Month: January 2017

A carrot for older generation to downsize from larger homes PENSIONERS will be given incentives to downsize from largely empty family homes to flats and bungalows as part of measures to ease the housing crisis. Sajid Javid, the Communities Secretary, will set out plans to tackle the chronic shortage of housing in a White Paper later this month. Under the plans, which are still being finalised, the Government could give pensioners help with moving costs or an exemption on stamp duty to encourage them to move. Ministers are hoping the measures will encourage older people to move out of larger homes to make space for younger families. Research suggests this could release...

The Daily Telegraph writes…House builder Taylor Wimpey is “unfazed” by post-referendum uncertainty in the market, predicting that its profits will be at the higher end of analysts’ expectations. The company, which is one of the biggest house builders in the country, said that trading had been “robust” in the second half of the year. During 2016, the number of completions increased by 4pc last year, and cancellation rates were similar to those of 2015, at 13pc. It added that the average selling price of their homes increased by 13pc to £286,000, and it had ended the year in a strong position with more cash than last year, even after paying dividends, at £365m, up from £223m in 2015....