Vaccinations provide economic hope Although recently released data has revealed a decline in UK economic activity, Bank of England (BoE) Governor Andrew Bailey, has expressed hopes that the vaccine roll-out programme will begin to spark a “pronounced recovery.” The latest gross domestic product (GDP) figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the UK economy shrank by 2.6% Read More
Residential Property Review – January 2021
Momentum in residential market expected to slow The UK residential property market closed 2020 with a bang, with Nationwide reporting annual house price growth of 7.3% in December – a six-year high. In its December UK Residential Market Survey, however, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has pointed to evidence that momentum is starting to fade. While current activity Read More
Economic Review December 2020
Brexit trade talks Following a gruelling nine-month negotiation process, the UK and EU finally agreed and signed a post-Brexit trade deal just a day before the transition period ended. Although the UK officially left the EU on 31 January 2020, trade had continued on the same basis during the 11-month transition period. The two entities moved to new arrangements at Read More
Residential Property Review – December 2020
Positive start for property market in 2021 The property market is expected to start 2021 with a bang, according to experts. Low interest rates, combined with the imminent expiry of both the existing Help to Buy scheme and the Stamp Duty holiday, mean that the market is expected to be busier than ever going into the New Year. Zoopla has Read More
Economic Review November 2020
Spending Review Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced government spending plans for the coming 12 months as part of his Spending Review, delivered to the House of Commons on 25 November. During his statement, Mr Sunak said the government had already spent £280bn supporting the economy through the pandemic and pledged a further £55bn over the coming year as part of Read More
Residential Property Review – November 2020
Housing market activity remains strong The October ‘UK Residential Market Survey‘ from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reported another strong month for the housing market across the UK. The survey feedback indicated that buyer enquiries, agreed sales, new instructions and prices have all remained firm. A net balance of +46% of respondents cited an increase in new buyer Read More
ESG – investor interest piqued?
According to recent figures1, UK-based ESG funds saw record inflows between March and July this year. In July, £362m was invested. Investing according to environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles has been a fast growth area, but you may be left wondering – what does it all mean? ESG refers to three factors used by investment companies to evaluate corporate Read More
Mortgage market makes ‘astonishing’ recovery
Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, positive news about the mortgage market has been hard to come by. Instead, we’ve seen predictions of economic disaster, soaring unemployment rates and a deep property market slump. However, as lockdown restrictions eased, the outlook started to look more hopeful, though infection rates started to rise in early September. Figures from mortgage technology Read More
