Sunday, October 31, 2004 
Economist.com: Britain's economy Domestic consumer spending, sustained by a housing bubble, kept Britain out of recession, but added to worries about its savings rate. In February 2003, the Bank of England cut its growth forecast, and in July 2003 Mervyn King, the bank's governor, slashed interest rates to their lowest level in 48 years, even though inflation was already above its target.
ThisisLondon: Rate rises 'not over yet' A STRONG warning of another rise in interest rates will be published tomorrow, ahead of this week's meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee.
Guardian Unlimited Money: Economics guru warns of end to spending spree Britain's long-running consumer boom will come to an end in 2005 as a slowdown in the housing market forces a bout of belt-tightening, economist Roger Bootle warns today.
Sunday Times: Slowdown? What slowdown? Base rate might rise to 6%
High money growth risks another boom-bust cycle and most forecasters are being too complacent, argues Tim Congdon
The Observer | Business | Economics guru warns of end to spending spree: " UK economy for accountant Deloitte and Touche, Bootle predicts that consumer spending will grow by just 1 per cent next year, the slowest pace since 1992, when the economy was in deep recession.
Times Online - Flight from buy-to-let may spark crash NERVOUS landlords are selling their buy-to-let properties as interest-rate hikes begin to bite. New investors are not coming forward to plug the gap, raising fears that a retreat from buy-to-let could trigger a plunge in house prices.
Saturday, October 30, 2004
INDEPENDENT: Homeowners boxed in as property prices wobble Talk of whether the property market is going to crash or not has become almost an obsession for those who like to discuss the value of their home around the dinner table. And last week's figures from the UK's biggest building society, revealing the first drop in house prices for three years, will not have made for comfortable conversations.
Telegraph: House price sanity Many readers will be surprised to find The Telegraph, of all newspapers, welcoming a fall in house prices. After all, we have been champions of home-ownership for 150 years. But we are not turncoats: we believe that order is at last returning to the market, and that this is nothing to worry about.
Times Online - Borrowers taking on new debt to avoid repossession CITIZENS ADVICE this week urged homeowners who are struggling with mortgage payments to be wary of taking on more debt to avoid losing their homes.
FT.com / Your money - Sarah Ross: Piling on debt Bank of England figures released yesterday show that lending to individuals has risen again - to just over £1,000bn in September, about £21,000 for each adult in the UK. Of this debt, £852bn is secured against property and the rest is consumer credit
Telegraph | News | House prices 'may fall 25 per cent' House prices may fall by up to a quarter over the coming years, one of Britain's top economists said yesterday.
Bloomberg.com: Bank of England Has Underestimated Pound's Strength, NIESR SaysThe pound may have performed more strongly against the currencies used by the U.K.'s trading partners than the Bank of England estimates, restraining inflation, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research said
Friday, October 29, 2004
Mortgage demand slows AGAIN THE number of people taking mortgages last month was just 89,000 – the lowest figure since August 2000. It is a sharp decline from the summer when mortgage approvals averaged 102,000, according to the Bank of England, and a peak of 132,000 last December.
Mortgage Introducer: Nationwide catches up with housing market, according to haart estate agents Estate agents haart have reacted to the latest house price figures from the Nationwide building society.
Guardian: Economists warn of big tax rise Taxes will almost certainly rise in the next parliament by three pence in the pound if Gordon Brown is to meet his self-imposed "golden rule" for the public finances, leading economists said yesterday.
The Sun Newspaper: HOUSING CRASH ON CARDS? HOUSE prices have fallen for the first time in three years. Britain’s biggest building society Nationwide recorded a 0.4 per cent fall in October. This means the average home now costs £152,159 — down from £153,727 in September. That’s a drop of £52.27 EVERY DAY in the past month.
Headline news from Sky News: LIVING ON CASH KNIFE-EDGE Many Britons are living dangerously close to their financial limits, according to new research. A report by internet bank cahoot found that 27% admitted that even a small increase in their spending, such as a rise in interest rates or even paying for a holiday, would cause real financial strain.
Business World: UK growth to slow next year, says report The UK economy is set to grow around its trend rate over the next two years but inflation is set to rise towards the government's target as a tight labour market feeds through into higher wages, a leading think-tank said today.
Times Online - Digging themselves deeper into debt HOMEOWNERS in mortgage arrears are plunging themselves deeper in to debt by borrowing more as they battle to keep their property, the Citizens Advice Bureau gave warning yesterday.
