In the news this morning, London is at risk of a housing bubble, UBS warns. Its bubble index ranks the city second, behind Vancouver. Meanwhile, a trend is emerging among developers in London as they look to reduce the size of the flats they plan to build but increase the overall number. Elsewhere, the property ombudsman is updating its code of practice to ban portal juggling, which has been estimated to boost house prices by 10%-plus.
London second in housing bubble rankings (The Independent/FREE)
London is at risk of a housing bubble, according to UBS Wealth Management’s bubble index.
Developers cut flat sizes, increase numbers (FT/£)
London flats are getting smaller, as developers drop plans for large apartments, substituting them with plans for units with less space.
Portal juggling banned (The Telegraph/FREE)
The Property Ombudsman has banned the practice of portal juggling in an update of its code of practice.
RBS agrees $1.1bn settlement with NCUA (FT/£)
The Royal Bank of Scotland has reached a $1.1bn settlement with the US National Credit Union Administration Board relating to allegations of mis-selling mortgage securities prior to the global financial crisis.
Number of Scottish households renting triples (The Times/£)
Some 14% of Scottish households live in privately rented accommodation, triple the level in 1999.
Wolseley to close 80 branches (The Independent/FREE)
Wolseley will close 80 branches, eliminate up to 800 jobs and shut a distribution centre as part of a £100m restructuring.
Retail sales fall (The Times/£)
Retail sales volumes have fallen this month, the latest CBI distributive trades survey shows.
UK ranks seventh on global competitiveness (The Guardian/FREE)
The UK’s higher place in the global competitiveness index is at risk following the Brexit vote, the World Economic Forum warned.
