020 7538 0102
One in six parents who remortgage their property give the money to their grown-up children with the average financial contribution of £9,050 per child. Analysis by MoneySupermarket found 34% of grownup children use the money to help buy their own home. When quizzed, 32% of parents said they would prefer to accumulate debt themselves, rather than create more money worries for their child.
The I (30/04/2019)
The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is to benefit from what Dr Paul Brickell, the London Legacy Development Corporation’s director of regeneration, describes as the “Bloomsbury effect” – a melange of business, creative and cultural activities bubbling up in the park ahead of the arrival in 2023 of East Bank. The £1.1bn waterside cultural quarter, set between the Olympic Stadium and Westfield Stratford City, will soon host outposts of the London College of Fashion, University College London, the BBC, Sadler’s Wells Theatre, the V&A and the American Smithsonian Institution. Dr Brickell, a molecular biologist and former Newham councillor, said: “Bloomsbury has a mix of cultural, scientific and education institutions, green spaces, beautiful homes and businesses. That’s the kind of mix we are creating”. Homebuyers wishing to be a part of the new community are spoilt for choice; one of the latest to become available is Chobham Manor, a joint venture between Taylor Wimpey and housing association L&Q. Three-bedroom apartments are available from £690,000, while four-bed town houses can be had from £860,000. Those seeking something smaller can choose from one- and two-bedroom apartments from £460,000 and £590,000 respectively.
Evening Standard (24/04/2019)
Buying a home instead of renting can potentially have huge cost savings in the long run. Analysis by mortgage broker Private Finance compared the average cost of buying and renting a £350,000 property on the same street in Brent Cross. Assuming rent rises of 2.5%, the renter will have paid £911,285 over a 40-year period. By contrast a buyer would have spent £574,300, assuming their mortgage rate stayed the same. However mortgage borrowers are likely to see their costs reduce over time, meaning the true figure would be even lower. Homeowners will also benefit from house price rises; assuming an annual growth rate of 1.7% over the 40 years, the buyer will be over £100,000 in profit.
The Daily Telegraph (19/04/2019)
Buying a home instead of renting can potentially have huge cost savings in the long run. Analysis by mortgage broker Private Finance compared the average cost of buying and renting a £350,000 property on the same street in Brent Cross. Assuming rent rises of 2.5%, the renter will have paid £911,285 over a 40-year period. By contrast a buyer would have spent £574,300, assuming their mortgage rate stayed the same. However mortgage borrowers are likely to see their costs reduce over time, meaning the true figure would be even lower. Homeowners will also benefit from house price rises; assuming an annual growth rate of 1.7% over the 40 years, the buyer will be over £100,000 in profit.
The Daily Telegraph (19/04/2019)
Homeowners are increasingly choosing to release cash from their properties to carry out improvements rather than move house, according to UK Finance. The trade body revealed that the number of borrowers releasing equity is at its highest level in more than a decade, with more than 220,000 households having remortgaged last year. Meanwhile, the number of borrowers taking loans to move home remained flat year-on-year. Mortgage expert Ray Boulger, of John Charcol, said: “Stamp duty rates have increased to such a level the tax is depressing the numbers who want to move to a bigger home.” He added that “interest rates are so low, borrowers can increase their mortgage by releasing cash from their homes, without increasing their payment.”
Daily Mail (22/04/2019)
The Isle of Dogs has been named as the most desirable place to live in London, in a list published in the Sunday Times. In its eulogy for the peninsula, the paper describes it as “a hidden, tranquil riverside retreat that feels worlds apart from the capital”, and notes that an average property in the area costs more than £100,000 less than the London average - £526,160, compared with £636,215 for the capital as a whole. Best address, it says, is Burrells Wharf Square, a series of converted Victorian dock buildings which have been converted into riverfront flats, some freehold, that sell for £325,000-£600,000. The Isle of Dogs was followed by Battersea and Belgravia, with Bermondsey and Blackheath filling out the top five.
The Sunday Times (14/04/2019)