Anne Ashworth



Profile:
Full name: Anne Ashworth

Area of interest: Property, finance and retail subjects, fashion

Journals/Organisation: The Times

Email: [mailto:anne.ashworth@thetimes.co.uk anne.ashworth@thetimes.co.uk]

Personal website:

Website: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/profile/Anne-Ashworth

Blog:

Representation:

Networks: https://twitter.com/#!/AnneAshworth | http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/anne-ashworth/b/65a/6a7



Biography:
About: "I am editor of Bricks & Mortar - The Times's property section which appears every Friday; I also write news and commentary for the rest of paper on the economy, housing and retail. At Bricks & Mortar, we also provide a daily online property update - Bricks Insider" - LinkedIn

Education:

Career: Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday; The Times: November 1994 to the present as: personal finance editor, assistant editor (property)

Current position/role: Assistant Editor and Property Editor of The Times


 * also writes/written for:

Other roles/Main role:

Other interests:

Disclosures:

Viewpoints/Insight:

Broadcast media: regularly appears on TV discussing property, financial and retail subjects

Video:

Controversy/Criticism:

Awards/Honours: Headline property awards: Best Property Supplement, Property Editor of the Year and overall Property Journalist of the Year, 2008 (see: Times' Anne Ashworth scoops hat-trick at headline property awards, Press Gazette, 16th June 2008)

Scoops:

Other:



Books & Debate:


Latest work:

Speaking/Appearances:

Debate: 

The Times:
Column name: Property

Remit/Info: Property market analysis and related issues

Section: Property (Bricks & Mortar)

Role: Property editor

Pen-name:

Email: [mailto:anne.ashworth@thetimes.co.uk anne.ashworth@thetimes.co.uk]

Website: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/profile/Anne-Ashworth

Commissioning editor:

Day published: Friday

Regularity: Weekly

Column format:

Average length:


 * see also Bricks insider and Streetwise



Articles:

