Help to Buy has now helped almost 88,420 people to purchase a home, the UK government has announced, but new research suggests that the scheme is being held back by one of the problems it is designed to solve. The scheme was introduced in 2013 to help taxpayers who could pay a mortgage but couldnât afford the high deposits demanded by lenders in the wake of the financial crisis. It was joined by the...
The UK's new Start Homes scheme has now officially launched, offering 100,000 cut-price homes to first-time buyers with 20 per cent off their asking price. The discount is made possible by cutting planning requirements, allowing house builders to slash 20 per cent off the usual price. With average house prices for first time buyers in England standing at around £218,000, a new Starter Home could save...
Planning to sell your home by the summer? You have 26 days, according to one estate agent. Research from Move With Us reveals that homeowners who want to sell their house by the start of the school summer holidays should put it on the market by 22 March. While the date may sound like a long way ahead of the sunny months, the gap will give them a chance of moving into their next home before the start...
Spain's tourist industry is soaring, according to new figures. The number of foreign arrivals in the country almost reached 65 million in 2014, data from the government reveals, while Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has confirmed that between them visitors spent an impressive â¬63 billion, up 6.5 per cent on the previous year. The country's tourism minister hailed it as âone of the key sectors in...
A chronic supply shortage in the UK is fueling a rise in UK property prices. The UK housing stock has struggled to meet demand for many years, following a long period of low construction levels. New figures from Rightmove, though, highlight the increasing impact the imbalance is having upon the country's property prices, with values climbing at the start of the year, despite a slowdown in the...
Demand for rental property in the UK is outstripping supply, an imbalance that is driving up rates. The private rented sector in the UK remains highly sought after, as high house prices and a rising cost of living leaves many potential homeowners unable to climb onto the property ladder. Instead, renting has become the long-term option, with "Generation Rent" growing in size. The recently introduced...
New flights to Turkey are set to give the country's property market a lift this year. New summer flights will launch this April, from London to south-west Turkey, which will make beach resorts there more accessible to British tourists. Agents say that this will boost awareness of Turkish property, as well as encourage interest. The country is already popular as a holiday destination. Indeed, 36.8...
Momentum in the middle of the US housing market is set to drive a strong recovery this year, according to experts. Figures from Clear Capital show that there is a growing gap between the bottom and top tiers of the US property market, an opening that is expected to restore healthy demand from both first-time and traditional buyers. All major regions of the US saw sales decline in December 2014,...
UK house prices enjoyed a surprise rebound at the start of the year, according to Halifax. The lender's latest house price index says that prices jumped 2 per cent in January 2015 compared to December 2014, the biggest monthly increase recorded in January since 2009. The small rebound occurs following the goverment's reform of Stamp Duty, which was forecast by experts to stimulate sales following several...