Paper round: Biggest monthly house price slump in 12 years

Biggest monthly house price decline for 12 years

The Nationwide has reported a house price slump of 0.8 per cent in November – the highest monthly fall seen by the building society since 1995, says The Independent on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Bank of England has said the number of new mortgages taken out is at a three-year low.

Trump determined to answer ancestral call

US real estate tycoon, Donald Trump has received unexpected local support after being refused permission to build a £1bn seaside golf resort in the north-east of Scotland, according to the Financial Times Weekend.

Report attacks Heathrow Expansion

The view that a third runway at Heathrow is essential for a strong economy is being challenged, reports The Sunday Times. The Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise (Hacan), the main anti-expansion lobby group, has commissioned a report from Dutch transport and environmental consultants, CE Delfth. This report will probe economic claims made to support expansion.

US rate cut hopes offers respite

The growing expectations of a US interest rate cut within the next two weeks yesterday delivered a respite to stock markets, but not enough to stem one of the worst monthly performances for global stock markets in recent years, according to The Financial Times Weekend.

Knight Frank gives £1m to each partner

Thirty-eight partners in the upmarket estate agent Knight Frank have landed an average £1m payday after profits soared by 67% in the last financial year, according to The Sunday Times.

ITV’s £50m eco-contest ‘flawed’

Contenders for a £50m lottery prize for an eco-project claim that ITV 1 has pushed the contest to the margins of the schedule, after initially indicating that it would run a high profile series of events in peak time, reports The Sunday Times

Property funds cut values as down turn continues

The UK’s largest retail property funds have been forced to slash the value of their properties by up to 7% in November as the downturn in commercial property shows no sign of slowing, reports The Financial Times Weekend.

Ready, steady, scrap – the big and bloated Olympics are just a start

Gordon Brown should scrap the plan to locate the 2012 Olympics in Stratford because its budget is out of control. The terms should be those of the original, much vaunted “low cost Games” of £2.4 billion, says Simon Jenkins in The Sunday Times.

Heathrow to Paris at 186 mph

An ambitious plan to build a high-speed rail line north of London via Heathrow – relieving the pressure for a third runway at the airport – is being drawn up by engineering firm Arup, reports The Sunday Times.

Rate cut urged to end the gloom

Pressure is growing on the Bank of England to cut interest rates this week as gloom over the economy intensifies according to The Sunday Times. City economists expect a rate cut this week, though 53 think the Bank will act before the end of the first quarter of the year.

How Africa’s desert sun can bring Europe power

Europe is planning to spend £5bn building giant photovoltaic grids in Africa and the Middle East, reports The Observer. One-sixth of the EU’s energy needs could be met by the scheme, headed by Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan.

Insurance ban for flood-risk homes

The Environment Agency has said homes built on flood plains against government advice should be refused insurance, according to The Observer. Chief executive Barbara Young is reported to have called for the Association of British Insurers to help prevent building on flood-plains.

Property tycoon gets 16 years for bribery in China

A former snack vendor who rose to become Shanghai's richest man through a string of shady property deals has been jailed for 16 years as part of China’s ongoing corruption crackdown, The Independent reports. Zhou Zhengyi’s case is said to be the biggest financial fraud case since the People’s Republic was founded in 1949.

Lenders demand rate cut as credit markets deteriorate

Britain's biggest mortgage banks have demanded the Bank of England cut interest rates as funding pressures on European money markets tighten further, The Independent reports. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) warned the frozen market for mortgage-backed securities had made it difficult for lenders to raise funds, the paper said.

Mortgage arrangement fees soar as lenders dangle cheap rates

The Independent on Sunday reported figures from comparison website Moneyfacts.co.uk suggesting charges for setting up a mortgage have nearly doubled in the past two years. On average, upfront arrangement fees have risen from £441 in 2005 to £827 today, it said.

David Abrahams: I value my privacy. Labour knew this was a deal-breaker

David Abrahams, the property developer at the centre of the latest Labour party donations scandal used a column in The Independent on Sunday to “get the facts straight.” He said he feels he is being treated by some as if he had stolen from the Labour Party and that Gordon Brown had been “badly let down” by his chief fundraiser.

3.6m Britons buying abroad

The number of Britons who own homes overseas has surged to 3.62m and the figure is expected to double within the next five years, reports the Daily Mail. Around 1.16m Britons have bought a second property.

Estate agents are signing in to Polish customers

Estate agents are marketing their properties in Polish to take advantage of the influx of migrant workers into Britain says the Daily Mail.

Abramovich buys farmland for £5m

Roman Abramovich has made an offer to a Sussex landowner to buy his land for £5m according to the Daily Mail. The Chelsea-owner is said to have made the offer for the land close to his house in order for his children to ride their horses in peace.

Fêted by Blair: the glory Days

Scorned property developer, David Abrahams, enjoyed access to the very top of the Labour party at an elite drinks party four years ago, reports The Sunday Telegraph.

M&B ‘could go under if it spins off property’

Mitchells & Butlers, the pub group, faced a stark warning from one of its leading shareholders that its plan to spin off its £5bn property portfolio could bring the company down, according to The Sunday Telegraph.

Want a cheap loan? It’ll cost you….

The fees being charged on mortgages are rising at an unprecedented rate. The average arrangement charge has almost doubled in the last two years, according to new research, reports The Sunday Telegraph.

High-tech, high style at high tide

Houseboats, already popular in some of Denmark’s quieter waterways, will be available in Britain from next year. Costing from £290,000 to £400,000 – they may provide highly desirable housing alternatives in areas where land is underused or where there is a concern about flooding, as they can accommodate rises in the water level, reports The Sunday Telegraph.