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Articles from Daniel Kirby | Selfgrowth.com
- Government Bills Lay Down Housing Marker - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2007 from Daniel KirbyThe Queen's Speech is always an eagerly awaited occasion, partly for its pomp and ceremony, but mainly, of course, for the interest it draws to the government's legislative programme. As a guide to priorities, the programme announced this week clearly indicates that the government is keen to ...
Views: 688(1 vote) - Thinking High And Long - by Submitted on Feb 11, 2008 from Daniel KirbyThose looking at overseas property investments in areas such as the Swiss Alps property may have a somewhat more complex choice to make than in days of yore. Where once it was a matter of finding attractive chalets in a snowy location for the winter, much has changed. For one thing, the spectre ...
Views: 769(1 vote) - A Pinch Of Salt For The Foretellers Of Gloom - by Submitted on Jan 05, 2008 from Daniel KirbyThe extent to which recent predictions for the fortunes of the UK property market in 2008 have cast a shadow of gloom may seem disheartening for many, be they aspiring buyers, new investors in buy-to-let or those considering an expansion of their portfolio. Yet time and again there are both ...
Views: 893 - A Rate Cut Merely Delayed? - by Submitted on Nov 19, 2007 from Daniel KirbyWhile the property market has produced a series of clear signals about its fortunes in recent months, from the slowdown in the residential housing sector to the rise in rents, the wider economy has thrown a number of contradictory signals into the melting pot of uncertainty. Thus the credit ...
Views: 706 - Affordability Cloud Is Landords' Silver Lining - by Submitted on Dec 20, 2007 from Daniel KirbyIts official - affordability in Britain is bad. Close observers of the UK housing market will, of course, know this isn't exactly a startling revelation. It is, after all, one of the prime factors to which the high house price inflation of recent years has been attributed. What is happening, ...
Views: 714 - Aiming Low To Earn High - by Submitted on Dec 28, 2007 from Daniel KirbyInvestors in overseas property may have felt somewhat negative about the prospects for Alpine ski resorts after last winter. The unusually mild season left many resorts despairing as slopes that would normally be filled with skiers were brown, muddy wastelands with barely a flake of snow. The ...
Views: 782 - Base Rate Uncertainty May Drag On - by Submitted on Nov 24, 2007 from Daniel KirbyThe time between the announcement of the monthly decision by the Bank of England's rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC) and the publication of the minutes is frequently filled with speculation about how the committee might have voted. Partly this may be due to the fact that nature abhors ...
Views: 767 - Be Selective, Investors In Germany Advised - by Submitted on Feb 12, 2008 from Daniel KirbyWhen it comes to property investment, Germany appears to represent a bit of a conundrum. On the one hand, it is a well-known fact that the country does not have the sort of property-owning culture that the UK does. Less than half of Germans own their own homes, which means that the rental market ...
Views: 674 - Boom Amid The Billion - by Submitted on Mar 06, 2008 from Daniel KirbyAs the second largest country by population in the world, India was always likely to make an enormous impact if it ever began to punch its weight economically. Now this appears to be happening, with rapid industrial and technological advancement, economic liberalisation and an influx of foreign ...
Views: 758 - Boom Times Ahead For Buy-to-let, Says Rics - by Submitted on Oct 11, 2007 from Daniel KirbyRecent reports on the UK property market indicate that house price rises are slowing down and in some areas, they are even beginning to fall. Nationwide and Hometrack have both released data showing that this is true of vast swathes of the UK. Yesterday, a Halifax report concluded that prices ...
Views: 691 - Bouncebackability Test Comes Now - by Submitted on Feb 12, 2008 from Daniel KirbyThose looking at the possibilities of investing in property in UK will be concerned with many issues. One will be the economy as a whole, with some doom-mongers still predicting that Britain will catch America's cold and plunge into recession. Others may take a more subtle view, that a major ...
Views: 704 - Branding Through Graphic Designs - by Submitted on Oct 21, 2007 from Daniel KirbyGraphic designing is a strategic tool for marketing and communication to the public through visual representations of creative designs and logos. It comprises of creative faculty with superior designing and aesthetic skills studded together in the designer. Critical analysis and sound thinking ...
