With one of the busiest months of the year for property sales approaching, an expert reveals the best time to set your listing live, how can you make it stand out – and explains the “Boxing Day bounce”. Read this and the rest of today’s consumer and personal finance news below.
Monday 9 December 2024 10:24, UK
A craft brewery has introduced a waiting list for those wanting to stock its Guinness rival after it reported a 110% rise in sales.
Anspach and Hobday said it had seen a huge increase in demand for its nitro porter London Black, buoyed by a wave of national interest in dark beers.
The product, which was introduced in 2021, makes up more than 70% of the Croydon-based brewery’s production
“Keeping up with such growth in volumes has been a great challenge for our team,” co-founder John Hobday said.
He added that “in order to navigate the current demand, we are going to start a waiting list for new London Black accounts”.
“The list will allow us to regulate the speed of expansion and support existing customers,” he said.
While it works to ramp up production, Mr Hobday said he would work with wholesalers directly to help them manage demand.
“When supply allows, and with the backing of our growing community, we believe that we can continue to make inroads into markets previously denied to smaller brewers,” he added.
The boss of Iceland has urged companies to stop “wallowing” and get on with adapting to the Labour government’s recent budget.
Richard Walker, who backed the party in the last election, said businesses needed to start thinking about how to influence what the government does next.
“This isn’t a time for businesses to wallow… The government isn’t going to change its mind. It was a tough Budget, but we adapt,” he told The Telegraph.
“There’s been a lot of complaining from business. But, actually what matters much more is how the government invests for the future and looks at long-term solutions, like skills development, industrial strategy, the business rates overhaul. How they spend all the money they are raising is more important.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been under fire from retail bosses over the budget.
More than 80 leaders have warned that the changes to employers’ national insurance contributions, a higher minimum wage and levies on packaging would cause higher costs, and ultimately job losses.
By James Sillars, business and economics reporter
The demise of the Assad regime in Syria has been received cautiously on financial markets.
The obvious area to look at is oil, given the continued instability across the Middle East.
Brent crude is trading at $71 a barrel – up 0.6% on Friday’s close.
Syria is an oil producer but its output is small compared with that of the big regional players.
Analysts say there is immediate concern over a possible power struggle that could take in Syria’s neighbours.
However, prices are being kept stable by renewed concerns over a global glut of oil next year.
In London, the FTSE 100 opened 0.4% up at 8,347.
On the wider markets, Domino’s Pizza shares were 0.8% down at the open.
The chain announced a new five-year agreement with franchisees earlier in the morning that targets joint investment to grow its store footprint.
It also flagged £3m of costs to the group from the employer national insurance hikes announced in the budget.
Every Monday we get an expert to answer your Money Problems. WhatsApp us yours here. Today’s question is…
My outstanding student loan balance is around £5k and I’m repaying it with a 4.3% interest rate. I can’t decide whether it would be better to pay it all off in one go, or leave the money in a savings account. Can you help? I have also overpaid so am technically due for a refund of £300 – but should I withdraw that money?
Ellie
Megan Harwood-Baynes, cost of living specialist, says…
I first established with you that paying off your remaining student loan would not wipe out your savings, because ensuring you have an emergency fund is really important, whatever stage you are at. The recommendation is to have the equivalent of three months’ worth of essential outgoings to fall back on.
I then consulted Save The Student (STS), to see if we could figure out what your options are.
They needed a few more details and we worked out that because you are on Plan 1 and graduated in 2013 (and thus started repaying your loan in April 2014) your loan would get written off after 25 years, in 2039.
If you’re ever unsure what your repayment terms are, you can find them here…
Tom Allingham, student money expert at STS, says: “It’s an age-old question, and there isn’t one set answer that applies to everyone. But for me, the big thing to consider is how likely you are to repay your loan in full before it’s cancelled.
“As someone with a Plan 1 Student Loan, you’re already more likely to clear your balance than others as the repayment threshold has always been the lowest, and the debt won’t have accrued as much interest as on other plans.”