Telegraph | News | House prices 'to continue falling' House prices are falling throughout Britain for the first time in three years, in a sign that the property market has taken a decisive turn for the worse.
Guardian Unlimited Money | Special_reports | Fears growing for big drops in house prices Further evidence that the housing market has run out of steam emerged yesterday as the Nationwide reported the first fall in prices for three years.
Telegraph | News | House prices 'to continue falling' House prices are falling throughout Britain for the first time in three years, in a sign that the property market has taken a decisive turn for the worse.
Independent News: "House prices go into reverse as rate rises take their toll" House prices posted their first monthly drop in three years in October, Nationwide said yesterday. But the building society went on to say it felt a sustained period of falling prices seemed unlikely while the jobs market remained strong.
News & Markets: House prices 'could tumble 25%' FEARS of a housing crash escalated today after a top City economist said a fall of between 20% and 25% in property prices could not be ruled out.
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Guardian Unlimited Money | How low will they go? The warning signs have been there for a while, and now it seems as if house prices really are tumbling
This is Money: Repossessions on the rise More homeowners are failing to meet their mortgage repayments than at any time over the last four years.
BBC NEWS | Business | UK house prices 'fell in October' UK house prices fell by 0.4% in October - the biggest decline since February 2001 - according to the Nationwide.
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Reuters: Q3 mortgage possession actions soar The number of court actions entered to repossess British homes in the third quarter rose to its highest level since early 2000, official data showed on Wednesday, a sign that dearer mortgages may be hurting.
Interactive Investor: UK net mortgage lending set to be relatively weaker in next few months - BBA British Bankers' Association warned of a further decline in mortgage lending over the coming months.
Reuters: UK mortgage approvals down sharply in Sept The number of British loan approvals for home purchase fell 29 percent in September on a year earlier in a fresh sign the housing market is losing steam
Property finance news: BUY-TO-LET LIES EXPOSED Estate agents are regularly boosting estimates of the returns likely from rental properties in order to hook the buy-to-let market.
Guardian Unlimited Money: Don't raise rates, CBI urges Bank of England Further evidence of the impact of record oil prices and a slowing world economy on Britain's manufacturers emerged yesterday as the CBI published a survey showing business confidence had slumped to its lowest level in over a year.
Western Daily Press: NO HOMES CRASH SAYS WESTBURY Housebuilder Westbury was able to shrug off any suggestion of a market meltdown yesterday with a 22 per cent leap in profits and an upbeat forecast. The Cheltenham group also raised its dividend by 20 per cent and promised double-digit growth in the payout for the long term.
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
ic Wales - Turning point in market reached THE Principality Building Society says its latest figures show the housing market has reached a turning point.
ic Wales: HAS THE HOUSING BUBBLE BURST? People in Wales have spent the past few years watching as their homes have become transformed into gold mines. But can it go on forever, asks Darren Devine as he examines whether the housing bubble in Wales has burst
Bloomberg.com:December Fed Rate Increase Predicted by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan
The Federal Reserve will surprise investors by raising its interest-rate target for overnight loans between banks in December, economists at Goldman, Sachs & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. said.
Reuters: GDP data may overstate weakness Official figures may be overstating the weakness of the economy in the third quarter, a Bank of England policymaker says.
East Anglian Daily Times: Tax clampdown on empty homes THE owners of holiday homes and empty properties in the Tendring district look set to pay almost twice as much council tax.
Monday, October 25, 2004
Guardian: Inflation will remain stable, says Bank Inflation is set to stay low and stable despite some violent swings in the price of goods and services, a senior member of the Bank of England said today.
Times Online: Thousands of jobs to go in BBC shake-up THE BBC is finalising plans to cut up to a quarter of its 28,000 workforce in the biggest single reorganisation in its history. About 6,000 jobs are under threat from next year, although the final number of redundancies is yet to be decided, according to current thinking among BBC senior managers.
Find a Property: London Falling House prices fell in every borough in London last month as the market dipped by an average of -1.1 per cent, says Hometrack...October's fall follows last month's drop of -0.7 per cent and represents the fourth consecutive month in which London house prices have dropped. The average London house price now stands at £268,800.
ITV: House prices 'will keep on falling' Figures showed property price falls for the fourth consecutive month, down 0.6 per cent according to latest research, which predicts more falls to come.
Telegraph: New tax threat for older homeowners Fears are growing that tens of thousands of older homeowners could be hit by a new form of income tax that will take effect next April.