 * Stamp duty isn’t fair — but it is lucrative - The latest obsession in the deluxe housing sector is the thickness of kitchen work surfaces — anything less than 10mm of marble or engineered stone is considered substandard, even when little food preparation will actually take place in this space - 29th November 2013
 * Forget the ‘selfie’ - the practice we should worry about is ‘hutching up’ - The word of the year is “selfie”, the self-portrait snap taken on a mobile phone. People even do this when viewing properties — or so estate agents report — presumably to check whether the decor matches their personal style - 22nd November 2013
 * Help to Buy is winning the youth vote. That’s not what some expected - If the ability to deliver the wow factor is proof of success in the property market, then the banks and the Government must be congratulating themselves - 15th November 2013
 * ’Tis the season to be jolly — if you are a house price forecaster - The unveiling of the major stores’ Christmas TV advertisements — featuring stars such as Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Helena Bonham Carter, the model and actress, who sparkle for Marks &?Spencer — now coincides with the announcement of the forecasts for house prices in the new year - 8th November 2013
 * Hot, hot, hot. That’s the temperature of the housing market debate - The upturn in the market seems not only to be increasing the amount of time that the British spend talking about property, but also the number of rows they are having on the subject - 1st November 2013
 * Why the rich and famous flock to Fitzrovia - The essential accessory for the upscale housing development is a brochure, with expensive matte paper pages extolling the architectural merits of the scheme, the layout and finish of the flats, and the varied cultural and gastronomic delights of the surrounding streets - 18th October 2013
 * Grand neighbours are worth their weight in gold - Bad neighbours — the sort that play loud music long into the night and whose front gardens are untidy — can reduce the value of your property - 11th October 2013
 * Help to Buy 2 made its debut to applause and jeers - The Cherry Orchard, an estate in Weston Favell, Northamptonshire, was the backdrop to the property viewing of the week - 11th October 2013
 * The Help to Buy Part 2 is a Marmite scheme for a Malteser market - Expect soon to hear the second phase of Help to Buy called the “Marmite’” housing policy - 4th October 2013
 * Borrow from the Bank of Mum and Dad if you want a ‘yes’ from another bank - The new — and deceptively simple — Lloyds Bank first-time buyer TV advertisement tells you a great deal about the housing market now - 27th September 2013
 * Do we really need Gangnam-style housing curbs? - House prices have spiralled by 19 per cent over the past 12 months; many people are anxious about the risk of boom and bust, yet their entreaties for action are leaving the authorities unmoved - 20th September 2013
 * A boom in estate agency jobs will not necessarily spell a nationwide property boom - Wow!” was the reaction of at least one economist to the latest survey of the members of RICS, the estate agency body - 14th September 2013
 * Levy a mansion tax, just don’t expect owners to admit to living in one - Large buildings have generated a lot of heat this week. Such is the strength of the sun reflected from 20 Fenchurch Street, London — aka the Walkie-Talkie — that parts of a car parked near by have melted; on Tuesday, the frying of an egg, without any other source of energy, became possible - 6th September 2013
 * Leave London for the lakes - The high temperatures of July 2013 seem to have made Britons more confident about the summer weather - 2nd August 2013
 * It’s rude and it’s wrong to call Help to Buy borrowers sub-prime - A “Ninja” borrower, the prime victim of the US sub-prime scandal in 2007, had “no income, no job or assets” - 26th July 2013
 * The payday lenders’ easy money may be too hard to beat - The credit unions, worthy mutual organisations owned and run by their saving and borrowing members, currently present but feeble opposition to the might of the payday loan industry - 26th July 2013
 * The Government thinks we should live at the office. People seem not to agree - A “win” is how the Government would describe its Help to Buy measure, although it has not yet taken to Twitter to do so - 19th July 2013
 * Confidence is returning but don’t assume homebuyers are overconfident - At this time of year, one of the most common questions in any social encounter is: “Are you going anywhere this summer?” - 13th July 2013
 * The property market’s quiet revival - Welcome to Tyburnia. Local homeowners include Tony Blair and Madonna (though she’s never there) - 5th July 2013
 * Britain is a collection of micro-markets - As always, the respondents to RICS’ monthly canvass of estate agency firms shows that the UK - 14th June 2013
 * Even tenants at the top are joining the squeezed middle and trading down - For £6,500 a week, that’s £26,000 a month (35 times the average rent in England and Wales, since you asked) you can lease a flat in a Holland Park mansion - 7th June 2013
 * Cold pizza on the kitchen counter – it’s a sign that a home may be overvalued - The leftovers of the previous evening’s takeaway supper littered the surfaces of the grubby and decrepit kitchen, filling the room with the odour of stale pizza - 31st May 2013
 * New property debates to be had - Coffee shop and supper party conversation this Bank Holiday weekend is likely to focus on the property market recovery, a source of contention among those who fear a bubble and those whose who have yet to see prices revive in their neighbourhood - 24th May 2013
 * It is too early to be jumping for joy over the housing market’s bounce - The words “increase”, “increases” and “increased” collectively appear 67 times in the latest RICS survey of estate agents - 23rd May 2013
 * It is too early to be jumping for joy over the housing market’s bounce - The words “increase”, “increases” and “increased” collectively appear 67 times in the latest RICS survey of estate agents - 17th May 2013
 * Will the lettings market still be the Wild West? - The appropriate response to the news that lettings agents are to be regulated is not a loud “Hurrah!”, but there should be a small cheer - 19th April 2013
 * Do you suffer from HPSO? It’s a dangerous complaint - The LSL/Acadametrics survey for March reports that house prices are 3 per cent higher than a year ago. This survey says that the value of the average property is £230,708, an increase of £6,700 over the period, but, if London were excluded from the figures the rise would be £1,117 - 12th April 2013
 * A new way to buy new-build homes - It’s a new property market divide. The economic gurus are not impressed, but twentysomethings and growing families see an opportunity - 11th April 2013
 * A new way to buy new-build properties - It’s a new property market divide. The economic gurus are not impressed, but twentysomethings and growing families see an opportunity - 29th March 2013
