Nearly 15 years after a burst housing bubble tipped the world into the worst financial crisis for a century, booming property markets are triggering an uncomfortable sense of déjà vu. From New Zealand to South Korea, prices are soaring. An Auckland fixer-upper, which couldn’t even boast its own toilet, changed hands for more than NZ$2m…
Thousands of homeowners are set to benefit after investor Aviva and housebuilder Persimmon Homes agreed to “landmark” commitments on leaseholds as part of the competition watchdog’s investigation into unfair practices in the sector. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said Aviva – which invested in freeholds from developers – has agreed to remove ground rent…
Rishi Sunak repeatedly refused to confirm that state pensions would rise as quickly as wages this year, but insisted that the so-called triple lock was “still government policy”. With pay expected to increase by as much as 8pc as battered earnings recover from the Covid crisis, the triple lock rule would commit the Government to increasing…
