Did you know that 46% of aspiring first-time buyers would consider buying a home with a friend or sibling to help them get onto the property ladder?1 Most people (62%) would ideally like to purchase a home with a partner; however, many have been forced to look at alternative options. The main reason for considering […]
Monthly archives: December 2024
Get into the savings habit to enhance your wellbeing
A report from UK Savings Week shows that having a savings habit improves wellbeing. Savers on the lowest incomes were found to benefit the most from regularly putting money aside, with 53% of this group reporting that they are satisfied with their life. However, only 40% of low-income non-savers could say the same1. Interestingly, low-income […]
Residential Property Review – December 2024
Property market trends in 2024 As we approach the new year, Zoopla has highlighted trends in the UK property market in 2024. It is expected that, by the end of the year, there will have been 1.1 million sales completed – 10% more than last year. Meanwhile, January was the busiest month for visitors to […]
Commercial Property Market Review – December 2024
Robust demand for Scottish hotels The Scottish hotels market continued to show resilience in Q3 according to Colliers. Hotel investment in Scotland hit £110m in quarter three – £40m more than Q2 and 150% higher than the five-year quarterly average of £44m. The year-to-date investment total is £200m – up 18% when compared with the […]
News in Review
“The economy contracted slightly in October, with services showing no growth overall and production and construction both falling” Key takeaways The UK economy contracted again in October, according to official figures released on Friday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The unexpected fall of 0.1% marked two consecutive months of negative growth for the […]
Buy-to-let market update: Trends and insights
The UK buy-to-let (BTL) market has seen notable changes recently. The number of new BTL mortgages granted has decreased sharply. This decline is largely due to higher interest rates and stricter taxation measures, which have served to cool investor enthusiasm. Additionally, the overall size of the BTL mortgage market has contracted. Investors are encountering more […]
Why should you care about correlation
If you want your investment portfolio to strike a good balance between risk and return, it’s worth knowing how correlation can impact your investments. If two different investments are perfectly correlated, their value will rise and fall by the same amount, at the same time. Investing in highly correlated assets can increase your losses, because […]
News in Review
“Mark my words: with this Plan for Change, we will stick to it. Country first, party second” Key takeaways Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer delivered a speech last Thursday at Pinewood Studios on the government’s ‘Plan for Change.’ In it, he set out “six milestones” to be completed before the next general election, with new […]
A third of Gen X think they will never retire
Recently released research1 suggests a significant proportion of working age people are no longer planning a traditional ‘hard stop’ retirement, with 45 to 54-year-olds most likely to feel they will continue working beyond pensionable age. Work work work According to the survey, more than a fifth of working age adults think it unlikely they will […]
Many young mortgage holders do not have life cover
Research has found that 28% of young UK homeowners do not have life insurance1. It is estimated that 1.7 million adults aged 18-40 do not have appropriate cover in place, despite having a mortgage. This oversight puts their dependants in a precarious financial position in the event of their death. Why risk it? Of those […]
