual rental return on investment potential buyers can expect...

U.S. recession looming in 2007?

Well, the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington D.C. certainly thinks so....

Planning to move stateside?

Secure your currency funds now while the dollar is at a low, recommend currency specialists HiFX...

Romanians on holiday

Research conducted by the International Marketing Research & Communication Group (IMRCG) has revealed that the number of Romanians taking holidays in their own country each year is increasing...

House prices rise to reach ‘inflation plateau’

House price inflation reached a plateau in November even though prices were up for the 13th month in a row…

18 December, 2006:

Six years off your mortgage in your stocking

What most people want for this Christmas is less debt - and many plan to reduce their mortgage term using their average Christmas bonus of over £1500…

Flood of properties set to halt price rises

An historic low in the supply of homes has driven prices artificially high, but this is all set to change according to a new report…

More planners are taking heed of flood risks

Local planning authorities are increasingly heeding Environment Agency advice over development on flood plains, according to new figures…

Emerging markets drive global growth as developed countries slow

According to a new report, an upbeat picture for the global economy rests largely on exceptionally strong growth in some of the world's more exotic markets, as some of the key developed economies falter...

Newly built homes set to finish year on a high

Despite a dip in prices over the summer months the average price of a newly built home is expected to finish above that recorded at the same time last year…

15 December, 2006:

House-swapping undraped

House swapping is mildly popular and may become more so as the home-swapping film 'The Holiday' gets around but is the trend just a homely holiday or a residential road-test?

CML sees rising house prices in 2007 and 2008

The strength of demand relative to supply will remain a structural feature of the housing market for the foreseeable future, said the Council of Mortgage Lenders…

Buyers give frosty reception to lit-up facades

Christmas lights are bad news for buyers, whether they are on the house being sold or the one next door…

Don't get into festive swag mood

Burglars just love the festive season, with New Year’s Eve running as top spot in a spell of quick gains that starts now…

Brits top for time off

The Brits are no slouches when it comes to taking an extended break during the Christmas holiday season, a TripAdvisor survey has found...

14 December, 2006:

Ofcom moves on broadband home moving issues

New rules from Ofcom will compel broadband suppliers to help people switch between providers and resolve home moving issues…

Thousands of cancer patients lose their homes

First, your main thing is to survive. Then as you start to recover, you encounter all these money problems. “You feel like you are being punished. It’s harder than all the other stuff you have to go through…”

Public under-informed about housing market

A new poll reveals the house buying public are unaware of basic facts about the buying and selling process…

UK slips to relegation zone in EU growth league

Despite economic growth picking up, the United Kingdom has slipped three positions in the European Union growth league to fourth bottom, reports the Centre for Economics and Business Research...

Momentum will support house prices until summer

Nationwide’s forecast for 2007 says that momentum will support prices for the first half of 2007 but deepening affordability problems and will cause a sharper cooling and a lower outturn by the year end…

13 December, 2006:

Identity fraud takes four million victims

In seven years identity fraud has increased by 500% and now more than four million people in Britain have now fallen victim to it.

Nearly one in ten Brits live abroad

More than 198,000 British nationals moved overseas last year, bringing the total number of Brits abroad to more than 5.5 million, according to new research from the Institute for Public Policy Research, published this week...

London first time buyers ‘wary’ as prices rise

Housing market activity in London remains strong, but not with first-time buyers, according to a report from haart…

Interest in fixed rate mortgages soars

Record level of borrowers opt for five year fixed rates after further interest rate rise…