 * The housing market in 2014 is guaranteed to be different following the Budget - For one thing, the tone will be distinctly North American. Mark Carney, the Canadian who takes over this summer as Governor of the Bank of England, will be enjoying powers as extensive as a prairie to keep interest rates low - 22nd March 2013
 * Forget mansion tax for now, Chancellor, and focus on stamp duty reform - The ideal British home is “absolutely not a mansion”, although it would have many features of such an edifice, including a multicar garage, walk-in wardrobes and a large garden, according to a survey by the PrimeLocation website - 15th March 2013
 * New recipe for kitchen supper property chats - Blue is the colour of 2013. Or, to be more exact, the particular shade of indigo blue paint applied to the wall pictured here - 8th March 2013
 * New recipe for kitchen supper property chats - Blue is the colour of 2013. Or, to be more exact, the particular shade of indigo blue paint applied to the wall pictured here - 1st March 2013
 * How are Lord Prescott, Ringo Starr and the year 1989 connected? - It has been a week of property market records. All are the result of government policies of widely varying degrees of efficacy and wisdom, but Ringo also has some involvement. You can now buy a Victorian terraced house for the price of £1 Liverpool - 22nd February 2013
 * Is a tectonic shift moving Newcastle to the Midlands? - The newest way of looking at the property market has the potential to cause both offence and confusion - 15th February 2013
 * The house that gained £400,000 in a week - Within the past week, the value of a home in Clapham, South London jumped from £1.6 million to £2 million - 1st February 2013
 * Would you really want to raise a family in an old office block? - it has emerged that redundant commercial buildings could soon be turned into dwellings without planning permission, an exemption that would last for two years - 25th January 2013
 * Streetwise: A little more confidence - Homeowners seem to have decided to defy the pessimists among the property commentariat, some of whom argue that homes are still expensive relative to average incomes - 18th January 2013
 * It’s diet season, but we’re happy to feed our hunger for homes - In this season of self-denial, there is one addiction that the British will not renounce - 11th january 2013
 * Next year lenders will still thwart our love affair with homes - Some pundits believe house prices will rise by 2 per cent or more in 2013, after this year’s dazzling, desultory or disastrous performance, depending on region. But whatever the outcome, the relationship of the British with the housing market will remain dysfunctional, thanks mostly to lenders - 14th December 2012
 * Osborne must build us a housing policy soon - George Osborne, the owner of a nice place in West London, skipped the opportunity to improve the lot of other homebuyers or tenants in the Autumn Statement - 7th December
 * Floods of tears if no deal is struck - Just as the flood waters surged over many parts of the nation, we learnt the name of the man who will help to determine the future climate in the housing market - 30th November 2012
 * No wonder the landlord game looks beautiful - The conclusion “If it’s good enough for the footballer Frank Lampard, it’s good enough for me” may be the consequence of the latest rumours on possible changes in next month’s Autumn Statement - 23rd November 2012
 * Housing: are you ready for the new normal? - The aspiration of the average affluent urbanite is to quit the city for the shires; the clientele of the private rented sector is almost exclusively young and childless. These are just two of the assumptions about the housing market that you should now be setting aside, according to the pundits - 16th November 2012
 * Signed, sealed but when will those funds be yours? - Seven more years. Or should that be 19? Whatever the time period, it’s not a prospect that will inspire tumultuous applause or a shower of confetti - 9th November 2012
 * Only more borrowing will start housing revival - There are no pictures of cats doing the funniest things, or of celebrities in bad outfits. Nevertheless, this website — or, to be exact, one of its pages — will be much bookmarked this month - 2nd November 2012
 * First-timers shouldn’t bank on this retro scheme - The latest initiative to help first-time buyers on to the housing ladder involves a return to the 1980s. If the idea comes to fruition, then the music in the promotional advertising will surely be that hit of the era, Spandau Ballet’s Gold - 26th October 2012
 * Rose-tinted specs won’t speed homes recovery - The psychological benefits of a glass-half-full stance are well known. But this attitude, however commendable, could have its risks in the current housing market — if you put your trust in the wrong places - 19th October 2012
 * Landlords should follow the cycle path - Good bike storage - the ‘Pendleton effect’ is future-proofing incomes for landlords in the private rented sector - 5th October 2012
 * The housing pecking order needs to change - Some quality pieces of property gossip were almost sufficient this week to divert our attention from larger concerns - 28th September 2012
 * The launch of One Hyde Park demonstrates that the rich still want Candy - The high-profile launch of One Hyde Park in October 2010 was based on several bets. Would the prime Central London postcodes continue to be viewed as a safe haven by the rich who collect homes in elite locations — oligarchs, Bollygarchs and other “charm bracelet” buyers? - 21st September 2012
 * New man at housing can cajole but not compel - Mark Prisk, the new housing minister, is not yet a household name, or even a property-sector personality - 7th September 2012
 * Generation Boomerang will skew the market - On discovering my line of work, people tend to talk to me about homes - 31st August 2012
 * As the nation’s fuel bills rise the allure of period features fades - Back to life, back to reality. The struggle to sort the property market’s sundry problems has resumed - 24th August 2012
 * Should we stamp out duty? - Studies show the stamp duty changes are dampening enthusiasm in the formerly ebullient prime central London sector - 3rd August 2012
 * Do you trust Whitehall’s choice of price index? - Suddenly there is even more jostling for position than usual in the overcrowded house price statistics industry. Is this some strange Olympic side effect? - 20th July 2012
 * The sun should come out – but not tomorrow - Midsummer is not usually the time for house price predictions. But the current abnormal meteorological events could be disrupting the scheduling of economic forecasts, as well as everything else - 13th July 2012
 * Our love affair with property is on a break - Who’s suddenly scared for the first time by the pronounce-ments of Sir Mervyn King? The wealthy, it appears - 29th June 2012