Headline news from Sky News: OIL PRICES HIT NEW HIGH Oil prices have hit another record high above $55 a barrel as a strike by Norwegian ship owners threatens to halt production in the world's third biggest exporting nation.
Western Daily Press: HOUSE PRICES FALL MOST IN WEST Not a single county experienced a price rise. Analysts have denied the fall is a sign of an impending property market crash, even though this is the fourth consecutive month of falls.
Times Newspaper Edition: How house prices affect inflation THE TIMES is running a fortnightly economic briefing to coincide with Target 2 Point 0, the competition for schools run in conjunction with the Bank of England. Target 2 Point 0 challenges schools to play the role of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) and recommend a level for interest rates.
Times Online: House prices fall as buyers wither away HOUSE prices have fallen for the fourth consecutive month, confirming that the boom in property prices is over. Figures for the property market in September, released today by Hometrack, an independent data company, reveal that the average house price fell from its peak of £167,000 in May to £165,800 — a drop of 1.5 per cent.
Headline news from Sky News: MONEY WORRIES INCREASE The number of people worried about meeting their financial commitments in the next three months has more than doubled, latest figures reveal.
This is Money: Homeowners told not to fear crash HOME-owners have been told to expect house prices to continue to fall over the next few months, but not to fear an all-out property crash.
Reuters: Biggest drop in house prices in three years House prices in England and Wales fell in October at their steepest monthly pace in three years, property research company Hometrack says, the latest evidence of a once-booming market rapidly losing steam.
Sunday, October 24, 2004
This is Money: Money Mail Vote What change in house prices do you expect over the next 12 months?
Times Online: Unmarried couples may face new tax on homes THOUSANDS of unmarried couples who bought houses together over the past 18 years could be hit by a new tax from the Inland Revenue, The Times has learnt.
Chancellor: 'I won't risk economy'Chancellor Gordon Brown has faced down critics in the City and the trade unions by insisting he will not relax financial disciplines in response to threatened strikes and soaring oil prices. Economists have warned that Mr Brown is in danger of breaking his "golden rule" because of worsening Treasury finances.
housefund.co.uk: Property Crash Warning to the IrishThe Economist has warned of a property crash in Ireland - reports AIB bank. The Economist believes that house prices in Dublin are evidence of a "frenzy" and in a report on the Irish economy, it believes that house prices could fall drastically.
Scotland on Sunday - 75 years on from Great Crash GENERATIONS on from the Wall Street Crash that began its spectacular unfolding 75 years ago today, the drama and its repercussions still haunt us.
Times Online - The Market House prices are falling more rapidly than at any time since summer 1995, according to a survey of its members by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Times Online - The Market: Knock me down A new plague is stalking the shires. It strikes at random and the effect is deadly. Last seen during the housing crash of the late 1980s, gazundering is back.
Times Online - Landlords lured by exaggerated returns INVESTORS are being enticed into the buy-to-let market by unrealistic expectations of high returns.
Saturday, October 23, 2004
Times: Landlords are the real winners As housebuyers wait to see which way the market turns, landlords are proving to be the big winners
This Is South Wales - Property Boom Over as Homes Slump Deepens A Big slump in home sales has signalled another nail in the coffin for the South West Wales property boom.
Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | House prices going south Fresh evidence that the property market has stalled is published today, revealing that house values in the south have plummeted as much as 15%.
Telegraph | Money | FSA rules force Abbey to suspend some lending Abbey National will not make further advances to existing mortgage holders, and has withdrawn some mortgage products until further notice.
Hometrack: House prices drop in all london boroughs (PDF) London bears the brunt of this month's house price falls. The October survey of the London housing market reveals an average house price fall of -1.1% following last month's drop of -0.7%.
Reuters: Sharp rise in million-pound house sales The number of British properties sold for more than 1 million pounds has surged in the first six months of 2004 after a fall in 2003, mortgage lender Halifax says.
Friday, October 22, 2004
BBC NEWS: Test your financial literacy Large numbers of Britons find financial products and jargon difficult to understand, a survey from the Institute of Financial Services (IFS) has said.
The Motley Fool UK: Reliving The Wall Street Crash This weekend marks the 75th anniversary of the 1929 Wall Street Crash. If you're not familiar with what is probably the worst disaster in financial markets, these ten points will bring you up to speed.
