For every dramatic & sensational headline you see in the newspaper or on the net, there's usually another story behind, waiting to be uncovered. In this video blog, I take a weekly look at the headlines and interpret them for you, what they mean to your portfolio and your bottom line.
Brett Alegre-Wood
Another week of good news as more developers return to the market. They're bringing more properties with them and have begun work on vacant building sites. But why now? In my video, I'll examine what's going on in this phase of the market and show you why it's time to jump back into property.
We continue this week with a story on Robbie Fowler. Find out how a footballer is beating us at the property game and what you can do to win back with purchasing power.
In other news, things are definitely looking up as lenders prepare for the inevitable revival in the property market. Great news, but a double edged sword as they look to increase interest rates and (naturally) profit margin.
To wrap up, thank goodness we're hearing less on MP's expenses and more on the European elections. Perhaps we'll get the right people into power to improve the economy.
Finally find out why it's time to look into off plan as almost anything you buy at rock bottom prices will provide better returns in the next 3 to 5 years.
As always, if you have any questions or want to have a chat about current opportunities call the team on 0207 812 1255.
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This week's big headline: 'Is disaster looming for UK's credit rating?' UK borrows to survive and because we've brought on so much debt our credit rating maybe affected. How will this affect us on a day-to-day basis? What needs to be done to keep its AAA rating?
Hear it here first about our new product - UK Residential Property Fund. I'll explain how this fund is accessible to all investors and how it will benefit you.
George Osborne from the conservative party spoke up the necessity of recovery in a speech at the British Museum. He said the Tories would "rebuild" the economy on a "more solid foundations". Find out what he said in the speech and why the important details has been missed out.
The question on everyone's lips is: Should small prints be made bigger? Customers from Skipton Building Society are fuming after news broke that their SVR ceiling will be scrapped. The building society previously promised its borrowers that the SVR would never be more than 3% above the BoE base rate.
We'll take a look at what's been predicted for 2010 and the range of information on the market today.
Mixed messages on house prices - some say prices are already rising and others predict the market to stay much the same. Who do you believe?
We'll take a look at today's pre-budget report and the sensational headlines that follows.
Why Vince Cable called the report 'a good budget for bingo and boilers'? What has bingo or boilers got to do with the PBR?
Adam Posen from the Monetary Policy Committee suggested that capital gains tax and stamp duty should increase in line with inflation. The government wants to put an end to housing boom and bust, is this the way to go about it?
The Queen stepped in this week to urge for greater protection for savers. As shocking report shows that most of us are losing money by placing our cash in a savings account. So if you have cash in the bank right now, you're actually losing money.
Bank of England predicts inflation will be below its 2 per cent target by 2012. Also confirming we're well and truly on the road to recovery and with no double dip insight. What will this mean in terms of interest rates and the economy as a whole?
This week we see house prices rise for the forth month by 1.2 per cent. Don't be deceived into selling your home or remortgaging just yet, wait until the market has fully recovered to make it worth your while.
Welcome to this week's property news. Today we see Sir Richard Branson jumping back into banking after his defeat with Northern Rock. He has just completed his banking application for Virgin Money and I think he'll get it approved by the FSA this time.
I'm blown away by the number of articles on house prices this week and ask 'Are prices really rising or just lack of supply?' There's definitely a rise and it's helping to boost confidence, but be warned the economy maybe subdued due to mortgage availability.
As the top UK financial leaders prepare for the next G20 summit, Lord Turner, head of the FSA, urges them to consider capping bankers' bonuses. Funny the FSA didn't mention that they should have tightened lending before the credit crunch.
We find out why banks are still holding back lending. With debts of £130bn, it's going to take more than a few years for them to move their balance sheets out of the red. Find out why I think foreign banks might eventually take over some of the UK banks.
This week we’ll learn why UK is back in growth. We’ll take a look at the indexes that points towards this and data showing us why we might be out of the technical recession very soon.
Our purchasing managers have regained their powers and are shopping to boost the economy. This means supply and demand is increasing and growth in spending.
We uncover just how much banks are making from us as we're told of their increased profit margins. We'll compare SVR to LIBOR and work out exactly how little benefits they've passed on to us.
My question of the week is… could this be the end of the Technical Recession? Find out what this means to you. Again there are tons of headlines on government’s income and expenditure. We look at how income is falling while public borrowing is rising. Are we going to be in debt for years? How is the government going to pull us out of this?
Now as the market bottoms out, the off plan market can really give you some great investment opportunities. Imagine you buy at low market price with only 10 to 15% initial outlay, nothing to pay until completion and no hassle from tenants or property managers until 2 to 3 years time. And all the while your property value continues to rise. I say 'Welcome to Off Plan Investment!'
We see quantitative easing slowed down as economy improves and the bank no longer ploughing billions in to simulate the market. Plans are in place to reduce spending from £25 bn a month to a total of £50bn in 3 months. We'll keep a close eye on this.
It's been amazing to see more positive news then negative over the last three to four months. But as the market flattens, arguments have emerged between economists and property professionals on whether we are finally at the stage of recovery. Find out my thoughts in this week's property news.
Gordon Brown says spending is good for the economy, he's certainly backing this up as we see a deficit of £9.9 billion from the government each month. Can spending really impact on the natural cycle of recession? One thing we do know is that if money is spent well then opportunities will follow.
As far as recovery goes there's good news and bad this week but what all the top headlines are pointing to is that the HBOS & Lloyds merger was a terrible mistake, for you, for me and for all new build investors.
I am back from my official honeymoon in Alaska and at work bringing you the Weekly Property News. We had an amazing time, it was absolutely fantastic to see the wilderness and couldn't recommend it enough!