He pointed out that you have a relatively small amount of debt remaining and over half your repayment term left to go. Without knowing your salary, he can’t say for certain if you will repay your debt in full, but the general consensus is that if you are earning in the high £20,000s you will repay your loan before 2039. This means clearing it early could end up saving you interest you would otherwise be paying.
But if you are earning less than £30,000 it may be worth reconsidering – and even claiming the refund you are due.
Weighing up the interest
Let’s weigh up the interest rates and see if you could end up saving any money.
I checked our latest savings guide, and the best easy access accounts offer a rate of 4.85%.
I used the Bank of England’s calculator to have a look at how much interest you would earn in a year – it tells me that with 4.85% as a rate of return, you would earn just over £240 a year in “free money”. Over four years, you would earn just shy of £1,000.
I then used a couple of different student loan calculators to see what they said – I had to make a couple of assumptions about your salary (I put your salary at £32,000, though it varies, so I would recommend trying it yourself with your actual details).
One told me you would end up paying about £1,247 extra in interest by the time you paid off the loan (which it said would take seven years), while another told me it could be as little as £300 in interest.
I would try these for yourself and then weigh up the interest you would earn, versus the interest you will pay.
Other financial considerations
As well as assessing how likely you are to repay, you need to consider if wiping your Student Loan is a financial priority.
Tom says: “It is important to consider other factors, like what else your savings could be used for. Student Loans have no impact on your credit score and will eventually be wiped, so if you have other more expensive debts that need repaying, they should be your priority.
“Similarly, if you’re looking to buy a house or make another big purchase very soon, your savings could be better put towards that.”
This feature is not intended as financial advice – the aim is to give an overview of the things you should think about. Submit your dilemma or consumer dispute via:
By Jess Sharp, Money blogger
January is one of the busiest months of the year for property sales, according to Rightmove – and with it currently a buyer’s market, competition is heating up.
So, if you are looking to sell your home, when is the best time to make your listing live? And, how can you make it stand out?
Interiors expert Liv Conlon has been running property staging business The Property Stagers for a decade, transforming thousands of homes for sale, including ones that have been on the market for years.
When should you list it?
She told Money the best day to list your home on Rightmove was actually Boxing Day.
“We call it the Boxing Day bounce. Over the years, they have seen such a growth of people looking for homes after Christmas dinner,” the 26-year-old said.
“You’ll find anywhere between 10 and 15 million people looking for a house, but that number actually doubles on Boxing Day.
“We see a huge spike between 26 December all the way into January.”
She explained that people tend to go through a “life transition” at the end of the year, and Christmas can make them consider if their homes still meet all their needs.
If you’re going to make the Boxing Day bounce, what should you consider?
With Christmas been and gone by then, Liv said the photos shouldn’t include any festive decor.
“Don’t take photographs of the property with Christmas decorations. That’s kind of bringing people back when they moved on from Christmas,” she said.
“They are looking into the new year and that’s without decorations.”
However, she said that if you were looking to advertise your home before Christmas, trinkets can make it feel cosy and inviting.
“Buyers aren’t just looking at the property itself – they’re imagining it as their future home,” she added.
“Festive decor can create a warm, inviting atmosphere that appeals to buyers on an emotional level.”
The biggest mistakes to avoid
Furnishing hundreds of homes each year, Liv said she has seen the best – and worst – decisions made by sellers.
Making it hard for buyers to visualise how they could use the space in your home is one of her biggest no goes.
“90% of people don’t have the eye to see how to use the space, so whatever you as a homeowner or someone selling a property designate that space for, it’s very hard for anyone to see beyond that,” she said.
“If someone has their ironing board in the space under the stairs, that could have been sold as a nice desk space, but now it’s very hard to see that.”
Part of that also means removing any “obscure items” from your home.
“Some people end up making an offer on the house to include things like fish tanks and stuff like that. It works in some people’s favour, but more often than not, it doesn’t,” she warned.
But, she said the most common mistake was made in photographs that have poor lighting and bad angles.
“They are your advertisement, your shop window to even get someone to click through, so well-lit good, angled photographs can be like the game-changer to the success of your property,” she said.
“Obviously, good photographs come from it looking good as well, so the mistakes most people make is not decluttering the space.”
