Property

By Tom Shrive The robots are rising. Artificial intelligence (AI) powered smart home assistants - like Apple Siri, Microsoft Cortana, Google Home/Now and Amazon Echo/Alexa - are working their way into our everyday lives. AI is becoming more appealing across the board, completing simple tasks such as checking the weather, ordering groceries, or arranging your calendar. AI is rapidly developing in sophistication and it won't be long before these assistants can contact British Gas to schedule boiler checks or have...

Stepping onto the property ladder in London seems like a distant dream for so many first-time buyers. Despite recent falls to London property prices, with the average house price still in excess of £520,000 it remains the most expensive place to live in the UK. According to property website Zoopla, the average deposit now needed to secure a London home stands at £77,272, versus an average of £25,000 across the rest of the UK. As houses in central districts are...

The recent Brexit vote may have been a bit of shock to markets, with the pound taking a 10% hit against the dollar, but it may prove to be a golden opportunity for many property investors. As the UK government is forced to renegotiate trade deals with more than 40 countries, uncertainty is set to dominate markets for the next couple of years. Uncertainty usually spells trouble for investors, with traditional sectors such as the real estate market suffering the...

The court ruling this week regarding the cost of extending lease being halved and buying freeholds may well be an excellent result for property freeholders in England and Wales (approximately 2.1 million) in fact they could become considerably cheaper in the future. First time buyers often do not take into account ground rent, maintenance charges and other what seem insignificant charges, in the excitement of buying a new home, then finding they do not have the resources to meet increasing...

The Historians Committee On Culloden is calling on the Scottish Government to intervene following claims officials approved planning permission after being given incorrect information.

Looking for the best up and coming places to live in the UK? We’ve picked out our Top 10 up and coming places to live in the UK based on comparative prices, local investment, and recent trends. There is no such thing as ‘the housing market’. The UK is comprised of hundreds of sub markets, each continually shifting and dependent on multiple factors such as investment, migration, employment and so on. Once buyers become out-priced in established locations, they start looking...

uPVC windows are known for their numerous benefits over wooden and other window types. They’re noise-reducing, more secure, need little maintenance and keep homes warmer, thus saving on energy bills. However, the overall lifespan of uPVC windows will depend on a number of factors. First of all there’s the quality of the window itself, which we’ll discuss below – something that can vary hugely between manufacturers. Then there are considerations such as the quality of the installation and even the...

The tycoon wants is part of a growing number of 'try-before-they-buy' tenants living in London

The average first-time buyer is now seven years older than in 1960 and needs to save around £20,000 to be able to buy a home, a study has found. Researchers who polled 2,000 adults found a huge difference in the profile of someone buying their first home through the generations. Today, first-time buyers will be in their thirties before they get onto the property ladder and pay a deposit of £20,622. In comparison, in 1960, the average first-time buyer was...