Sorry to miss last week's Weekly Property News! My excuse is that I was in Lincoln opening the new YPC Wealth office and the guys are now pumped up and ready to go. I'll come back to YPC Wealth a little later.
This week we take a look at flipping, which I also call the 4th way to make money from property. You'll hear a lot more of this in the next 6 months (and not just from me), so if you are going to take advantage of this opportunity, make sure you understand what you're doing. I have more details in the video.
Welcome to this weeks property news - apologies for missing last week but it's been busy times for us as I'll tell you in the video...
First up, the government says bank mergers are the answer but will the resulting drop in competition be devastating for investors? I'll give you my opinion and tell you why 'the fringes' of the mortgage market may now be the answer.
The media's been giving us mixed messages over the last month but is the economy really on the mend? Or are we getting worse? This week I'm going to take you one step closer to answer...
Everyone seems to be talking about the 'green roots' of recovery. In particular, we'll take a look at this week's top 6 indicators.
But first off, should you need a license to be a landlord? The government's plan for compulsory landlord registration could mean for you. (Hint: some are calling it a "slug in the teeth" for investors.")
Have the last few weeks of optimism been false starts? Are house prices really on the mend or do continued job cuts and more companies going under mean we've got further to fall...
House Prices, mortages and lots of panic about a plane in the sky. This week it's all about perception!
We'll take a look at how 'vultures' are creating artificial demand and what it means to house prices and mortgage lending. I'll also give you a heads up of the upcoming change in mortgages that will affect thousands of investors and show you how to prepare yourself.
Last week's Budget affects you as a property investor, did you read it?
If you have, well done! Frankly though I'd be surprised if you had, after all, it's 269 pages long.
I know this because I read it so I could bring you a summary of how it affects you and your property portfolio. That's the kind of generous guy I am :)
This week's property news comes to you direct from my front yard! The weather has been too good for me to miss out on...
Today I'll be explaining why basics like milk and bread getting cheaper ISN'T a true indicator of the current market and what what it really means for you. I'll also decrypt the CBI's prediction of a 'slow and fragile' recovery for the economy for you and explain what it really means for you.
I hope everyone had a fantastic easter break - Good news all round today! It's been awesome presenting over the last few weeks because its really shown the massive difference that 3 weeks can make in the property market. Even the media turned full circle from 'doom and gloom' to the huge number of positive stories some of which I will report on today...
Even though there are still a few 'doom and gloom' merchants out there, most of the news at the moment is positive. The majority of the chatter is about recovery; great news for us property investors.
To kick things off I'm going to show you an example of how the news can sometimes contradict itself and why you shouldn't just believe everything you read...
This week I'll be wrapping things up by taking you through how governments get into debt and how this debt is is actually helping work towards economic recovery.
Our main focus is on what's called 'gilt-edged" securities and I'll show you why these fancily-named beasts are currently controversial and could really mean the difference between success and failure for economic recovery.
We're back for week 4 of the Recovery Special. First up I'll be taking you through a quick review of the what's happening in property. First up the backlash against new FSA regulations which may stop you from getting a mortgage if its value is more than 3 times your income. Next we'll take a look overseas at the US market and how they're solving their toxic loan problems.
This weeks property news is a special economics lesson. First off, we'll take a look at how quantitative easing has got the wheels of the economy turning again, and how £75 billion is being spent to do it.
Welcome to week 2 of my Recovery Special and this week I've put together a special presentation which helps explain how banks got into the trouble they're in today.
Welcome to the first week of my '5 Week Recovery Special' where we'll be looking at what's being done and how (or if) it's working. I'm also going to take you deep into the economics behind the current market situation.
They say "no news is good news" and I had to do some serious sniffing around this week to dig up some original stories for you. Among other things, we'll be taking a look at 'build to order' and how developers are now basing their business.
People have been calling it the worst recession since the war, etc.. Are they right? Is what's happening now just a normal part of the property cycle? Or is there more to it?
This week's UK and International Property News update is our first outside broadcast. This week I introduce a topic that I will be covering on a weekly basis, that of Off Plan Property. As developers' stock list dry up they're turning to off plan as the answer. The problem at the moment is that banks are not very motivated to lend to developers for new property unless they have a huge amount of security. It's good news for investors as these are the very developers who are prepared to offer great bargains to those who are prepared to exchange off the plan.
This week, it's a bank bailout special and i'll be devoting this week's property news update to the subject of bailouts. What exactly is a bailout, who's behind them, and what do they hope to achieve? did the previous one work? will the new one work? what are the implications if it doesn't?
This week I look at how the property is becoming much much more affordable to buy now that prices have dropped. We also look at the spike in interest in property in the UK and what it means for current mortgage availability and loan to value affordability.
This week I looked at what the experts are saying about price drops throughout 2009. The average prediction was a price drop of 10% and recovery in 2010 with full recovery back to 2007 prices in 2012. Overall though, I've found that the market has returned from holidays with a refreshing optimism.
This week I cover rising unemployment and its lag effect on the property market, the recent price drops and the coming recovery - who do you believe on the all important dates?
This week we cover base rate movements and what they mean to your portfolio. Rise of the "down valuation". Market performance indices -- who should you believe?
In this week's video market update, I'm happy to announce that the Bank of England has come to the party in aid of England's stricken investors and home owners. There's a lot of repossession relief and for those...
Halifax disappoints many with its base rate drop. Is the credit crisis over? Yes says Forbes. Next I take a look at how oil prices, property and unemployment are connected and finally...
In this week's video market update, I take a look at what the media are saying about housing prices -- are they really falling as fast as claimed? And what's causing the movement? ...