Here’s five things you should do
1. Declutter
Decluttering a space allows people to “appreciate the room”, Liv said.
“You don’t want stuff everywhere… they’ll be too busy looking at all your stuff, so hide as much as possible,” she added.
“In any space that you walk into, there should be a focal point and it should feel like you’re not having to climb over furniture to get into that space. Actually make it as open as possible.”
2. Maximise
Through furniture placement, you can maximise the space in each room to show them off the best.
“Lots of people when they live in their homes have things centred around the TV, but actually that’s not always the best room set up for showing someone how they can use that space,” Liv said.
Placing mirrors opposite windows or light fixtures is a good staging trick to make small homes feel bigger, she explained.
3. Depersonalise
Removing, or hiding, personal items like family photos, antiques or souvenirs can make it easier for people to visualise living in your property.
“People can’t imagine their own family photographs on the wall if it’s your family staring back. So try to depersonalise it as much as possible,” she said.
“Neutralise the space as much as possible as well. Things can put people off.
“If you have super wacky items or a really garish colour scheme, think about how you can tone it down to be appreciated by the masses as much as possible.”
4. Think weather
In the UK, we are usually very weather focused, so if you are selling in winter there are some things you’ll want to highlight more than in the warmer months.
“In the summer you are going to want to highlight the garden and how someone could live in that space, whereas in the winter it is about creating a cosier feel,” Liv said.
“When someone comes in from bad weather, you want it to feel like the home is giving them some sort of hug.”
Light a fire if you have one, or use warm, soft furnishings to make the home feel inviting, she suggested.
5. Smells make a difference
If you’ve ever watched a reality estate agent show, you’ll be familiar with the idea of having the smell of freshly baked cookies wafting through your home when potential buyers arrive.
But, Liv said that might not be the most ideal scent – instead lemon is a better option.
“We did a study on what the most enticing scent is for people who are viewing properties,” she said.
“Most people would assume the most enticing one was cookies, but it was the smell of lemon. It gives that smell of cleanliness, freshness and isn’t as identifiable.”
She explained that other smells can be unpleasant, or evoke a strong emotion response in someone, both positively and negatively.
“Using fresh scents rather than seasonal ones tend to work better.”
Welcome back to Money, Sky News’ hub for personal finance and consumer news, tips and analysis.
Here are five reasons to pop back over the coming days…
What actually goes into a Premier League player’s contract?
Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne is reportedly the best paid player in the Premier League, receiving £400,000 per week.
But what does a contract worth £20,800,000 per year actually look like? How much holiday does a footballer get? And, can they ‘hand in their notice’?
These are all questions we pose to Gareth Farrelly – a former Republic of Ireland, Everton, Bolton Wanderers and Aston Villa footballer who re-trained as a solicitor, in our Saturday long-read feature.
Best wines for every budget this Christmas
A bottle of wine always goes nicely with Christmas dinner, or is a fitting gift for a loved one.
With just 15 days to go until the big day, we’ve spoken to an award-winning sommelier and a top restaurant manager to get their recommendations on the best bottles for every budget.
The best day to list your home
It’s a buyer’s market in the property world at the moment, and with January being one of the busiest months of the year for house sales, we’ve spoken to an expert about the best day to list your home.
Liv Conlon also gives her top tips on selling your property, and tells you the biggest mistakes to avoid.
Savings and mortgage advice
Every Thursday, Savings Champion founder Anna Bowes offers advice for making the most of your spare cash and reveals the best rates on the market right now.
On Fridays, we do similarly with mortgages, hearing from industry experts on what anyone seeking to borrow needs to know at the minute, before rounding up the best rates with the help of the guys from Moneyfacts.
Money Problem
Every Monday we answer your financial problems or consumer disputes, and this week we are helping a reader decide if they should pay back a £5,000 student loan early.
What else can you expect?
We’ll have our regular Cheap Eats series, with top chefs from London giving their best budget restaurant recommendations.
For those looking to save on train tickets, there’ll be a guide on the cheapest time to purchase them before you travel.
And, we’ll be helping you understand bridging loans in our weekly Basically feature.
