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☆ UK sees most widespread house price falls since May 2020: RICS
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said that its house price net balance - which measures the difference between the percentage of surveyors seeing rises and falls in house prices - sank to -25 in November. Price falls were particularly common in southeast and southwest England, while prices continued to rise modestly in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The RICS survey matches other measures of house price weakness from British mortgage lenders. Halifax reported on Wednesday that house prices recorded their biggest monthly drop since 2008 in November, falling by 2.8%, while Nationwide measured its biggest fall since June 2020. A Reuters poll of economists and property market analysts last month forecast house prices would drop around 5% next year, having risen about 24% since early 2020, according to official data.

[1/7] Herbs and micro-greens grown at the underground farm in a disused World War Two bunker using hydroponic technology and LED lighting, powered by renewable energy, are pictured in London, Britain November 24, 2022. REUTERS/Maja SmiejkowskaLONDON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - In an underground World War Two air raid shelter where London tube trains can be heard rattling overhead, aromatic coriander leaves tilt towards the pink glow of LED bulbs - a vision of how farms could look in the future. Zero Carbon Farms grows herbs and salads in Clapham, south London, a densely populated area with no room for conventional agriculture. But 30 metres below ground there is a kilometre of tunnels, and technology has made farming here a reality. "What makes this industry so exciting and challenging is that no one's quite cracked it," said Zero Carbon Farm's business development director Olivia O'Brien.

☆ London’s rental market has become a ‘nightmare.’ Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“I think that I sent over 100 messages to different ads, and I only had [a] reply to 30 messages,” she told CNN Business. ‘You can’t hesitate’Matt Hutchinson, communications director at SpareRoom, told CNN Business that the capital has seen a “huge influx” of students, young people and overseas workers in recent months — demand that the pandemic kept bottled up. Landlords have been leaving the rental market as it becomes less and less profitable. Savills expects the average London rent — across all property types — to jump another 5.5% next year. Sally Vince, who works in commercial property, told CNN Business that after a “very stressful” time looking for her £700 ($832) room this summer, she took what she could get.

☆ Telehealth is soaring. Here's how telecommunications companies are racing to help patients through 5G technology.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Nicholas Fearn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

During the difficult months of lockdown, many healthcare professionals conducted nonemergency appointments remotely to protect their patients and prevent COVID from spreading even further. Sanjiv Gossain, the group vice president and head of EMEA at Verizon Business, said that 5G technology will help the healthcare industry solve some of its biggest challenges. 5G use is increasing in health servicesMore companies are joining the effort to make healthcare more accessible through 5G technology. Joe Drygas, the vice president of healthcare solutions at AT&T, said that 5G will allow even more people to access healthcare globally. While cost and infrastructural challenges remain, 5G technology has already begun to transform healthtech and patient care.

Fueled by a post-lockdown buying frenzy, the average UK house price hit a record £275,000 ($315,474) in December, a £27,000 increase on the previous year’s high. UK mortgage rates have been ticking upwards since spring, in line with rising interest rates. UK house prices fell 0.9% between September and October, the first decline in 15 months, according to data from Nationwide. A drop in buying power makes a significant drop in house prices inevitable, according to Andrew Wishart, a senior economist at Capital Economics. When house prices fall, homeowners feel less confident about their personal finances, causing them to cut back on spending and hold off on making additional investments.

Charles Roe, director of mortgages for banking industry group UK Finance, told lawmakers that lenders were reintroducing mortgage products at lower prices. However, Ray Boulger, senior mortgage technical manager at broker John Charcol, said he was disappointed at the slow progress lenders were making. PRICE FALLS FORECASTAverage two-year and five-year fixed mortgage rates have fallen around 0.2 percentage points from their recent peak, but still remain above 6%, Moneyfacts data shows. "It was 2008 the last time mortgage rates were at 6%, there's a whole cadre of people who have never experienced this...and are very worried," said Joanna Elson, Chief Executive, The Money Advice Trust. The lender has started to reduce fixed mortgage rates for existing customers, while rates for new customers were under review, he added.

☆ UK housing index at 11-year low on rate-hike fears
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Yadarisa Shabong | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterEstate agent signs are seen outside a residential housing in south London, Britain, August 6, 2021. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe housebuilders index fell 6% to hit its lowest level since March 2013. "The weak pound is driving expectations for further rate increases, which means lower house prices," Peel Hunt analyst Sam Cullen said. Shares of Taylor Wimpey hit their lowest since 2014, Persimmon since 2016, and Barratt and Berkeley stocks since March 2020. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Shounak DasguptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Market chaos forces UK lenders to pull mortgage products
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Andy Bruce | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Brokers said the moves were likely just the start of a big shift in Britain's mortgage market. The country's largest mortgage lender Halifax said it was withdrawing its fee-paying mortgage products - where borrowers could pay an arrangement fee in exchange for a lower interest rate - and moving to a full fee-free range. "In response, we will be temporarily withdrawing our New Business Product Range with immediate effect." Virgin Money said its withdrawal of mortgage products for new customers would take place at 8 p.m. (1900 GMT). "That will feed into higher mortgage rates and, as always, it'll be the taxpayer left carrying the can," said Lewis Shaw, founder of broker Shaw Financial Services.

☆ Last two mourners to see Queen Elizabeth's coffin forged friendship that will 'last forever'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Alex-Smith-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Alexander Smith | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON — They forged a friendship that will “last forever” while saying farewell to Queen Elizabeth II. Some mourners waited 12 hours or more for the chance to file past her coffin. Heerey and Mansouri found each other just after 1 a.m. Monday, they told Britain's Press Association news agency in a separate interview. “I call this place home and she made me feel like I was home here,” Mansouri said of the queen. Many lined up through the night to pay their final respects to Elizabeth who reigned for 70 years.

☆ How a man called Alastair Martin helped increase the value of Prince William's property empire by $350 million in less than a decade
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Prince William has inherited a property empire worth $1.2 billion from his father King Charles IIIIn the past nine years, the value of the Duchy of Cornwall's assets has risen by $350 million. When he took over, records show the duchy was making profits of £28 million ($32 million) on assets worth £763 million ($880 million). Since then revenues from commercial activities and the sale of goods has risen by about £5 million ($5.8 million), while agricultural income has barely changed. Last year, the estate bought property worth nearly £42 million ($48.5 million), including several housing developments. But rising activity means operating costs have also doubled, with the duchy now spending more than £6 million ($6.9 million) on its wages bill.

☆ Prince William now owns a prison and a cricket ground after becoming one of Britain's biggest landowners
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-10 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Prince William inherited a property estate worth more than $1 billion, per The Guardian. He automatically inherited the Duchy of Cornwall estate after his father became King Charles. Charles himself inherited the estate at the age of 21 and it generated revenues of $24 million last year. It includes The Oval cricket ground in south London, Dartmoor prison, and the mineral rights of a tin mine in Cornwall. The Oval cricket ground in south London is part of the Duchy of Cornwall.

☆ Making a ‘squat’ a home
▼ + stars: | 2015-02-08 | by ( Laura Smith-Spark | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Photographer Corinna Kern Corinna KernHaving moved into her new home in a squat in Kentish Town, north London, Kern had to figure out how to coexist in one building with 30 people and three dogs. “The unusualness of the different places, which may not comply with the idea of home in the common sense, intrigued me and shaped my project.”All the squats Kern visited were in former commercial premises. A law enacted in September 2012 made it illegal to squat in residential properties. “The squatting lifestyle attracts many individuals on their search for adventure, freedom, friendship and self-discovery. From her images and her words, it’s clear she found her time in a squat an overwhelmingly rewarding experience.

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