http://www.propertyintellect.com/blog Comments and observations on the world of property investment Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:43:14 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Well, here we are on the cusp of what would appear to be a fairly momentous announcement by the UK Government: the partial nationalisation of the UK banking sector. If the speculation is correct - and it appears that it likely is - Alistair Darling will announce that the government ... http://www.propertyintellect.com/blog/?p=65 Well, it's been a pretty busy week, hasn't it? The press is chock full of words like 'unprecendented' and 'landmark' in relation to the current spate of bank takeovers and nationalisations. Hold on a minute - did you really say that dirty word 'Nationalisation'? Just a month or two ago ... http://www.propertyintellect.com/blog/?p=57 It appears that the US government has bitten the (almost inevitable) bullet and launched what is likely to be the biggest bail-out we are likely to see in our lifetimes. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the two institutions that underwrite US mortgage debt have been all but taken into public ... http://www.propertyintellect.com/blog/?p=47 Are interest rate cuts looming round the corner? I think so, and so do most rate pundits. The Bank of England are desperate to cut them but are being held back by one thing only - inflation. If we make the leap of faith that fuel prices are unlikely to ... http://www.propertyintellect.com/blog/?p=30 I see the government announced some interesting changes designed to boost a static property market in the UK. Stamp duty has been axed for the next 12 months for purchases below £175K (up from the previous £125K limit) and we have the introduction of interest-free loans for up to 30% ... http://www.propertyintellect.com/blog/?p=33 Sometimes I read the papers and wonder just where they get their ideas from. Maybe they have some bright stars working away in the background diligently researching the intricacies, effects and implications of the raft of policies that they need to produce. Or maybe they just think of things over ... http://www.propertyintellect.com/blog/?p=26 It looks like the Halifax are the latest to announce another series of rate cuts following a wider trend of slow lowering of rates across the board. The cuts are small and the banks seem to be edging forward on this front (albeit slowly). Swap rates fell a while ago but ... http://www.propertyintellect.com/blog/?p=24 We'll be exhibiting the new software range at the show so if you fancy dropping by, I'll be on the Property Intellect stand (908) at the show so feel free to drop by and say hello! I'll be the one with the coffee cup. Update 18 Sept 08: Stand number changed ... http://www.propertyintellect.com/blog/?p=14 One of the effects of the slowdown in sales has been the recent movement into the lettings arena by a number of estate agents. We are taking calls on a daily basis from would-be letting agents who are looking to lettings as the way to increase revenue and keep them ... http://www.propertyintellect.com/blog/?p=3 Unless you have been living in a cave for the last few months you will be all too aware of the so-called ‘credit crunch’. Despite what you might be led to believe by the press the mechanics behind this is not a new phenomenon - indeed it is all part ... http://www.propertyintellect.com/blog/?p=5