The Conscientious Investor – A Yielders View on Ethical Finance Welcome to our eight-part series on Ethical Finance and Money. We’ll be exploring ethical finance with a focus on investments, AI, Islamic finance and more. If you’re feeling inspired, go … Continue reading Islamic Finance
As the year draws to a close, we are back with our latest update for the UK property market. Looking back, it has been an extraordinary year for residential real estate prices, with the average home seeing an increase in value of around £15,000 since June. There are a number of core reasons for this run which we’ve covered in the past, however, this week we dive into them a bit deeper to get to the bottom of the main drivers. The Stamp Duty Cut The cut to the base rate of stamp duty means that purchasers could save up … Continue reading UK Housing Market: December Update
The Data September saw a continuation of the white-hot run for the housing market since the introduction of stamp duty relief measures, historically low borrowing rates and the loosening of lockdown measures. We see the market as essentially tracking the rebound seen in the macroeconomy, and much of this has been driven by the ‘pent-up demand’ from what we will now call ‘Lockdown 1’. In short, this demand is translating into record-high house prices, edging towards the £250,000 average price across the UK. The numbers above indeed reflect the abnormal economic conditions brought about by the pandemic. A projected economic … Continue reading Yielders’ Economic Update: October 2020
Halifax House Price Index – July 2020[1] Average Price Monthly Change Quarterly Change Annual Change £241,604 1.6% -0.2% 3.8% Economic Performance Q1 Growth Q2 Growth BoE Interest Rate -2.2% -20.4% 0.1% The Data July saw a significant rebound from the continual fall in house prices seen in the four months preceding. Average prices grew by 1.6% on a month-on-month basis, though prices still sat 0.2% lower in Q3 than in Q2, suggesting that this return to positive growth is not quite enough to wipe out the losses brought about by the pandemic and lockdown measures. From a year-on-year standpoint, house prices are … Continue reading UK Property Market – August 2020 Update
‘Safe as houses’ is a well-known saying in today’s vernacular, however the term is relatively old, emerging from Victorian Britain. The phrase is said to have become widespread during a period of particular economic volatility, when an overheating railway industry bubble burst, leading people to fall back on real estate. While the term should not be taken as gospel (or as investment advice!), the strength and appeal of UK real estate on the global stage suggests there is indeed something behind this phrase. As of late, you may have heard of grim predictions for UK property in the face of … Continue reading The Enduring Appeal of UK Real Estate for Foreign Investors
The Government has this week kicked off its ‘Independent Strategic Review of UK Fintech’, indicating a show of support to a sector which has displayed strong performance on the global stage over the past few years. Led by Ron Khalifa OBE, former Chief Executive Officer of payments provider Worldpay, the review seeks to identify new growth areas across regulation, industry and policy to best support what is quickly becoming one of the UK’s flagship industries. The review has been seen by some as a show of faith in an industry which has real potential to underpin an economic recovery in … Continue reading UK Fintech and Economic Recovery
UK Property Market – July 2020 Update Halifax House Price Index – June 2020[1] Average Price Monthly Change Quarterly Change Annual Change £237,616 -0.1% -0.9% 2.5% The Data June saw a 0.1% decrease in house prices from May, marking the fourth consecutive month of falling house prices. Moreover, the index measured prices as have lost just under 1% of their value during Q2 (i.e. April, May and June). While this is similar to house price movement seen at the peak of the financial crisis, the annual change shows that house prices are still 2.5% above their level this time last … Continue reading UK Property Market – July 2020 Update
This week’s blog looks at the newest round of measures taken by the government to try to mitigate the economic damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Around £125bn in stimulus has already been deployed, significantly boosting the UK’s national debt but providing much-needed funding in select areas of the macro-economy. The Mini-Budget in Short On Wednesday, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak unveiled the latest round of measures designed to stimulate economic activity and reduce shocks to industry and the labour market. The package, worth £30bn, is keenly focused on a number of specific areas, ultimately showing where the government … Continue reading Mini-Budget 2020: Benefits and Risks for the UK Economy
The UK Housing Market – June 2020 Update As part of our weekly blog series, we have looked at lockdown measures put in place as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent effect on various industries and economic indicators. In the UK, we are now into the fourth month of lockdown measures, and with this, economic data is starting to pick up on the effects of the drop in commercial activity in the UK. Reopening of the Housing Market Communities Minister Robert Jenrick announced the reopening of the housing market in line with an easing of lockdown measures … Continue reading UK Housing Market June Update
There are many things unprecedented about the times we are currently living in. Never before has the government provided such substantial and comprehensive financial support to the British public, nor have we been confined to our homes like this since the Spanish Influenza of 1919. The challenges presented by this pandemic have required drastic and innovative action across areas of policy, planning and engagement. Two areas of policy are particularly crucial at this time, known as fiscal and monetary policy. The government is responsible for fiscal policy, setting the appropriate rates of taxation and spending on different projects. Ultimately, the … Continue reading Economic Downturn – What Can Be Done to Mitigate the Shock?
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