United Kingdom – Suhail Ahmad, MBA

UK Housing Hits Record High

By SuhailPosted on November 18, 2021Posted in United KingdomTagged real estate, UK housing, United Kingdom

U.K. house prices hit a record high of £269,945 in September 2021 according to Bloomberg as buyers rushed to tie up deals before a property tax cut came to an end.

The data: Prices have soared by 15%—more than £35,000—since Rishi Sunak introduced a tax waiver in July 2020, Land Registry figures show. That dwarfs the £2,500 saving in stamp duty that the average buyer would have benefited from.
The drivers: While the stamp-duty holiday is one factor driving the boom, arguably more significant is a “race for space”—demand for larger properties away from city centers among people for whom homeworking is now the new normal.
Source: Bloomberg

Pound Sterling on a Tear

By SuhailPosted on June 21, 2021October 20, 2021Posted in United KingdomTagged Currency, Forex, Pound Sterling, United Kingdom

The economic gloom is lifting so fast in the U.K. that even the skeptics are warming to the Pound Sterling which is up more than 4% from its January low. Thanks to one of the world’s fastest vaccine-rollout programs, the pound is winning fresh backing as the faster-than-expected recovery fuels speculation that the Bank of England is about to get hawkish.

ABN Amro, a long-time bear on the pound, just revised its pound forecast, as has Citigroup and bulls predict further gains too, with Nomura International Plc and Societe Generale SA seeing the pound erasing all its post-Brexit losses by year-end.

Source: Bloomberg