BBC NEWS | Business | UK economy slows in third quarter The UK's economic growth slowed in the third quarter as manufacturing output declined, preliminary data has shown.
Headline news from Sky News: CONSUMERS OWE UTILITY FIRMS £1BN People are paying their bills for satellite television and mobile phones before those for gas, electricity and water.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Find a Property: Move Or Improve?According to their research, almost half of all households - some eight million - are reluctant to move in the current market and are planning to invest in their home instead. David Bitner, head of product operations at Bradford & Bingley, blames high house prices and punitive taxes for the situation: "There are two key factors creating a stay put attitude: high house prices and costly stamp duty levels.
ThisisLondon:Tax warning on £4.8bn black hole
GORDON Brown could be forced to put up taxes to fill a growing black hole in his finances after Government borrowing soared last month.
Daily Mail: THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME MERVYN King, governor of the Bank of England, believes the British economy is at a turning point. That much is clear from the minutes of the Bank's interest rate-setting committee, published yesterday.
Times Online: Consumers to pay even more, with gas prices set to rise
HOUSEHOLDS and businesses face a sharp rise in gas prices next year and the higher cost of the fuel is unlikely to abate soon, Britain’s North Sea oil producers said yesterday.
Citywire: The Housing Boom is Over: "Building society gross advances amounted to just over �4 billion in September, compared with �4.3 billion a year before. Approvals, loans agreed but not yet made, fell dramatically from �5.1 billion in September last year to �2.8 billion this September.
South Manchester Reporter - Landlord’s debt leads to eviction of 35 students A GROUP of 35 students are being evicted from their Fallowfield homes because their landlord did not keep up with the mortgage re–payments.
BBC NEWS | Business | 'Significant' rise in debt woes The number of Britons having debt problems has "risen significantly", Citizens Advice has said.
Times Online - Retail sales surge revives rate fears Strong performances by mobile phone and carpet stores have prompted a surprise rise in retail sales figures and revived fears that interest rates may yet be raised again this year.
ic Wales: First fall in loans since 2000 shows bubble has burst PREDICTIONS that the housing bubble has finally burst were confirmed yesterday by figures revealing the first year-on-year drop in mortgage lending for four years.
Bloomberg.com: U.K.Sept. Retail Sales Surge on Bigger Discounts U.K. retail sales unexpectedly rose in September as discounting in stores spurred purchases of mobile telephones, carpets and sports equipment.
This Is Money: Falling house sales hits builders UNHAPPY housebuilders suffered from subsidence after one of the sector's biggest companies confirmed that the Bank of England's interest rate medicine is working.
Mirror.co.uk - IT'S TOO DEAR TO MOVE
NEARLY half of all homeowners plan to improve their existing places because they can no longer afford to move.
Telegraph | News | Estate agents shed staff as lending falls Estate agents have started to cut staff, it emerged yesterday, as mortgage figures deepened the pessimism over the housing market.
Independent: Taylor Woodrow gives house sales warning Taylor Woodrow, the housebuilder, cautioned yesterday that sales will fall short of its previous estimate, causing the steepest decline in its shares in almost two years and dragging down the entire sector.
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
This is Money: Mortgage muddle MORE than one million borrowers could be putting their homes in jeopardy by not having any plans for repaying their mortgages. And a further 1.5 million who have put some money aside may still find their savings are woefully inadequate.
Scotsman.com: More Evidence of Housing Market Turnaround Weak lending figures and a sales downgrade from a leading building company provided further evidence of a turnaround in the property market today.
Reuters: Bank of England voted 9-0 for steady rates All nine members of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted to keep interest rates unchanged at 4.75 percent this month, and there seemed to be no discussion of raising borrowing costs.
Bloomberg.com: U.K. Mortgage Lending Has 1st Annual Drop in 4 Years U.K. mortgage lending fell in September from a year earlier, the first annual decline in almost four years, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said, as higher borrowing costs crimped demand.
Sky News: Housing crisis claim Soaring property prices is the top housing problem facing Britain today, says the charity Shelter.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Reuters:Shares look attractive as housing market wanes The property market, seen for years as a one-way ticket to riches for the canny private investor, is cooling, which could mean some bolder individuals will look for returns in the share market.
Reuters: Have Interest Rates Peaked? The more interesting question when minutes of the October 6 and 7 meeting are published on Wednesday is whether or not they signal that borrowing costs have now peaked at 4.75 percent.
Telegraph: New Year shock for 2m homeowners Up to 2m homebuyers face a hefty increase in their mortgage payments in the New Year.
