“It’s likely households will face a cost-of-living crunch for much of the year” The biggest economic story of last week is something impacting everyone’s pockets – inflation. Data released from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Wednesday revealed that surging food and energy prices had pushed inflation to a near 30-year high of 5.4% […]
Monthly archives: January 2022
Time to consider external factors
The Autumn Budget may have left a sense that nothing much had changed in the realm of personal financial planning, as no major changes to Capital Gains Tax, Inheritance Tax, Income Tax or pensions, were announced. Despite this, a prime consideration needs to be how external factors such as frozen rates and higher inflation, could […]
‘Special dividends’ boost investor income
In Q3 2021, UK dividends reached £34.9bn, an impressive 89% year-on-year rise1. Part of this rise can be attributed to large one-off special dividends, a trend expected to continue in Q4. Excluding special dividends, the underlying total in Q3 was £27.7bn, a 52.6% increase. In context, this year-on-year rebound, is comparable with a pandemic-stricken Q3 2020, […]
Home Finance – In the news
FTBs go mad for BoMaD Half of all first-time buyer (FTB) transactions in 2021 involved support from the Bank of Mum & Dad (BoMaD)1, with £9.8bn of BoMaD loans helping 169,000 FTBs onto the housing ladder. Analysts suggest the trend towards higher parental contributions could be here to stay given that Help to Buy is set to be […]
Residential Property Review – January 2022
Strong end to record-breaking year – but uncertainty ahead As Big Ben’s bongs rang out, a record-breaking year for the residential housing market gave way to an uncertain New Year. Completed transactions to November totalled 1.36 million, which means the number of homes sold in 2021 will reach levels not seen since before the global […]
Commercial Property Market Review – January 2022
Upbeat tone in new year forecasts 2022 could be a year of recovery for the commercial property market, two leading forecasts have suggested, with Colliers’ ‘Forecasts for 2022’ predicting investment volumes will reach £65bn and CBRE’s ‘UK Real Estate Outlook’ also foreseeing strong growth despite lingering risks. According to CBRE, the office market is predicted […]
News in Review
“It’s amazing to see the size of the economy back to pre-pandemic levels” A raft of economic news landed in the last week or so, one of the most prominent being the latest UK gross domestic product (GDP) statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which highlighted that the UK economy surpassed pre-COVID levels […]
In the news – Money
Scam victims suffer a £9.3bn wellbeing impact Unfortunately, scams continue to be rife. As well as having devasting financial impacts, a study1 has found that scams affect personal wellbeing. By using a model that allows researchers to value changes in wellbeing in monetary terms, the impact of scams on victim wellbeing has been calculated at […]
In the news – Wealth
Your 2022 playlist Research studies over the years have reinforced the idea that equity prices are not solely driven by analysis of a company’s prospects but also by outside factors which can impact investor mood. Correlation has been found between improved stock market performance on sunny days or poor performance after a country loses a […]
What trends will dominate the housing market in 2022?
Last year house prices rose to new heights and the sales market was at its most active since 2007. Last year’s property boom was fuelled by a desire for more space, a mismatch in supply and demand, and the temporary Stamp Duty holiday. Looking ahead, what trends will dominate the housing market in 2022? Strong […]