House Price Crash News Blog

Estate Agent Today: NAEA calls for FTB Stamp Duty break to be reinstated

2012-05-25T15:04:32Z

It's this bit caught my eye â€œStamp Duty netted a 22% increase from 2010â€¦despite an ailing property market." This is clear evidence that high-end price properties are skewing the statistics. When transaction and price index is flat, but tax revenue increases by 22%, this implies that the â€œMr average propertyâ€ sold had to be the type of house that was 22% more expensive than previous â€œMr average UK â€ to make the equation work. So the reason the â€œaverage house price indexâ€ appears changes little is because the said â€œaverage houseâ€ sold in todayâ€™s market is not a 3 bed semi but a 4 bed detached (or many many 1 bed flats in London). The true price is down 22%.

Sky: Police Seize Record Haul Of Counterfeit Coins

2012-05-25T11:42:33Z

Detective Inspector Bruce South said: "This seizure is a significant blow to the network behind it - individuals clearly intent on undermining the UK monetary system by producing counterfeit currency on an industrial scale. "It is yet another example of the work this team is carrying out on a daily basis to tackle organised criminal networks."

Estate Agent Today: Stop playing it so safe, lenders are told

2012-05-25T11:01:57Z

Wriglesworth added: â€œLenders canâ€™t lend in the right way to get the market going. Unless 100% mortgages and sub-prime comes back, then youâ€™re not going to see a healthy market. There is nothing wrong with 100% or cashback mortgages as long as lenders price for risk.â€

Huffington post: Former head of fraud at lloyds banking charged with fraud!

2012-05-25T10:47:23Z

blind leading the blind...always thought lloyds/hbos ended up as one massive snouts in trough...only surpised is she has been prosecuted and not given a luxury payout after signing confidentiality contract

BBC: Bringing back the punt -

2012-05-25T10:15:38Z

The old Irish pound or punt is back in the shops of an Ulster town. In Clones, County Monaghan, in the Republic of Ireland, more than 40 businesses are accepting the old notes which were replaced by the euro 10 years ago. While it is no longer legal tender, notes and coins can still be exchanged at Dublin's Central Bank.

The Move Channel: Mortgage tax relief makes Spanish property more affordable

2012-05-25T10:07:40Z

Mortgage tax relief may be making Spanish property more affordable, according to the Bank of Spain's latest figures. The Bank's report shows that, at the end of the first quarter of 2012, the cost of mortgage repayment accounted for 29 per cent of the average household income, slightly lower than last year. With homeowners recommended to spend less than one-third of their take-home wage on repayments, the data could suggest that houses are becoming more affordable thanks to mortgage tax relief introduced by the government. Remove the tax relief and repayments jump back up to 36 per cent of the average income.

Daily mail: We can't cope much longer, says Spain, as borrowing costs cripple Europe's sick economies

2012-05-24T14:26:36Z

Spain's prime minister warned yesterday that the country â€˜cannot go on like thisâ€™ much longer with its current high borrowing rates. Mariano Rajoy also urged a joint European response to keep the regionâ€™s debt problems from getting worse.

Press Association: HP issues British job cuts warning

2012-05-24T13:12:55Z

Hewlett Packard has warned of cuts in its UK operation in a global purge that will see it axe 27,000 workers. The US technology company plans to make the cuts, which amount to 8% of its global workforce of almost 350,000 people. A spokeswoman said: "We do expect the workforce reduction to impact just about every business and region."

Torygraph: World edges closer to deflationary slump as money contracts in China

2012-05-24T12:18:59Z

Narrow M1 data for April is the weakest since modern records began. Real M1 deposits â€“ a leading indicator of economic growth six months or so ahead â€“ have contracted since November. They are shrinking faster that at any time during the 2008-2009 crisis, and faster than in Spain right now, according to Simon Ward at Henderson Global Investors. If China were a normal country, it would be hurtling into a brick wall. A "hard-landing" later this year would already be baked into the pie. Whether this hybrid system of market Leninism â€“ with banks run by Party bosses â€“ conforms to Western monetary theory is a hotly contested point. The issue will be settled one way or the other soon.

BBC News: Free banking a dangerous myth, says bank official

2012-05-24T11:48:39Z

The future head of the FSA, according to Pravda, believes that problems in the banking system are down to the fact that you get your current account for free. To avoid this dreadful failure of the free market, the drums are beating for the introduction of a law (yes, a law) to make free current accounts illegal! Banks will be legally required to steal your money. It's not enough that banks can make thousands of percent profit on mortgages that cost them almost nothing to issue, but when they are in a state of collapse thanks to a combination of greed and systemic overshoot the government legislates to force them to eat into your savings. You could not make it up. Where is my pitch fork?