“Insurance commissions collected by managing agents of flats would amount to fraud in any other industry”
— James Daley, of Which? magazine, says agents take up to 42% commission
New home loans down 26%
Mortgage lending for property purchases fell 26% in January to £4.2 billion, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, which blamed the impact of spending cuts, tax changes and inflation on household budgets.
Wine prices on the rise
Fine wine prices continued to increase in February, with the Liv-ex index rising 3.3% during the month and the Claret Chip index up 3.9%. The Napa Valley Vintners’ annual barrel auction — a key indicator of the US wine market — generated record sales of $2.4m (£1.5m).
Huge bill for winter repairs
Britain received a repair bill of £3.16 billion — an average £596 for 7.1m households — for property damage caused by cold weather this winter, said AA Home Emergency Response. Of those affected, 65% either did not have cover or had claims rejected.
Quake shakes Footsie
— The FTSE 100 fell 159 points to 5,832 over fallout from the Japanese earthquake, turmoil in the Middle East and eurozone debt worries
— Over a year shares are up 3.8% (up 7.4% with dividends) while Halifax’s house price index fell 2.8%
— Over three years shares are up 2.4% (up 15.3% with dividends) while house prices have fallen 16.7%
— Over five years shares are down 1.3% (up 18.9% with dividends) while house prices are down 6.1%
— Over 10 years shares are down 1.5% (up 39.7% with dividends) while house prices are up 86.5%
— The pound remained flat against the euro, ending the week at €1.16, and fell 1 cent against the dollar, ending at $1.61