TSI
Cumbrian village named best place in UK to live due to affordable homes
St Bees, a coastal village in Cumbria, has been named as the best place for families due to low crime rates, excellent school education and affordable housing. The number of top 20 places in the Midlands and North of England has risen by 15% due to rising house prices in the South at a time of low increases in average salaries, according to the annual family hotspots report from finance firm Family Investment. The annual report, which was first launched in 2012, analyses postcode data across 71 different data sets from education, safety and childcare costs to local amenities, affordable property and green spaces to reveal the top locations for families. Located 50 miles from the Scottish border and with a population of just 1,800, St Bees in Cumbria earns the 2014 top spot. A newcomer to the report, it owes its success to a low crime rate and a lower than average house price of just £139,000. In second place is the market town of Wokingham in Berkshire, 33 miles west of London which was the top location last year but has gone down the rankings due to increasing house prices. An average two bedroom property now costs £254,000. Faringdon in Oxfordshire is third due to its excellent schools. The town, which is located in the Vale of the White Horse, also holds the accolade of being the first Fairtrade Town in the South East of England. ‘The rural village of St Bees is well deserving of its title as the best place in the UK for families. It has a heritage that stretches back over 1,000 years, the schools achieve excellent results and locals tell us that it has a small but very close-knit community making it a great location for families,’ said Steve Ferrari, head of customer insights at Family Investments. ‘Deciding where to live is one of the most important financial and lifestyle choices families will make in their lifetimes. Our report is designed to help people navigate this decision by showing them how areas of England and Wales score on some of the major factors that play a part in everyday family life whether that’s the quality of local schools or the area’s crime rates,’ he added. Four locations within the top 20 are positioned along the M6 corridor between Birmingham and Manchester, making them convenient for commuters to those cities: Sandbach in Cheshire, Hixon in Staffordshire, Holmes Chapel in Cheshire and Cheadle in Staffordshire. No London location makes it into the charts for 2014, largely due to the cost of property in the capital. However, the top three locations in Greater London are Bexley, Banstead and Epsom with no inner London locations made it onto the list. Continue reading
IMF no longer concerned about property price bubble in Dubai
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that it is no longer concerned about a property price bubble in Dubai. According to Masood Ahmed, head of the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia Department, price growth on the emirate has moderated considerably. He said that Dubai authorities had taken steps to limit speculative buying and along with mortgage curbs the market is now much less likely to see a spike in real estate values. However, he said there were still areas that needed to be watched, and that real estate projects needed to be sequenced and carefully managed to avoid encouraging excessive risk taking by government related enterprises. The IMF had previously warned that rapid rises in Dubai real estate prices, which earlier this year were in some cases a third higher than they were 12 months previously, could lead to another bubble and then a crash in the UAE emirate. A report by property consultants JLL last month found residential rents and sales prices rose 2% and 1% respectively in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter, slower than the 3% and 6% recorded in the second quarter of the year. Between June and August 2014, prices in some of Dubai's most popular areas fell by almost 4% according to a Mashreq Bank report. Jumeirah Park saw prices fall by 3.5% the largest of the declines, while Greens saw a decline of 3.1%, the Springs and Meadows dropped 3.4%, Arabian Ranches 3.3%, Jumeirah Village 2.6% and JLT 0.9%. Dubai Marina saw the smallest drop with prices declining just 0.2%. Meanwhile, Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) prices continued to rise. Between June and August, prices rose by 3.2%, bringing the overall annual increase to 15.2%. Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of Dubai's biggest real estate developer Emaar Properties, said he welcomed the slowdown in the emirate's property market and vowed to keep supplying new homes to help hold prices at 'a reasonable level'. 'In 2013, things went crazy because supply was limited. For me as a long term developer, this spike scares me, so I'm glad people are saying the market is cooling down. I think that is healthy,' he said at the launch of the first phase of a new high end residential development called Dubai Creek Harbour, a joint project between Emaar and Dubai Holding, the personal investment vehicle of Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum. Continue reading
Research shows sneaky fees and charges make it hard to get best mortgage deal
UK borrowers could be paying over the odds on their mortgages and with sneaky fees and charges making it harder for people to find the best deal, it is claimed. Research from consumer champion Which? reveals that there are more than 40 fees and charges across the market, including set up fees, arrears fees and final repayment fees. Providers using different names for the same or similar fees. For example, a booking fee can also be called a reservation or application fee. There is also duplication with some lenders charging more than one set up fee. The research reveals increases to the cost of some fees. The average arrangement fees have almost doubled in the last five years, from £878 in 2009 to £1,588 in 2014 and there is a wide variation between lenders in the cost of the same fees, suggesting that fees don't always reflect the true cost the lender incurs. Which? also highlights a lack of clarity which makes it difficult for borrowers to tell if the fees are avoidable. The research shows that consumers borrowing £100,000 over two years could save as much as £1,503 if they took into account the set up fees rather than choosing the product with the lowest interest rate. This vast array of confusing fees and charges, which aren't always reflected in the standard APR (Annual Percentage Rate of Charge), means the total cost is not clear to borrowers leaving them unable to easily find the best deal. The research found just 3% of people could correctly rank the cost of five two year fixed rate mortgage deals when displayed using typical information, including APR. This rose to 36% when presenting the total cost of the mortgages over 24 months. With mortgage repayments the biggest monthly expense for most homeowners, and the prospect of future interest rate rises adding to this, Which? is calling on the Chancellor George Osborne to use his Autumn Statement to make it easier for people to find the best mortgage deal, working with the FCA, industry and consumer groups. ‘Home owners could be paying over the odds for their mortgage because of the complex range of fees and charges that prevent them from finding the best deal,’ said Which? executive director, Richard Lloyd. ‘The Chancellor must act now to stop sneaky fees and charges and end mortgage confusion for consumers. The government and the regulator should also explore better ways of presenting the total cost of mortgages,’ he added. Suggestions for change include making mortgage price comparison easier. Which? says given the limitations with APR, the government and the Financial Conduct Authority should explore other ways to present the total cost of a mortgage. It also suggests making the full cost of a mortgages clearer. For example, all compulsory fees payable throughout the deal period should be expressed as a total of fees and included in the advertised costs. It should also be clear which fees payable over the life of the mortgage are compulsory and which are… Continue reading
