Steven Lees, Director at SmartNewHomes, comments on RIBA’s The way we live now research report:

“Housebuilders want to build homes that are attractive and comfortable places to live and welcome feedback from buyers. Research shows that 17% of living space in older properties often goes unused, which translates to £34,000 of a £200,000 house going to waste. New homes are designed to make clever use of space and are intended to serve the needs of homeowners over the long term with rooms and areas that can be adapted depending on need. These include bonus rooms which can be used as quiet study spaces for young professionals or as additional bedrooms for growing families with 70% of buyers saying new homes better reflect homeowners’ needs.”

For more information and to search the database of new homes visit: www.smartnewhomes.com

Wriglesworth Vlog: Paper Summary for 16th May 2012

The key macro-economic, personal finance and property stories from today’s papers, read by Wriglesworth director James Staunton.

 

Wriglesworth Paper Summary – 16th May 2012

Economics

The Express says the UK government is powerless to stop our continental neighbours from destroying the last remnants of their prosperity – but David Cameron should tell the bickering participants in the Eurozone to either make up or break up.  But City AM’s Allister Heath says Greece will quit the euro and that it’s time to start preparing for the Grexit.  He says the UK governments’ sole mission should now be to protect UK taxpayers.  The Sun says George Osborne can no longer blame eurozone woes for our double-dip recession; the cuts are not enough – he must get Britain moving!  Like the Express, The Mirror also urges the Greeks to deliver a decisive verdict: if they’re in or out of the euro; and if they are for or against austerity.

Personal Finance

Million of older workers face poverty in retirement as they look set to have less than the minimum wage as their pension according to Sarah O’Grady in the Daily Express.
Property

Although it’s a light day in the national papers for property stories, the Scottish papers report LSL Property Services Scottish House Price Index extensively.  Both the Scottish Daily Express and The Scotsman report a surge in first time buyers pushing up prices – those stories are on page 2 and 3 respectively.

Recruitment

The Mail dedicates it’s editorial to an attack on working from home – the astonished that civil servants are to be allowed to work from home for two months during the Olympics.  Still focusing on the public sector, The Sun reports public sector workers take sixty per cent more sick leave than employees in private firms.  Elsewhere, we can expect UK unemployment figures today.  Last month unemployment was shown to have fallen for the first time in almost a year, by 35,000 in the three months to February to 2.65 million, while the unemployment rate was 8.3pc.  The number of unemployed 16 to 24-year-olds fell by 9,000 to 1.03 million.  In the FT, Liam Fox argues the reason Germany has lower unemployment than the UK, is because it has a more deregulated jobs market (in the UK, the cost of defending dismissal claims cost business £1.6bn in 2010), has improved its education system, and managed the cost of childcare better.  He says that sadly, these reforms are anathema to many Liberal Democrats.

Wriglesworth Vlog: Paper Summary for 15th May 2012

The key macro-economic, personal finance and property stories from today’s papers, read by Wriglesworth junior account executive Flora Spens

Wriglesworth Paper Summary – 15th May 2012

Ministers expect the economy to grow 0.8% as predicted a couple of months ago in the Budget as fears of the future of the euro haunt the financial markets. A chaotic euro break up could trigger the most extreme global banking crisis for a century. Shares around the world took a major downturn yesterday which led to warnings that a Greek exit would trigger a loss of confidence and rip the single currency apart. The Treasury is preparing for more downgrades toBritain’s gloomy economic outlook as the European debt crisis threatens to extend the recession. It could create a £100 billion hit to the UK’s national income. .(The Times, p1, Sam Fleming)

In property news, home buyers can expect interest rates to stay at their record low until the end of 2013  and maybe even into 2014, the Bank of England is expected to announce tomorrow. low interest rates are good news for home owners or people with a big enough deposit to access mortgages. Homes become more affordable, provided one can build a mortgage needed to take advantage. Banks and building societies can’t afford to sustain their current levels of high loan-to-value lending. They are also concerned about their exposure to the debt-riddled European countries, and the increasingly precarious state of borrower finances in theUK. Many lenders are still cash-strapped and the housing slump will not disappear quickly as many homes are not selling. Banks and building societies have had to scale back lending to first time buyers. However, in some regions house price falls are making deposits more realistic for buyers. (Daily Express, Sarah O’Grady, p2)