Guardian Unlimited Property market faces up to 12 months of stagnation The National Association of Estate Agents said house prices had fallen for the fourth month in a row, adding that the market "is clearly now showing signs of the correction we have been predicting all year".
Times Online: House prices fall fastest since 1995 HOUSE prices have fallen at their fastest rate for nine years as the five interest rate rises over the past year have begun to bite, according to a leading survey.
Monday, October 18, 2004
Guardian Unlimited: Just a bit of inflation could burst this property bubble In the longer term, we risk an economic shock of some sort, perhaps a new bout of consumer price inflation requiring the Bank of England to raise rates, or a US downturn. Then the housing bubble could be an accident waiting to happen.
ThisisLondon: House price fall for fourth month ESTATE agents have warned that house prices have fallen for a fourth consecutive month. The National Association of Estate Agents said values fell 1.6% in September.
BBC NEWS | Business | Brown 'could break golden rule' Chancellor Gordon Brown is in danger of breaking his economic "golden rule" because forecasts for tax revenues are too optimistic, a report has said.
RightMove: Slowdown in housing market The annual rate of house price increase in asking prices dropped sharply, from 16.4 to 13.4 per cent.
Independent: Housing market 'suffers worst slowdown for a year' Rightmove said the housing market suffered its sharpest slowdown for a year and urged the Bank of England not to raise rates when its Monetary Policy Committee meets next, on 4 November.
Sunday, October 17, 2004
Sunday Herald - Why two million contented homeowners are about to be knocked off their perches Many borrowers have been unscathed by interest-rate rises so far, says Teresa Hunter, which is why they are in for a nasty shock.
Telegraph | Money | Hedge your bets on house price moves: "A US website says it can protect homeowners from falling property values. And soon, as Liam Halligan and Philip Carter report, Britons may also be able to banish the fear of negative equity "
The Guardian | What a difference 40 years makes The average price of a British home has risen by almost 5,000% over the past 40 years, illustrating just how good a long-term investment property has been for many, according to figures published today.
Guardian Unlimited Money: Even estate agents say boom is over The latest house price boom is over, a report by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors will show this week.
Saturday, October 16, 2004
BBC NEWS | Programmes | Moneybox | Halifax and Abbey battle for savers Halifax and Abbey are set to fight it out for savers, after both began offering a staggering 7% interest on money paid into monthly savings accounts.
Friday, October 15, 2004
Find a Property - HOUSE PRICE PUZZLES They're issued every month by various counting houses and discussed like sacred texts by concerned consumers. But do house price statistics really add up to an accurate representation of the market? And what exactly is an 'average' house?
BBC NEWS | UK | Regional panel backs housing plan A controversial plan to build nearly 500,000 homes across east England has been given initial backing.
PricewaterhouseCoopers:
UK house prices at record levels relative to inheritance tax threshold
The property boom of the past seven years has pushed the ratio of house prices to the inheritance tax (IHT) threshold to record levels in most UK regions according to a new analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
BBC NEWS | UK | Decision due on 500,000 new homes A decision is due to be taken on Friday on whether to build nearly 500,000 homes in an area stretching from Norfolk to Buckinghamshire.
Thursday, October 14, 2004
The Motley Fool UK: Buy-To-Let Doesn't Add Up Statistics from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) suggest buy-to-let investing no longer adds up.
Property finance news - House prices 'will not crash' The annual Housing Futures report has announced the UK will avoid a crash in the housing market in the next few years.
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
BBC NEWS | Business | UK's jobless level falls further Unemployment in the UK fell by 51,000 between June and August to 1.39 million - the lowest since records began 20 years ago.
BBC NEWS | Business | BoE's King warns of bleaker times The era of low and stable inflation and falling unemployment in the British economy may be over, Bank of England Governor Mervyn King has warned.
Sky News - Brrrrrace yourselves! Britain is about to be hit by one of the coldest winters in recent memory, according to the same weather experts who predicted 2004's Summer would be a washout.
Telegraph | Money | Builders add to housing market fears Cautionary comments from housebuilders George Wimpey and MJ Gleeson stoked further fears about a slowdown in the housing market yesterday.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
BBC NEWS | Business | UK inflation rate fall continues According to the Office for National Statistics, the consumer price index (CPI) fell by 0.2% in September to 1.1%, the lowest level since March.
