Latest news with #housing market
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Mansion House glitz cannot hide the stark realities for the UK economy
Tonight, the Mansion House will almost certainly be in glittering floodlights, as the Lord Mayor hosts the good and the great to hear Chancellor Reeves extol the virtues of GB PLC. Those attending will be told that provided they are patient, the sun metaphorically is set to rise above the yardarm and deliver growth for working people. She will mutter about fiscal spending and probably repeat for the umpteenth time how awful the Tories have been for fourteen years. It is also possible that she will also dodge the obvious questions – How much will taxation be increased by in the Autumn Budget and which taxes – wealth tax, income tax, VAT? A wealth tax would be very anti-business, when the Government needs to encourage investment. Over 10,000 millionaires have left the UK and more will follow unless attitudes towards the creation of wealth and consequently jobs, changes. Labour governments have shown little appetite for cutting costs and especially welfare benefits or workers' rights and it's hard to see this one changing its spots. On the positive side, the Chancellor is likely to offer an easing of regulatory requirements for mortgages to stimulate the housing market. Friday's GDP number of -0.1% for May, following -0.3% in April made dispiriting reading. In fairness GDP was up 0.5% for the last quarter. Poor manufacturing data was one of the main reason growth was negative last month. No decent person on God's earth wants those with disabilities or genuine mental health to suffer. Like many others I was amazed that the Government had to do a 'U'-turn' on its recent welfare Bill. The sum involved, £5 billion, is but a mere bagatelle in the grand scheme of the total cost to the exchequer. The total cost of welfare in the UK for 2025/26 is estimated to be £303.3 billion, up from £228.7 billion in 2019 and from £247.4 billion in 2020/1. Of course Covid 19 played an active role in increasing costs, but we need a reality check before it's too late. Many respected economists with established track records, venture to suggest the figure will increase to £375 billion by 2029/30 – unsustainable in my humble opinion. The direction of travel the UK economy is headed in, offers scant encouragement. With the cost of welfare at eye-wateringly dizzy and unsustainable levels, growth at best will be anaemic for the next decade - 1% plus a bit at best. The prospects for the future look unappetising. There are no ministers with any business experience on the Government's front bench. Whilst the Government should be trying to unravel the colossal welfare burden in the years to come, it has failed to grasp the nettle – how to stimulate business and investment activity to create growth. Maybe the Chancellor's speech will offer a smidgen of hope! At present, risk appetite is all but at zero. Brexit should have encourage copious companies to come to London, by being offered aggressive tax incentives. Stamp duty on trading shares should have been abolished. Better tax concessions for start-up businesses should have been implemented. We shall be waiting with bated breath to hear what the Chancellor has to say tonight. Let's hope it is not a replica of another 'Pandora's Box.' Encouraging savers to put their pension funds in unquoted companies or any companies that have not been recommended is not the way forward. I am no economist, but there is one brutal fact staring everyone in the face on top of the cost of welfare, but closely associated with it. That is there are 9.2 million economically inactive people in this country – circa 21% of the working-age population. The cost of that is unsustainable. There are only two answers to the cost of this parlous state of affairs – increased taxation and or dramatically cut costs. This is not a right-wing rant. This is a reality check. The Labour is not the only government to blame for this crisis. The Tories, allowing for the fact that Covid 19 cost circa £400 billion, to keep the country in near enough full employment during those dark days of 2020-21, did little to deal with what is euphemistically referred to as a weeping carbuncle, better known as a bloated wasteful public sector. So many people, who rightly get huge benefits from free education for their children and free health from the NHS, still think the country owes them more. This is insanity. We are on the road to penury. Debt is now approaching £2.9 trillion, or around 100% of GDP, a level not seen since the early 1960s. Specifically, public sector net debt was equivalent to 96.4% of GDP at the end of May 2025. This level has fluctuated, reaching a high of 210.7% after the Second World War in 1948, and a low of 21.6% in 1990. The Federation of Small Business believe that 27% of their owners fear their operations will be closed, shrink or be sold, such is the lack of confidence in the future, which is at its lowest level since 2008. Only 25% believe their businesses will expand. The concern is such that many believe that 200,000 jobs could be lost. Though we hope the PM, the Chancellor and the Government will inspire us in the months to come, the larger than life crisis of the welfare, debt and those economically inactive is not going to go away. The problem needs to be addressed now. If not, it may not take too long before the gilt market takes its toll on the government again, which will just exacerbate this acute crisis. The Government must have the drains up to dramatically cut unnecessary waste and profligacy, focusing on those who do not deserve help. Sign in to access your portfolio
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Singapore Private Home Sales Fall to Six-Month Low Before Curbs
Singapore's new private home sales declined to the lowest level in six months in June, just before authorities introduced new measures to tame prices. Developers sold 272 units last month, data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed on Tuesday. That's lower than the 312 homes sold in May, but higher than the sales reported in June 2024.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Homes in Chemung County sold for higher prices recently: See how much here