The number of men doing part time work has more than doubled in the past four years according to a study by the TUC. Latest official figures indicate that 1.4 million people were working part time because they cannot find full time employment, the highest since records began in 1992. (Independent, Nick Goodway, p.55)

Major concerns have been raised over The Coalition’s Work Programme. As much as £1 billion of taxpayers’ money is being spent on searching for jobs for unemployed people despite the fact they were capable of finding work without any help, according to the spending watchdog. The Commons public accounts committee will raise their concerns in a report which will express worries about companies getting paid at least £400 just to assess each individual candidate, when many believe they would be in the same position regardless of whether they are involved in the programme, whilst some companies maybe taking their fees for those easy to help and ignoring more difficult cases.(The Guardian, p4, Rowena Mason)

News Headlines for Monday 14th May

Business/Economy/Health Care

Speculation regarding Greece’s divorce for the EU continues to increase, FT p 1 & everywhere

NHS community care is failing (RCN survey) Guardian p 4 

 

Property

Dragon Den’s James Caan aims to fill bank lending gap with property startups, seeking to back 12 ventures with £500m, FT p 20

Royal Mail to close half of its London sorting offices and seek planning for residential development, Guardian p 20 

 

Recruitment/Employment

Jobs Market may be recovering according to employers survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development. FT p 4

 Canary Wharf will, over next 2 months, become the biggest employer of bankers in Europe (FT research). Makes up for City of London’s reduced influence, FT p 3

 

Wriglesworth Vlog: Paper Summary for 14th May 2012

The key macro-economic, personal finance and property stories from today’s papers, read by Wriglesworth Chief Executive John Wriglesworth

News Round Up for Sunday 13th May

Personal Finance

Mortgage lenders are cuttings the value of properties by almost 20% as the recovery of the housing market runs out of steam. RICS warned last week that prices were set to weaken again after a strong start to the year, with sales falling last month for the first time since September. Sunday Times Money section, Esther Shaw, pg 6.

 

 

Property

House prices at the top of the market are still resisting the credit crunch, figures from HSBC show. While most ordinary homes have fallen in price, prime properties are still increasing. A total of 7,484 properties sold for a seven figure sum last year, a 57% increase on the 2009 total but still short of the 8,843 homes sold in 2007. Sunday Telegraph Rosie Murray-West pg 2 Money

 

Recruitment

William Hague tells workforce to ‘work harder’ to help revive the economy and drag the country out of recession. Mr Hague tells business critics (including Justin King of Sainsbury’s) to stop ‘complaining’ and ‘get on with the task of delivering more jobs’. In an interview which echoed Lord Tebbit’s get on your bike speech, Hague told Patrick Hennessy in an exclusive interview that ‘there’s only one growth strategy: hard work’. Sunday Telegraph, pg 1 and 4.

 

Corporate

Five stages of separation: how Greece could leave the Eurozone, Voters in Greece turn against austerity and CitiGroup predicts there is a 75% chance will pull out of the single currency within the next 18 months. Observer, Julia Kollewe, pg 44, ‘Exit makes economic sense. The pain would be over quickly” Comment from Larry Elliot, economics editor at Observer, pg 45, and elsewhere.

Wriglesworth Vlog: Paper Summary for 11th May 2012

The key macro-economic, personal finance, property and recruitment stories from today’s papers, read by Wriglesworth junior account manager Laura Scarrott.

Stuart Law, Chief Executive of Assetz, comments on the CML’s buy to let lending figures for the first quarter of 2012:

“We saw a modest shift towards buyers using cash rather than mortgages to fund buy to let investments in the first quarter of 2012, perhaps due to a mild slowdown in lending given the Basel III capital restrictions. Nonetheless, the 32% growth year-on-year for new buy to let lending mimics our own experience in the market with a growing appetite for property from investors.

“It is encouraging that buy to let mortgage arrears continue to fall, and given the relative security of the sector versus the home mortgage market it is unsurprising that buy to let lending is taking on a greater share of the market.”