We’ve got lots of others tips and features planned for this week, so bookmark news.sky.com/money-live and check back from 7am each weekday – or 8am on Saturday for our weekend feature.
The award-winning Money blog is produced by Money reporter Jess Sharp and edited by live editor Jimmy Rice, with additional reporting from Sky News’ live blogging team.
By Megan Harwood-Baynes, cost of living specialist
While struggling to pay their bills in 2007, two San Francisco residents began renting their spare room out to conference-goers when all the hotels in the city were full.
Less than two decades later, what started life as AirBedandBreakfast.com has done nothing short of revolutionise the travel industry.
More than five million hosts, in almost every country across the globe, have followed in the footsteps of Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky and opened their homes to more than two billion guests through Airbnb.
But as the company grew, so have the accompanying problems: from viral Airbnb horror stories to protests from local communities who argue they have been priced out by landlords buying up properties to turn into holiday lets.
Then there’s competition. Booking.com tells Money it is now two-thirds of the size of Airbnb when it comes to alternative accommodation (so not just hotels) – of the 29 million listings on its site, more than 7.8 millions are in homes, apartments and other unique places to stay.
Airbnb ‘scapegoated’ in Cornwall
Nowhere in the UK springs to mind more quickly than Cornwall in the battle over short-term rentals, with Airbnb often cited as the reason for over-tourism and the housing shortage for beleaguered locals.
A report commissioned by Airbnb, however, found it has little to no significant impact on housing in the vast majority of the UK.
In Cornwall specifically, Airbnb data shows most hosts in the area list one space, for less than four nights a month, and 40% say the extra income helps them to afford their home.
Oliver Monk, councillor for housing, says part of the problem is that Airbnb has become so successful it has become the “generic name” for short-term letting – in the same way we talk about hoovering the house, or putting leftovers in Tupperware.
“People will say to me ‘I’m going to Airbnb my house for six weeks in the summer’ – but they might actually be using another site entirely,” he says.
“I bet Airbnb can’t stand that because their brand name is constantly attached.
“And I think that is partly the reason they have been so proactive in trying to set up a central register to level the playing field.”
Perhaps surprisingly, he adds: “In a way, I have got sympathy with Airbnb.
“I haven’t got Booking.com ringing me up and saying ‘yeah we need a register’ because they are sat behind the shield of the Airbnb brand name.”
And housing problems can’t be blamed solely on short-term lettings, he says: “The current system we have got doesn’t deliver housing quickly enough.”
Which areas are clamping down?
Popular holiday destinations including London, Edinburgh, Paris, Czechia and Rome have all introduced varying restrictions on all short-term lets.
In Barcelona, the city’s mayor has promised to phase out short-term letting licences entirely by 2028 in a bid to return 10,000 apartments to the residential market.
While London’s restrictions have been around for almost eight years, Czechia has become one of the latest countries to clamp down on Airbnb with a draft bill, approved by the government, which will allow municipalities to limit Airbnb-style accommodation. This can vary, but could include capping the number of days a property can be rented out, as well as defining the minimum amount of space required per guest.
It would also place stricter rules and taxes on guesthouses, Airbnbs and other holiday rentals, bringing them into line with traditional hotels.
Dennis Darwiche rents out three Airbnbs in Prague via a “rent to rent” scheme – this means he rents them off the building’s landlord and in turn rents them out to holidaymakers.
“Many locals complain it is too touristy,” he says. “But if the law comes into effect and restricts Airbnb, the hotels won’t have capacity to take all the travellers – so what happens then?
“Well, the prices will increase and we will have fewer tourists.”
He says if they bring in rules restricting the number of days he can rent the apartments, he will have to consider giving up the business.
‘I’ve had to slash my prices to barely break even’
Has all the bad press around Airbnb affected bookings? We asked London hosts for their experiences…
I was a superhost for 3/4 years and came off the platform. When Airbnb raised their fees it left little room for me to raise my prices as I would not get many bookings, so I had to lower it to get bookings back in.
Pat
I’ve been a host since 2011 (Superhost and normally renting single rooms in my shared home). I’ve always been fully booked nearly 100% of the time and my earnings went up every year with the exception of 2020 and 2021. There was a massive jump in what people were willing to pay in 2022 and 2023 and now I’ve gone back down to a 2014 level so, for me, a bubble has definitely burst.