Views: 700 - Britons Still Looking To Sunny Spain - by Submitted on Oct 12, 2007 from Daniel KirbyPessimists writing about the Spanish property market have questioned the strength of the market many times in the last couple of years, following a period of unprecedented boom. Some have seen the subsequent market slowdown as the prelude to a crash. Others have seen it simply as a necessary ...
Views: 585 - Britons Tunnelling Through To Cheaper Property - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2007 from Daniel KirbyIt was reputedly Napoleon who first thought of digging a tunnel under the English Channel, the idea being to provide a means for his armies to bypass the sea barrier which had (and still has) protected Britain from a successful full scale invasion since 1066. Perhaps ironically, then, it is ...
Views: 612 - Broker Expectations Rise - by Submitted on Feb 21, 2008 from Daniel KirbyIn a period when the property market has seen falling prices, restricted credit and one of the biggest mortgage lenders in the land having first to go begging to the Bank of England to stay afloat and now be nationalised, some might expect that buy-to-let investors should concentrate purely on ...
Views: 858 - Buy-for-uni Offering Many Options - by Submitted on Oct 12, 2007 from Daniel KirbyOf all the variations on the traditional act of people buying a mortgagesimply as a home to live in themselves, buy-for-uni is a somewhat unusual one. Such a mortgage, which is presently only offered by one building society, works by securing the property bought for the student to live in ...
Views: 831 - Buy-to-let Keeps On Growing - by Submitted on Oct 11, 2007 from Daniel KirbyDespite all the claims that buy-to-let's doomsday was just around the corner, investors are continuing to defy the pessimistic pundits and enter the market, new evidence has shown. The number of buy-to-let mortgages rose by 37 per cent in the year to August 2007, according to the latest ...
Views: 561 - Buy-to-let Stands While Housing Market Falls - by Submitted on Oct 03, 2007 from Daniel KirbyMore information has emerged today to demonstrate the contrast between the buy-to-let UK property market and the residential house buying market. The ability of buy-to-let to withstand a housing downturn or even slump has been questioned, although Ray Boulger of John Charcol said this week the ...
Views: 856 - Calcutt Promises Brownfield Revolution - by Submitted on Nov 26, 2007 from Daniel KirbyThe future of the housing market has been the subject of so much conjecture and debate that the list of considerations is notably long. No less than 37 issues have been identified in the Calcutt report released today, if the number of recommendations is any guide. John Calcutt, formerly chief ...
Views: 687 - Cape Verde Promises Long Seasons In The Sun - by Submitted on Sep 28, 2007 from Daniel KirbyAmong all the island paradises where British tourists may wish to go, the Cape Verde holiday home is emerging as one of the most attractive. Much nearer than the Maldives and not prone to seasonal storms like the Caribbean, the archipelago off the coast of west Africa, a former Portuguese ...
Views: 746 - Cape Verde's Commercial Promise - by Submitted on Feb 13, 2008 from Daniel KirbyMuch has been made of the growth in the property market in the Cape Verde islands. With prices growing, new developments rising up, tourist numbers increasing and infrastructure improvements to support this including a number of new airports served by new air routes, the place appears to be ...
Views: 1261 - Cape Verde: The New Carribbean - Or Even Better? - by Submitted on Nov 16, 2007 from Daniel KirbyInvesting in France Property has always been a popular way for Britons to secure a piece of foreign property, with the country second only to Spain, but the country is perhaps an even better location into which investors should sink their hard-earned than its Iberian neighbour across the ...
Views: 808 - Caribbean Appeal Brings Cape Verde Closer - by Submitted on Nov 23, 2007 from Daniel KirbyThat Cape Verde is emerging as one of the most exciting new markets for property investors is not in doubt. Stories of the increase in the number of people buying Cape Verde property in the islands and the growth of tourism are well-documented trends. But the specific marketing of the islands as ...
Views: 768 - Christmas Cheer Or Bah Humbug? - by Submitted on Dec 31, 2007 from Daniel KirbyEarlier this week, the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) said that over 3.5 million Britons will be jetting off to the sun over the Christmas and New Year period. Among this small army of those leaving behind the cold and wet of the British winter to spend the festive season in the ...
Views: 834 - City Living Prospects 'Still Strong' - by Submitted on Feb 15, 2008 from Daniel KirbyOf all the claims made about the state of the property investment market, one of the most common is that the city living trend in regional cities is grinding to a halt. While more and more apartments have been built in cities such as Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Leeds, these have now ...
