Changes to stamp duty mean that the additional costs surrounding buying a house will be much lower in 2015 than they were in 2014. The stamp duty bill for a £280,000 house has fallen from £8,400 to £4,000.
On top of that many experts are predicting that house price growth will slow in 2015 giving buyers a chance. House prices dropped by 5.1% from November to December, according to online property resource Rightmove. It argues that there are more houses coming on to the market meaning demand isn’t as fierce as it was in 2014.
Mortgage lender Halifax also believes house price growth will slow in 2015 thanks to the election and rising interest rates. It is predicting house prices rises of 3% - 5% in 2015 compared to the rise of 8% seen in 2014.
The oil price plummeted in 2014 from $115 a barrel in June to $68 in December leading to smiles at the pumps as petrol and diesel prices dropped to levels not seen since 2009. The average price of petrol was just 119.83p in the second week in December.
Experts are predicting that the oil price will continue to fall in 2015 due to low demand and strong supply. And this is great news for drivers. Some economists are predicting that petrol prices could fall as low as £1 a litre in 2015
The low oil price isn’t just good news for drivers, it also means fuelling aeroplanes is costing a lot less than it did six months ago. This is great news for airlines who have struggled with soaring fuel prices for years. Hopefully the fact flying the planes has just got a lot cheaper might mean fares fall too, but I wouldn’t hold your breath.
He may lost both the X Factor and I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here but Jake Quickenden looks set to make a lot of money in 2015. The Mirror believe he will rake in a six-figure salary next year thanks to modelling, music releases and personal appearances. His management were already smart enough to get the wannabe onto I’m a Celeb just weeks after he left the X Factor so Jake should have a busy, profitable 2015.
New savings bonds aimed specifically at over 65s will be launched in January. These ‘Pensioner Bonds’ are designed to help the older population who are struggling on fixed incomes get a decent return on their savings.
The one-year bond will pay an annual interest rate of 2.8% and the three-year bond will pay 4%. Those rates are substantially above anything available on the open market. Investments are limited to £10,000 in each bond and you are allowed two bonds per person.
The fly in the ointment is that pensioners will have to pay income tax on their returns. But even taking that into account the Pensioner Bonds beat the rest of the market.
The government has capped the issue at £10bn and bonds will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis so pensioners will need to be quick off the mark as these bonds will sell out fast.