I’m about 90% booked if I drop my prices enough but I’ve had to absolutely slash my prices. I find that sometimes with wear and tear, bills and cleaner fees, (which have gone up significantly) I’m barely breaking even. There are a lot of new hotels near me, which I think have taken my weekend customers – I used to charge almost double at weekends but now I have to charge the same or less than during the week.
Claire
We rent out an entire flat which means a 90-day limit in London. We have to make our money from the 90 days – we could do more. We are fully booked and could do more than the 90 days but Airbnb shuts down on us. Our council tax has doubled and we now have to consider how we go forward… there appears to be a turning against landlords from powers that be at the moment but hoping to ride it out.
Michael
I’m a guest favourite superhost and I’m fully booked. I’ve been hosting for 1.5 years and have had really good experiences so far. 99% of my guests are lovely and respectful. I also use Airbnb when I travel and I love it. My one gripe is Airbnb should do more to protect the hosts – they are very guest-centric.
Yolanda
I’m a super host and guest favourite and I’ve found that bookings seem to come in much more last minute and there is a higher price sensitivity but I’m still nearly always full just with much less certainty and a slightly lower nightly rate. I’m at the higher end of price and quality of room so that might be impacting things for me.
Tasmin
Airbnb a ‘frustrating share to own’
Airbnb’s core business model is “easy to understand”, says Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell. And while the key to its success is the continued growth in hosts on the platform and the volume of bookings, there are some big challenges for the company.
With competition from hotels and chains, “sustaining momentum is hard”, he told Money.
Another issue is helping hosts drum up business during non-peak times.
“Many hosts might find they struggle to attract people during certain times of the year and that can put them off using Airbnb permanently, saying it’s not worth the effort,” he said.
But, “longer-term, it’s possible to see Airbnb broaden its services letting car owners rent their vehicles to others”, he adds.
Yet it has been a “frustrating share to own” for anyone who has invested in the company.
“Despite having a well-known brand and growing profits, the stock hasn’t enjoyed the kind of gains seen by other big US names,” Dan says. “Many investors are concerned that sustained earnings growth will be hard to achieve.”
It joined the stock market in December 2020 with an IPO (initial public offering) priced at $68 a share. This immediately jumped to $165 on the first day of trading.
“Unfortunately, most investors were only able to buy once the shares hit the market and the first available market price was $146.
“Today, the shares trade lower than this level at $133. The share price has been like a yo-yo – experiencing big swings upwards since joining the stock market, but soon falling back again.”
Breaking the rules?
HMRC has launched investigations into nearly 2,000 holiday lets in the UK (up from 375 the year before and 95 the year before that), according to a Freedom of Information request submitted by The Daily Telegraph in May this year.
Those under investigation are suspected of failing to declare their income. Under the UK’s rules, there is a £1,000 tax-free threshold on all second income, and a £7,500 threshold if you rent a furnished room in your home.
Under the previous government, the rules around holiday rentals also changed, as Jeremy Hunt abolished certain incentives to discourage out-of-towners from purchasing second homes in popular spots.
The future of travel to #Airbnbust
Airbnb was once the darling of the holiday market, the future of travel – there was a time when I rarely booked a holiday without it.
Now, searching #Airbnbust online, there is no shortage of hosts complaining about a sudden drop in bookings, or former rental homes being put up for sale as cities bring in restrictions. One owner claims he is losing $600,000 (£463,000) a year on his 70 properties.
Yet the popularity of short-term rentals on other sites, like Booking.com, suggests people haven’t given up on the short-term letting market.
And the sun hasn’t quite set on the “beloved brand”, says Daniella Bianchi, chief strategy officer at management consultancy Interbrand.
“Look at their revenues right now – most come from overnight stays, but at least 17% is coming from stays of more than 30 days,” she tells Money.
“This is such a potential avenue for growth for them.”
The brand itself, and its leaders, are still young, she adds: “There is still so much more they can do.”
So while Airbnb’s growth and popularity meant its own name became synonymous with the entire market – and all the problems that came with it – it also meant it “became part of the zeitgeist”.