Views: 740 - Commercial Property - the new investment opportunity - by Submitted on Nov 05, 2007 from Daniel KirbyThe buy-to-let property market has come in for some heavy stick in recent months, with all kinds of negative predictions for the near future. This has been true for the housing market as a whole of course, with the Hometrack survey this week setting alarm bells ringing by showing a 0.1 per cent ...
Views: 786 - Cyprus Offering New Charms - by Submitted on Oct 30, 2007 from Daniel KirbyThere is an old French saying that "the more things change, the more they stay the same". This might be applied to many things, but the Cypriot property market is not one of them. It is an island where there is constant and change in equal measure. What undoubtedly stays the same is the ...
Views: 729 - Cyprus Stable As Euro Day Looms - by Submitted on Nov 22, 2007 from Daniel KirbyInvestors in Cyprus property looking to secure a piece of real estate in Cyprus, whether as a retirement home or as a buy-to-let property to serve the army of tourists who descend on the sun-blessed Mediterranean island every year, will have been keeping an eye on the economy. The news is good ...
Views: 725 - Cyprus Tipped For Euro Boom - by Submitted on Dec 19, 2007 from Daniel KirbyHistory was made this week in Cyprus when the central bank met to set interest rates. Not because it was for the first time, but because it was for the last. For the record, governor Athanasios Orphanides said the three rates set, the key refinancing rate, the Lombard rate and the overnight ...
Views: 853 - Cyprus Will Reward Investors, Minister Promises - by Submitted on Nov 13, 2007 from Daniel KirbyCyprus is an area which has seen a lot of change in the past few years, with much of it succeeding to make it an even more attractive destination for Cyprus property investors and holidaymakers alike. After becoming a member of the European Union in 2004, the economy expanded and business ...
Views: 720 - Does Short-term Dip Mean Long Term Cuts? - by Submitted on Dec 04, 2007 from Daniel KirbyThe UK housing market is in a curious state in many ways. After years of high inflation driven by a strong economy and a shortfall in demand, the market has seen a slowdown since the base rate hit 5.75 per cent and the credit crunch introduced a wave of economic uncertainty. Evidence of the ...
Views: 975 - Easier To Make Money On Overseas Property, Expert Claims. - by Submitted on Oct 10, 2007 from Daniel KirbyProspective buy-to-let investors may be interested to know that a leading property industry website is advising newcomers to the market to consider looking at buying overseas property . According to BuyAssociation, the present financial climate means that there can be more money made ...
Views: 631 - End of the Crunch Show - by Submitted on May 06, 2008 from Daniel KirbyUp until today it had not seemed to be a good week for news emanating from the Bank of England. Firstly, we had the news that in March the number of mortgages approved had dropped from 72,000 in February to just 64,000. Then yesterday brought governor Mervyn King's declaration before members ...
Views: 713 - Everything In Its Season With Spanish Property - by Submitted on Nov 21, 2007 from Daniel KirbyGiven the kind of headlines which have emerged with the slowdown in the Spanish property market, one might sense the palpitations experienced by news that property sales in the country are going down by 45 to 50 per cent this winter. The reality, however, is very different, according to Les ...
Views: 777 - For Lifestyle Or Money? - by Submitted on Dec 10, 2007 from Daniel KirbyThere area many reasons why people buy property abroad. Some are after a buy-to-let rental income in the long-term. Some want to buy and then sell at a profit in a growing market. Some look for a place to call their second home and those emigrating one to call their first. When it comes to ...
Views: 796 - Golden Chances For Green Investors - by Submitted on Dec 26, 2007 from Daniel KirbyIn an increasingly eco-friendly marketplace, everything, it seems, has to be environmentally friendly. Organic food is in, irradiated and GM is out. Recycling is good while waste is unforgivable. Everything from using more public transport to fitting insulation and using energy-saving light ...
Views: 692 - Hips View That Swings The Other Way - by Submitted on Dec 17, 2007 from Daniel KirbyToday, just for the benefit of anyone who had been away on a canoeing trip and had lost their memory, the Department for Communities and Local Government issued a reminder that there are just three days to go until the final roll-out of the controversial home information pack (Hips) scheme is ...
