Despite the BoE’s base rate cut last week to 3%, Lloyds TSB is increasing the margins it charges on tracker mortgages for new customers.

The group, which also lends under the Cheltenham & Gloucester brand, has increased the rate it charges above the Bank of England base rate by between 0.6% and 0.7% on the deals. As a result, new borrowers taking out one of the mortgages will only benefit from between 0.9% and 0.8% of last week’s surprise 1.5% base rate cut.

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Once the favourite of property investors and home-seekers, Residence Bel-Air in Pok Fu Lam is being shunned as prices and sales plunge in the secondary market.

Prices fetched by sales at the Cyberport development last month were down more than 40 per cent from their peak in the first quarter, data shows.

Despite the big fall in prices, buyers remained in short supply and transaction volumes last month were 50 per cent lower than those recorded in September.
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Recent events have led investors to overseas markets for the buy-to-let market. The United States, with its sub-prime crisis and teetering on the brink of a recession offer some great market corrected fair value opportunities to enter this market.

The recent bubble made it difficult for the average American to buy a home. This is especially true in the areas of prime real estate in metropolitan areas such as California, Orlando, New York and Dallas. Now with property prices dropping YOY as much as 30% in cities like Las Vegas, Miami, Phoenix and Los Angeles there is a tightening of the credit supply making it very difficult for buyers to obtain financing even with solid credit histories and high paying salaries.
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A dramatic 1.5% cut in the base rate has underlined the level of problems in the property and financial markets. The scale of the Bank of England’s rate cut caught analysts by surprise, with the base rate now falling to 3% - the lowest level since 1955.
Lloyds TSB, its specialist mortgage lending subsidiary Cheltenham & Gloucester and Abbey immediately cut mortgage lending standard variable rates in line with the Bank of England reduction. However, other lenders did not quickly follow suit - arguing that inter-bank lending rates (the Libor) are not falling in line with base rates.
Brokers suggested many mortgage lenders would absorb some of the cut to improve their own lending margins, rather than follow the lead of Lloyds TSB and Abbey. Darren Cook, an analyst at information providers Moneyfacts, said: “Mortgage holders currently paying their lender’s SVR are hoping that their lenders will be as bold, but time will tell. Some lenders have still not passed on the bank’s previous cut of 0.5% and if this is an indication of things to come, a decision to cut rates by 1.5% will indeed cause some healthy debate in bank and building society boardrooms up and down the UK.”
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Commenting on the figures Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, said: “House prices in the UK fell for the twelfth consecutive month in October. The price of a typical house is now 14.6% lower than at this time last year, the peak of the market. The typical house price fell by 1.4% in October, around the same rate as the average monthly fall of 1.3% over the last year, but lower than the monthly falls recorded in each of the previous three months. The price of a typical house is now £158,872, almost £30,000 less than a year ago, but to put in context, still almost £30,000 more than five years ago.” Read the rest of this entry »

Given the past year’s housing market turmoil in the UK, there are many questions about how the recent global financial crisis will further impact current or future property investments. For insight into the 2009 market just around the corner, we look at extracts from the 2009 Knight Frank residential forecast:

• UK residential prices will fall 30% from their peak, taking values back to September 2003 levels
• Sales volumes will hit a low point in late 2008, at only around 30% of their long term average
• Sales volumes will recover to reach 60% of their long run average by the second half of 2009
• Development land values outside London are already down 33% from their peak, with a further 15% to go in 2009
• Equity rich investors and speculators are already in the market, targeting distressed land and property sales
• The top of the agricultural land market has been reached, we expect price falls of up to 10% from the 2008 peak

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FRANCESWHARF is a project situated directly on the northern bank of Limehouse Cut in an attractive area of regeneration with individual modern residential development complemented by attractive period property.

Boasting water views, the strategic location provides convenient and easy access to Canary Wharf, the Square Mile, Docklands Light Rail system, London Underground and the attractions of London’s waterways, as well as being within minutes travel time of The City, Canary Wharf, Stratford’s Olympic Village, the new Eurostar International station and more.
The units as well as communal areas will be fitted and furnished to highest standards by developer London Green, a respected and award winning inner London developer. Read the rest of this entry »

This exciting project is located in Kathu, Phuket, 10 minutes from Patong, 5 minutes from Phuket Country Club and Lock Palm golf courses.

It comprises of more than 200 luxury 2-bedroom apartments, ranging from 640sqft to 1200sqft in size. Several Penthouses are also on offer. The unit price ranges from 4M to 11M Thai Baht.
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The Bank of England cut its key rate to 4.5% - the lowest for two years - while the Fed cut to 1.5% and the European Central Bank (ECB) to 3.75% from 4.75%. China also cut its interest rate by 0.27%.
Many economists now expect the Bank to continue cutting rates to try and prevent the economy suffering a prolonged recession with some penciling in UK rates being cut to as low as 2.5%
The last time the Bank of England cut rates in a special meeting was on 18 September 2001 - when rates came down from 5% to 4.75%. Read the rest of this entry »

As the capital of the UAE, Abu Dhabi is historically the commercial hub for the UAE with an evolving state-of-the-art infrastructure and a world-class business environment. There is no doubt that Abu Dhabi has a bright economic future. With a century of oil reserves, a modern infrastructure and a stable political system, no significant overseas debt and secure, sustainable growth planned.
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