A very French connection !!
Brits may be moving to France in droves, but it's not just one-way traffic. Nicola Venning meets London's French expats !!

Greenpiece: get switched on to green gadgets !!
Eco-boffins are coming up with new gimmicks to save the planet. Sarah Lonsdale reports. !!

South Londona EUROS TMs own white house !!
Designed by the architect of Regenta EUROS TMs Park Zooa EUROS TMs penguin enclosure, a classic 1930s house wows Ginetta Vedrickas. !!

Vintage French grandeur, Yorkshire style !!
It took a British owner to restore this 14th-century Loire chateau to its former glory, reports Zoe Dare Hall. !!

The recycled house !!
Penney Poyzer slashed the carbon footprint of her Victorian terrace so far that the Government came to visit and get acquainted with the worms in her basement. Caroline McGhie reports. !!

Property Prices : House Price Slow-Down !!
Author: alltheseasons Subject: House Price Slow-Down Posted: 27Jul2007 at 1:39pm House prices could slow down sharply over the coming six months, Britain 's fifth-largest mortgage lender warned today. Northern Rock said that house prices, which last month showed annual increases of just over 10%, could be rising at the same level as wages by the year-end, which would mean by as little as 4%. 'Because so many people now have fixed-rate mortgages generally running for two or three years the recent hikes in interest rates have so far only affected around a third of borrowers,' said chief executive Adam Applegarth. 'But during the second half they will begin to bite and household spending will be squeezed. That will dampen the home moving market but, conversely, boost the remortgage market as people search for the best deal.' He added: 'If you take out the central London market, which continues to power ahead and so skews all the data, the rest of the country is almost certainly down about the 4% level of house price inflation.' Northern, which issued a profits warning last month, boosted its dividend today by 30% to 14.2p for the first half and promised a similar increase for the final payout. Headline first-half profits rose by 29% to 224m but the group repeated that for the full year and next year it expects growth of only about 15%. Unlike rival lenders such as HBOS which fund most of their mortgage lending from other customers' savings, Northern Rock borrows most of its funds from the wholesale markets. That means its margins become squeezed as interest rates rise but most of its borrowers remain on lower fixed-rate mortgages for a time. Applegarth said the group will ride out the cycle and with its ability to retain 85% of customers when their fixed-rate mortgages come up for renewal should see further growth well ahead !!

Liverpool : Liverpool on the up !!
Author: alltheseasons Subject: Liverpool on the up Posted: 14Jul2007 at 10:18am Liverpool still on high with the city soon to become European City of Culture in 2008 continues to see a high demand for property with a substantial growth in the buy to let market. This is pushing up prices in most areas of the city including the once deprived areas of back to back houses which are now being converted to provide small but comfortable accommodation which is well placed for commuting. !!

General : 3 Million New Homes For The UK !!
Author: alltheseasons Subject: 3 Million New Homes For The UK Posted: 12Jul2007 at 8:39am Gordon Brown declared a target on Wednesday of building 3m new homes across the UK by 2020 as he sought to outflank the Conservatives in addressing the problems of struggling first-time buyers. ?Putting affordable housing within the reach not just of the few but the many is vital both to meeting individual aspirations and a better future for our country,? he said. !!

Property Prices : US Property Debt, Problems For UK !!
Author: alltheseasons Subject: US Property Debt, Problems For UK Posted: 12Jul2007 at 8:35am Homebuyers in the UK may soon be feeling the effect of a bad debt crisis in the US. On the other side of the Atlantic, property prices are falling because banks have lent money to people with a poor credit history who are increasingly defaulting on their loans. This is causing huge instability in the US market which has seen house prices fall and the dollar tumbling against other currencies. Yesterday, the dollar fell to a record low against the euro and the pound has been trading above two dollars for more than a week. Analyst Datamonitor says in the UK the sub-prime market, as it is known because it lends to those who have poor credit ratings and have often defaulted on repayments, increased by 28% during 2006, to a total of 24.6bn. This side of the market is likely to continue expanding at nearly twice the rate of the traditional mortgage market but is also at risk from people defaulting on their loans. !!

Financing : UK interest rates remain at 5.5% !!
Author: alltheseasons Subject: UK interest rates remain at 5.5% Posted: 08Jun2007 at 8:37am The Bank of England has held UK interest rates at 5.5% following its latest meeting, but analysts say a rate rise later this year remains likely. The decision to freeze rates had been expected, to give the Bank time to assess the impact of recent rate rises. UK rates have now been increased four times since August last year in an attempt to rein in inflation. But with price growth still strong, many analysts expect a further rise to 5.75% before the end of the year. Rate impact Business groups welcomed the decision by the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to freeze rates. "Whilst the door remains open for a further rise if necessary, today was not the day for tougher action," said EEF chief economist Steve Radley. !!