Newly released data from for April shows that potential buyers and sellers in Chemung County saw higher home sale prices than the previous month's median of $118,000. The median home sold for $157,450, an analysis of data from shows. That means April, the most recent month for which figures are available, was up 33.4% from March. Compared to April 2024, the median home sales price was the same as last year. sources sales data from real estate deeds, resulting in a few months' delay in the data. The statistics don't include homes currently listed for sale and aren't directly comparable to listings data. Information on your local housing market, along with other useful community data, is available at Here is a breakdown on median sale prices: Looking only at single-family homes, the $159,950 median selling price in Chemung County was up 35.6% in April from $118,000 the month prior. No single-family homes sold for $1 million or more during the month. Across New York, homes sold at a median of $488,992 during April, down 4.1% from $510,000 in March. There were 9,825 recorded sales across the state during April, down 5.4% from 10,386 recorded sales in April 2024. Here's a breakdown for the full state: The total value of recorded residential home sales in New York decreased by 21% from $10 billion in March to $7.9 billion this April. Out of all residential home sales in New York, 16.47% of homes sold for at least $1 million in April, up from 15.12% in April 2024. Sales prices of single-family homes across New York decreased by 2.8% from a median of $450,000 in March to $437,255 in April. Since April 2024, the sales price of single-family homes across the state was up 4.1% from $420,040. Across the state, the sales price of condominiums and townhomes dropped 6.3% from a median of $629,892 in March to $590,036 during April. The median sales price of condominiums and townhomes is up 5.4% from the median of $560,089 in April 2024. The median home sales price used in this report represents the midway point of all the houses or units listed over the given period of time. The median offers a more accurate view of what's happening in a market than the average sales price, which would mean taking the sum of all sales prices then dividing by the number of homes sold. The average can be skewed by one particularly low or high sale. The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Please leave any feedback or corrections for this story here. This story was written by Ozge Terzioglu. Our News Automation and AI team would like to hear from you. Take this survey and share your thoughts with us. This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Homes in Chemung County sold for higher prices recently: See how much here
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Mortgage rates move higher, ending six straight weeks of declines
For the first time in six weeks, mortgage rates are trending up. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.72% through Wednesday, up from 6.67% a week earlier, according to Freddie Mac data. The average 15-year mortgage rate was 5.82%, up from 5.80% last week. The June jobs report showed that the labor market remains strong and unemployment is ticking down slightly. Those factors point to a lower likelihood of a July interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. By subscribing, you are agreeing to Yahoo's Terms and Privacy Policy The Fed does not directly control mortgage rates, but rates move based on expectations about future rate cuts. Additionally, the 10-year Treasury yield, which mortgage rates closely follow, has begun to see an uptick. Read more: 2025 housing market: Is it a good time to buy a house? While this week saw a slight increase in mortgage rates, they have remained within the 6% to 7% range throughout 2025. In spite of the fluctuations, mortgage applications are still steadily on the rise. According to a weekly Mortgage Bankers Association survey, last week mortgage applications were nearly 2.7% higher than the previous week. Learn more: Mortgage rates in every state 'We are seeing home purchase and refinance applications respond to the downward trajectory in rates, increasing by 25% and 56%, respectively, compared to the same time last year,' Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist, said in a statement. As home prices in some regions of the country are declining, pending home sales have also seen a slight uptick, according to the National Association of Realtors. In May, pending home sales increased 0.8% over the previous month. On a wider scale, however, high mortgage rates are inhibiting new home purchases: New home sales are 6.3% lower compared to one year ago. Existing home sales are also down 0.7% from last year. 'The reduction in sales is leading to slightly higher inventory levels and will help create a more buyer-friendly housing market, but the process is expected to be a gradual one as economic uncertainty persists,' Senior Economist Anthony Smith said in a statement. Sign up for the Mind Your Money newsletter Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
April home sales slow with high mortgage rates, prices, putting chill into spring buying season
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in April, as elevated mortgage rates and rising prices discouraged prospective home buyers during what's traditionally the busiest time of the year for the housing market. Existing home sales dropped 0.5% last month from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. Sales fell 2% compared with April last year. The latest home sales fell slightly short of the 4.10 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet. Home prices increased on an annual basis for the 22nd consecutive month, although at a slower rate. The national median sales price rose 1.8% in April from a year earlier to $414,000, an all-time high for the month of April. There were 1.45 million unsold homes at the end of last month, a 9% increase from March, and 20.8% higher than April last year, NAR said. That translates to a 4.4-month supply at the current sales pace, up from a 3.5-month pace at the end of April last year. Traditionally, a 5- to 6-month supply is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers.