Views: 857 - Housing Rises On Rate-cutters' Radar - by Submitted on Feb 25, 2008 from Daniel KirbyEarlier this week many were surprised to hear Bank of England monetary policy committee (MPC) member Tim Besley indicate an apparent shift in his position on interest rate cuts. Known to be a rate-cut opposing hawk, he seemed to soften his stance by telling the Institute for Fiscal Studies that ...
Views: 718 - How Long-Term Investment Pays - by Submitted on Jan 25, 2008 from Daniel KirbyIn the current climate with its talk of crunching credit, plummeting prices and declining dividends, many have seen the buy-to-let market as a near-certain victim of the emerging economic circumstances. Not so, it seems, judging by recent surveys in the industry, which have found the majority ...
Views: 724 - Immigration And Housing Downturn Spell Good News For Buy-to-let. - by Submitted on Nov 06, 2007 from Daniel KirbyThe issues of immigration and housing have been big issues in the news in recent years, with both being bones of contention and debate. In the former case, there has been a split between those who have welcomed the new source of labour coming from eastern Europe, set against those claiming that ...
Views: 591 - Interest In Portugal Growing - by Submitted on Feb 15, 2008 from Daniel KirbyAs the Spanish market has taken a few hits in recent times, many investors have been looking around for alternatives. While some have found new places to go to in Spain and some have ventured into the unknown territory of emerging markets, others have found the country next door to be of great ...
Views: 866 - Investors beware: Jack Frost cometh - by Submitted on Nov 05, 2007 from Daniel KirbyBuy-to-let property investors hold the dubious honour of responsibility for the upkeep and maintenance of all of their properties. Tenants are usually unwilling, unable and contractually hamstrung when it comes to repair work, meaning that they are straight on the phone in the event of a ...
Views: 654 - Investors Have Fast Train To Paris - by Submitted on Dec 14, 2007 from Daniel KirbyWhen George Orwell wrote Down and Out in London and Paris, he was writing about life as a homeless person in the two capitals, perhaps never imagining that one day people would be not just anything but homeless in either city, but able to commute between them with impunity. Yet while the ...
Views: 852 - London 'To Weather Property Storm' - by Submitted on Dec 07, 2007 from Daniel KirbyFor the last few years London has been one of the areas pushing UK property inflation the most. Whatever the average price rise, London's has been higher, with prime central London areas seeing the biggest booms. Recent figures, however, have suggested this capital trend has reversed. The ...
Views: 725 - London Still Promising Capital Gains - by Submitted on Sep 28, 2007 from Daniel KirbyFor years London has seemed like the best and worst of the property market. On the one hand, it has been at the centre of the biggest bang in the loud boom of the UK housing market, with London property prices comfortably outstripping the national average and soaring astronomically in the ...
Views: 602 - Market Variation Emerges In Survey - by Submitted on Oct 20, 2007 from Daniel KirbyThose looking to invest in property may often include those who wish to split a portfolio between the UK and abroad. One of the questions they might well ask is about what differences exist between the different markets. Multiple answers could be given to such a question. In the first ...
Views: 566 - Moderate Recovery Prospect Leaves Buy-to-let Well Placed - by Submitted on Jan 02, 2008 from Daniel KirbyOne of the most frequently highlighted statistics in the UK property investment sector has been the rise in rents as the housing market has declined. With more and more would-be first-time buyers opting to stay out of the market in these uncertain times, rental demand has been higher and has ...
Views: 641 - Next Year's Cape Christmas Cracker? - by Submitted on Dec 29, 2007 from Daniel KirbyEarlier this week, the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) said that over 3.5 million Britons will be jetting off to the sun over the Christmas and New Year period. Among this small army of those leaving behind the cold and wet of the British winter to spend the festive season in the ...
Views: 797 - No Train Strain For Spain? - by Submitted on Nov 20, 2007 from Daniel KirbyYesterday, amid great ceremony and under a spanking new roof which had replaced its dingy predecessor, the revamped St Pancras, recently re-opened by the Queen, began its role as the new London hub for the Eurostar and waved off the first of the new high-speed generation of trains as it hurtled ...
Views: 805 - Property Experts Say: It's Not Grim Up North - by Submitted on Jan 15, 2008 from Daniel KirbyThe decision of the Bank of England to keep interest rates on hold yesterday may tempted some to predict more hard times ahead for the property industry. Notwithstanding the widespread expectation that rates will fall next month, there are many who would beg to differ. Buy-to-let is certainly ...
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