Sky News - RATE HIKES HIT BUILDERS Housebuilder George Wimpey has said the higher cost of borrowing is continuing to take its toll on the housing market.
Guardian Unlimited Money: Britain could be heading for a mild dose of stagflation Income Data Services, a thinktank on employment issues, predicted today that rising inflationary pressures would have a knock-on effect on wage bargainers over the coming months, a trend that could prompt the Bank of England to raise rates once more.
The Move Channel: Townies dream of rural bliss 27% of the UK’s metropolitan house-hunters are looking for property away from larger urban areas according to a major survey of the UK’s moving trends by national property website assertahome.com. 10% are greenshifting and want to move to the countryside while a further 17% are looking for a new home in small towns.
Monday, October 11, 2004
Reuters:Factory gate inflation hits eight-year high
Economists said on Monday the figures indicated that inflationary pressures were building in the supply chain and that showed it remained possible that the Bank of England will hike interest rates once more this year.
BBC NEWS | Business | House prices cool off in August Prices rose 1.2% in August compared with 1.8% in the same month last year, taking average prices up to £179,486 from £177,747 in July.
The Move Channel: Official house price growth falls to 13.6% House price growth in the UK slowed in August, falling to a 13.6% annual increase from a rise of 14.3% in July, figures released today by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) showed.
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister - Press Notice - HOUSE PRICE INDEX - AUGUST 2004 The mix-adjusted average house price in the UK in August 2004 stood at £179,486, up from £177,474 in July (not seasonally adjusted).
Manchester Online: CONFIDENCE FALLS AS HOUSING MARKET SUFFERS THE JITTERS JITTERS in the housing market have pushed consumer confidence in the north west housing market down to its lowest level for 16 months.
Sky News - NEGATIVE EQUITY PERIL Homeowners are risking the problem of negative equity by continuing to borrow against the value of their properties while the housing market slows down.
Sunday, October 10, 2004
This is Money: House buyers control the market
THE prices on the property details in the estate agent’s window haven’t yet been changed. But talk to the people in the office and they all say the same thing: the prices you see are just a starting point for negotiations, nothing more.
Saturday, October 09, 2004
BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Homes market 'favouring buyers' House market trends have shifted away from a sellers' market and now favour buyers, new figures suggest.
Property finance news - House buyers take their time The gentle "easing-off" of property prices is beginning to give house buyers new confidence to take their time choosing and strike hard bargains when they act, a new report reveals.
Scotsman.com News - Scotland - Panic selling fears as property prices cool "Sellers simply need to be more realistic about the prices they might achieve in the current market. It is less likely that the huge profits of the last few years are going to be made - not impossible - just less likely" - Wilson Hunter, senior partner Hunters PSM estate agents
Friday, October 08, 2004
Guardian: AA axes 900 repair centre jobs The AA today said it was to close its 122 UK car repair centres with the loss of 900 jobs.
Times Online - How the other half likes to bet YOU never meet a poor bookmaker, which is why a decision last week by the spread-betting firm IG Index to close its book on the property market could be met with gloom.
TheMoveChannel: House bubble book all fizz and no head A new book by city guru John Calverley warns that the UK housing market is currently in the "mother of all bubbles" and prices could slump by 30% before they return to their long-term average. But are the predictions by the Amex chief economist all froth and a bit too late?
Property Prices A Special Report Last week's prediction by Capital Economics of a 20 per cent fall in house prices generated its fair share of shock horror headlines in the national newspapers. The truth, though, to be though that at the moment no one has a completely clear picture of which way house prices are heading.
icbirmingham.co.uk: Experts predict rates are at peak Interest rates were kept on hold yesterday amid signs that five rises over the last year had finally put the brakes on house prices and consumer spending.
Guardian Unlimited Money | Special_reports | 'Mother of all bubbles' warning on house prices The housing market is currently in the "mother of all bubbles" and prices could slump by 30% before they return to their long-term average, a leading economist has warned.
Thursday, October 07, 2004
The Motley Fool: House Prices to fall 47%
'Prepare For A Property Crash', 'House Prices To Plunge' and 'House-Price Meltdown'. The papers have been full of scary property headlines of late.
BBC NEWS | Business | US oil climbs to $53 price peak US crude oil prices have reached a fresh record high amid surging demand, worries over possible global supply shortages and a strike in Nigeria.
Telegraph | Money | 'Revival' in house prices puts MPC on the spot House prices rose again last month but Britain's factories are in a "dis