News Archive: 2008: July

19 November, 2008:

Tracking Northern Rock

Northern Rock, the state-owned bank, has reduced the cost of its fixed-rate mortgages but increased rates on its new tracker deals by half a per centage point...

The Greatest House on earth?

You would expect Cecil B DeMille to have lived in a spectacular Hollywood manner, and his 11,000sq ft Spanish-style Los Angeles mansion doesn't disappoint...

Scots failing to deliver?

NLA Scotland has accused the Scottish Government of failing landlords on the forthcoming introduction of Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) legislation...

Reluctant landlords

The National Landlords Association (NLA), the largest national body for private-residential landlords, has today said that the new breed of ‘reluctant landlords' poses a major risk to the overall health of the British rental market...

Strife for New South Wales

Victorian Premier John Brumby says the Federal Government should not offer New South Wales any one-off payments to help dig it out of its financial strife...

Fuelling the fire

Inflation is now dropping at its fastest rate for 16 years thanks to falling fuel prices...

Zero carbon for Wales

TCPA Wales has joined over 40 organisations in signing up to a Declaration supporting the Assembly Government's aspiration for a zero carbon built environment for Wales...

Something old, something true

Foreclosed property values are to be taken into account by real estate agents in some part of the US to give a truer indication of price for tax purposes...

Bright future for Abu Dhabi

The UAE Federal Government and capital are booming, and the future is rich with possibilities for the people of the federation and its friends...

Returning to Australia

Cautious investors, who have shunned residential property in Australia in light of the market downturn, may be on the brink of returning to the sector as interest rates drop and the share market remains volatile...

And the survey says...

The latest lettings survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said frustrated home owners were unable to sell their properties due to a lack of buyers created by the drying up of mortgage finance...

18 November, 2008:

Great Dane

What do a Sydney pub, a Tasmanian estate agent and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark have in common?

Living like Kings

Turkey is officially the most popular tourist destination for the British and Irish in 2008 according to the Co-op Travel...

The winner takes it all

Not another one, I hear you cry - but yes, the property competition phenomenon is still raging on, fuelled by sellers eager to escape the economic downturn. But now these jackpot vendors are being warned by the Law Society to tread carefully or risk breaking the law...

New European Capital of Culture

Demand is increasing for property in the Turkish city of Istanbul, it has been claimed...

Spain still a solid investment

For those who treat Spanish property as a long-term concern the current market provides excellent opportunities...

Older and wiser?

Growing numbers of older people are being denied proper access to housing choice, the Retirement Homes Group said today..

New market will fare better

The property market in Abu Dhabi is in a good position to resist the global real estate downturn because it is still relatively new, according to analysts...

Boris to bring relief

Boris Johnson asks Government to reintroduce empty rate relief...

Dubai's new registration

Dubai Land Department's new online application system has already registered more than 80,000 units...

Fair price for farmers

National Farmers Union President Peter Kendall has urged retailers to 'end bully-boy tactics' and pay a fair price to farmers...

Japan's shopping sector

Property prices in Japan are continuing to fall in price with the retail sector particularly badly hit amid signs that developers are now struggling...

UAE to offer world class education

Dr Tayeb A. Kamali, Vice- Chancellor of the Higher College of Technology in the UAE has made a promise to provide world class higher education and a more comprehensive assessment technique in the UAE...

Canada buying mortgages

The Canadian Government is to buy up £21.7 billion in insured mortgages from banks as part of a series of initiatives to shore up the property market...

Sellers decline

The number of homeowners selling their properties has dropped by 43 per cent in the past year, as falling house prices deter potential sellers...

Bulgaria out in the cold

Holiday resort operators in Bulgaria are admitting that they expect the 2009 summer season to be particularly bad...

Desperate times

Increasingly desperate sellers are slashing asking prices for residential property in England and Wales according to a survey published today...

One of a kind

Lambeth Council's number crunchers have taken on the credit crunch and come up with a series of solutions to help soften the impact of the financial crisis, including the local authority offering mortgages to residents...

Mine the gap

Brazil's mining industry leaders say the bulk of a five-year multi-billion dollar investment is on track despite the global financial crisis, it has been reported...

Landlords losing out?

Up to 40 per cent of landlords with a buy-to-let mortgage could be in negative equity by the middle of next year, a ratings agency warned...

17 November, 2008:

Gypsies are doing it for themselves

Have you ever thrown open your curtains in the morning and been confronted with a gypsy site that has sprung up overnight? With the introduction of the Government's new ‘land grab' policy, you could well have a new view tomorrow morning...

What credit crunch?

In a display of true ‘glass half full' optimism, a New York apartment has been put onto the market for a whopping £42 million, making it the most expensive apartment in the city. It seems the superrich are still buying and selling...

It's all about the winning

New Zealand has added yet another accolade to its overflowing stash of international plaudits, bagging the top spot in two categories in the World Travel Awards...

Dubai's new centre

A new mixed-use development project in Dubai will become central to the development of the city, it has been claimed...

New tenant for Canary Wharf

US bank JP Morgan has confirmed plans to move to London's Canary Wharf in a £237 million deal...

Europe's leading shopping venue

London's West End is officially Europe's leading shopping destination, according to research by Experian...

BBC hit by CC?

The BBC is reviewing its property plans, including the potential sale of Television Centre in West London, as a result of the credit crunch...

Moving to Australia?

The Aussie state of Victoria has undertaken a number of overseas recruitment activities to attract engineers to the state...

Grey pound keeps Menorca buoyant

Currency buying options increase the appeal of this Spanish island for property buyers wanting to escape the UK...

Anything goes in Australia

An Australian holiday resort in north Queensland will hold a month-long, nude ‘anything goes' party in March aimed at combating the global credit crunch...

What drives Brits to Spain?

A new survey shows most people state the weather as the main reason for buying property in Spain...

Keeping track

Tracker mortgage rates are starting to fall but they are still 1.66 per cent over the Bank of England base rate...

Homeowners naive to falls?

The average homeowner thinks their house dropped £1,233 in value in the last three months, six per cent less than actual falls...

Golden years

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a popular destination for British expats who move abroad when they retire, a new survey has suggested...

Get active, Government!

Four fifths of British people want the Government to be more active in helping homeowners at risk of having their homes repossessed...

UAE building confidence

The United Arab Emirates Government is committed to building confidence in the property market and is actively exploring initiatives to boost confidence in the sector, it is claimed...

First time for everything

Although the availability of houses at lower prices should in theory benefit first-time buyers (FTBs), the virtual disappearance of low-deposit mortgages is still making it difficult for FTBs to get on to the housing ladder...

Buy to let buy more

Mortgage Works, a subsidiary of Nationwide, has conducted a survey of brokers which indicates that buy-to-let professionals are intending to buy more properties over the next year...

Wales in deep water

House prices in Wales plunged further than anywhere else in Britain over the last year, according to new figures released today...