This, Daniella says, is “what every brand wants”.
Airbnb has been contacted for comment.
By Jimmy Rice, Money blog editor
Across Europe, car companies are cutting jobs and shutting factories – to the extent that some question their very existence.
Our data and economics editor Ed Conway examined what has gone wrong with Europe and America’s car industry this week.
“While some will reach for their own pet conclusions – Brexit! Electric vehicle deadlines! Government regulations! – in practice there’s something bigger, deeper and less parochial going on here,” Conway wrote.
“As the world shifts from petrol and diesel cars to their electric counterparts, a seismic shift is taking place in the global motor industry.”
In the video below, Conway explains how the rest of the world was caught napping in the electric vehicle race, which means our car prices and auto industry jobs are within China’s grip…
The competition watchdog approved the creation of the UK’s biggest phone network this week with the merger of Three and Vodafone.
The Competition and Markets Authority, the regulator, approved the merger despite previously saying tens of millions could pay more as a result.
Its approval is contingent on the new entity spending billions to improve 5G internet services across the network, it said.
Legally binding targets have been set for the combined Vodafone and Three to agree and meet.
They must cap some mobile tariffs and offer preset contractual terms to mobile virtual network operators, mobile providers that do not own the networks they operate on, for three years.
But not everyone is convinced, as we reported.
“The two companies are currently close competitors so the merger is likely to reduce competitive pressure in the market which could lead to higher prices and lower quality for consumers, at least in the short term,” Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at Which?, said.
“The CMA has taken a gamble with the package of remedies it has settled on.”
Here in Money, our most popular posts of the week, judging by traffic, reflected a big Rightmove survey looking at the “happiest” and “unhappiest” places to live in the UK.
More than 35,000 people across Britain completed the survey, with residents asked questions such as how proud they feel about where they live, their sense of belonging, public transport and whether they earn enough to live comfortably.
Woodbridge in Suffolk came top…
While Slough in Berkshire was ranked bottom…
We also looked at the huge amount a driveway could add to your house price…
…explained why you should consider capitalising on an ISA anomaly while you still can…
…and got a cheap risotto recipe from one of the best chefs in the country…
We’ll be back with live updates on Monday morning – and don’t forget our Saturday long read, this week on the substantial challenges facing Airbnb, which will be published from 8am tomorrow.
The average house price has hit a new high of £298,083, according to Halifax data.
The bank’s house price index also shows prices rose 1.3% in November, the fifth monthly increase in a row.
Here’s how prices changed in the different regions of the UK…
Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said: “Latest figures continue to show improving levels of demand for mortgages, as an easing in mortgage rates boost buyer confidence.
“However, despite these positive trends, many potential buyers and movers still face significant affordability challenges and buyer confidence may be tested against a changeable economic backdrop.
“As we move towards the end of the year and into 2025, positive employment figures and anticipated decreases in interest rates are expected to continue supporting demand.
“This should underpin further house price growth, albeit at a modest pace as borrowing costs remain above the average of a few years ago.”
Research this week has revealed the “happiest” place to live in the UK…
…and also the unhappiest 10 places on Rightmove’s list of 220 locations…
Some agreed with the findings:
I agree with Woodbridge being a top place to live near to but my nearby large village of Wickham Market is more affordable and has easy access to Woodbridge.
50 yrs Suffolk buoy
Others not so much:
Who on earth makes these decisions?
Not 1 place in Devon and Cornwall!
I’d say the majority of happiness in most of these places is based on how affluent you are not how happy
westo
Here are some more of your thoughts:
I live and work in Harrogate. Moved to this small spa town 7 years ago, after working in the far east for over 6 years. The perfect place to set up my PT business from scratch. It’s a safe space and has a bustling Christmas market and 2 Betty’s Tea Rooms, what’s not to like!
SamB
I reckon Swaffham in Norfolk must rank close to the top of “happy towns”. Even our town’s feral ducks are happy.
Allan G Sneller
Where is Chelmsford on the list?
Steven Jean
Chelmsford came 129th nationally, and 15th in the east of England region – click here to see the full list.
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