The Liberal Democrats have proposed a ‘property tax’ on properties over £1m. Leaving aside the arguments about the political merits of redistribution of wealth, the real question is ‘will this work in practice?’ asks Smiths Gore’s head of Residential Agency, Andrew Turner.

90% Of UK households are potentially eligible for State Aid to cover housing costs, according to a new Knight Frank report.

The high street banks are squeezing overseas property investors for an average of more than £4,000 for every €200,000 they ‘buy’ according to foreign exchange broker Foremost Currency Group.

Thousands of UK holiday-home owners stand to lose a range of tax breaks under changes announced in last week’s Budget – but, in the short-term, they have been given the chance to apply retrospectively for a tax rebate previously reserved only for owners of UK-based holiday lets.

The 2009 Budget has been read and the reactions are out – and they are not overwhelmingly positive – in fact, Alistair Darling’s proposals have been met with scorn by property bods who say they totally ignore the industry – with one high profile expert likening Darling’s Budget to ‘using a water pistol to try to put out a fire’.

Equita Global, sister company to Nexus Development Ltd which has successfully raised over $200 million of capital investment since November, has recently been established to concentrate on equity and debt procurement for international developers. 

The UK’s Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has opted to hold the current base rate at 0.5%.

Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB, www.islamic-bank.com) today embarked on a drive to increase its share of the mainstream mortgage market with the launch of its fixed rate Home Purchase Plan (the mortgage alternative).

Mortgage lending activity continued to reduce in January with only 23,400 loans for house purchase completed, down from 32,400 in December and 48,600 in January 2008, according to new data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

European Finance Ministers have voted today to allow EU Member States to charge VAT at five percent on home maintenance and repairs marking a big victory for the 'Cut the VAT' coalition which has been campaigning to get the UK Government to cut VAT for all maintenance and repair work.

Brits should be able to take full control of Self Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs) to safeguard their retirement, says expert.

The ability to innovate, create new knowledge and build relations across boundaries will be the key to future success and in overcoming the challenges of the financial crisis, said His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, UAE Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Chancellor of the Higher Colleges of Technology.

Following the Bank of England slashing interest rates once again, new figures have revealed that the number of homeowners in the UK that have started to overpay on their mortgage has more than doubled over the last year.

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee today voted to reduce the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves by 0.5 percentage points to 0.5%, and to undertake a programme of asset purchases of £75 billion financed by the issuance of central bank reserves.

Today the Bank of England reduced its interest rate by half a percentage point to 0.5%, a level not seen in its entire 315-year history.

The UK's Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has reduced base rate by a further 0.5% and voted to begin quantitative easing, a less conventional economic stimulus to increase the money supply.

Aaron Turner, CEO of look4aproperty.com warns against wasting £75billion quantitative easing.

America's two largest mortgage lenders - Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae - have introduced a series of new measures to help those homeowners who are facing foreclosure.

The International Monetary Fund dashed all hopes of a quick recovery from the current economic downturn today when they announced that the UK would plunge into the deepest recession of any industrialised country this year.

Barclays Commercial Bank today launches a new initiative to assist its 81,000 business clients in battling recession.

Homeowners relying on current ultra-low mortgage repayments to make ends meet could be facing financial meltdown when their present tracker deals expire, warns debt solution website IVA.com.

Commenting on the figures Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said: “The price of a typical house fell by 1.8% in February, bringing the annual rate of change to -17.6% and the price of a typical house down to £147,746, from £179,358 this time last year."

Online payments provider Ivobank has launched a competitive new product to help overseas property owners pay bills and transfer money abroad cheaper and easier.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders observes that the resumption of new mortgage lending by Northern Rock will be another factor that may help to ease the continuing lack of supply of mortgage lending to the market.

Nomura International plc (‘Nomura’), the pre-eminent Asia-based investment bank, today announced that it has been granted a banking licence by the Dubai Financial Services Authority to provide investment banking and capital markets services from the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).