A Commons Committee has – quite seriously – argued that an Englishman’s home should no longer be his castle. You could also describe their proposal as a return of the Star Chamber – where doing something the powers that be didn’t like ended with you forfeiting your property. The English spent a number of centuries […]
In 1986, a well-known African-American economist travelled to South Africa for a conference on the role of business in helping to overcome racial divisions in that country. Three years later, Professor Walter E. Williams of George Mason University published a book titled South Africa’s War against Capitalism. Racial discrimination in the country, he wrote, was […]
In March the highest number of lots was put under the hammer since 2008 (3,263 lots). A decade ago the economy was in the midst of a credit crunch and the auction market saw increasing numbers of repossessions and motivated vendors but fewer buyers; indeed, the average sale rate was a lowly 62% compared to […]
I have been active in the European real estate markets for over 30 years with a focus on the more liquid north-western countries. I have worked for agencies (Knight Frank and CBRE), an accountancy practice (Touche Ross & Co) and investment banks Lazard Brothers and Citigroup. Nearly 14 years ago I set up Rynda Property […]
As Sydney Harbour fills up with the tears of lachrymose cricketers, transgressors of a law of the game, rather than of the land, one can’t help but think how hysterical the response has been, and ask why. How does the game of cricket, (cricket I ask you!), provoke such wailing and blubbing? It seems to […]
How can we end the housing crisis? Would a better planning system ensure more well-designed homes with local support where they are most wanted, over time making homes more affordable than they would otherwise be? Of course it would. When it comes to whether or not something should be done about Britain’s planning system, that […]
The residential auction sector has certainly gone from strength to strength recently. Ignoring the anomaly of February 2016, when there was an unprecedented spike in transactions due to the impending stamp duty changes, the residential lots offered is the highest volume ever recorded in February; easily surpassing the previous record of 3.330 residential lots offered […]
January is a difficult month for property auctions as there are too few to give any meaningful statistics. Indeed, in January there were just 9 auctions in the UK offering 430 lots, 316 of which found buyers. A conversion rate of 73.5% is in line with the national average during 2017. The reason for the […]
“No, Your Highness, you’re NOT allowed any more pudding! And while we’re at it, why haven’t you finished your prep?!” Not words you’d imagine many royal or senior Arabs to hear very often, as another tray of baklava arrives to complement the boxes of Patchi chocolates, but, of course, it is a fact that many […]
Nominally at least, both Ghana and Nigeria are in the midst of an economic uptick. The latter is forecast to grow at 2% per annum this year as against 0.6% in 2017 and -1.6% the year before (its first recession in a quarter century). Ghana meanwhile is set to exceed 8% per annum in 2018 […]