 * buyers know that every little helps, but does Tesco?'' - The role of Tesco Bank could be crucial in the supermarket’s drive to cater for the nation’s every mortgage need - 28th April 2010
 * time for bank bailouts'' - Consumption of White Lightning is probably low in what estate agents call the ‘prime central London’ neighbourhoods - 25th March 2010
 * housing market still needs TLC from Darling'' - The Chancellor should remind the banks of their commitment to make better deals available to first-time buyers - 19th March 2010
 * East End is becoming the new West End'' - A new 36-storey block in London will allow high-flyers to live and play where they work - 13th March 2010
 * are allowed to want a handbag for Christmas'' - Sales are booming — but don’t sneer. They are good investments - 11th December 2009
 * everyone is enjoying a house price bounce'' - In towns such as Bath, house prices have rebounded at a cartoonish pace. Let’s hope some Teflon town magic spreads - 11th December 2009
 * Report: so little to sustain recovery'' - 9th December 2009
 * deadly grip on the market'' - Banks will only lend to well-off homeowners. That’s bad news for first-time buyers – and for us all - 19th August 2009
 * auction prices risk knocking back recovery'' - 4th April 2009
 * property market is improving - but not to the levels of old'' - The housing sector remains fragile, dependent on the state of the economy and also on easier access to finance - 3rd April 2009
 * the road to a Wigan semi'' - The blocks of empty, new-build apartments in city centres stand as evidence that the British tend to prefer a house - 14th March 2009
 * Home for the holidays but not safe from the storm - It is becoming evident that mortgage repayment difficulties are spreading through all levels of society - 12th December 2008
 * Better late than never - Proposals that would allow jobless homeowners with mortgages of less than £400,000 to defer their interest payments for up to two years should be welcomed - 5th December 2008
 * goes the high street (and the neighbourhood)'' - You may have thought your local Woolworths was a bit naff, but the fallout from its failure will spread to nearby areas - 28th November 2008
 * Is it time for the return of Miras? - Miras propelled a generation into home ownership. It is now being promoted as the way to keep the current generation's struggling owners in their homes - 21st November 2008
 * Time to lift the threat of repossession - The Government must act to keep people in their homes - 14th November 2008
 * Now it's up to the banks to pass on the cut - Yesterday's surprising cut in the bank base rate could help the housing market only if the semi-nationalised banks do the decent thing and pass it on - 7th November 2008
 * Property auctions show lots of uncertainty - Many of those at the auction were eager to bid for the kind of property bargains likely to be available next year as the recession takes its toll - 31st October 2008
 * Gordon, Mervyn, Madonna and the housing market - The Government's recent candor is welcome. But now we need action on home loans - 24th October 2008
 * Has the Government done enough to aid a housing recovery? - A rate cut might be the only way to revitalise the property market - 17th October 2008
 * Still as safe as houses - The perceived threat to deposits from bank instability has spooked the nation more than property price falls - 10th October 2008
 * Is this the death of buy-to-let? - Over-commitment of the financial is expected to increase instances of failure to complete in the buy-to-let sector - 3rd October 2008
 * New jargon for the property crunch - A whole new vocabulary has sprung up to convey our housing woes - 26th September 2008
 * Why are banks suddenly so pious? - If only they'd shown their new-found prudence a little earlier - 19th September 2008
 * Planning blight or boon? - Why we are resolutely unmoved by the easing of planning restrictions - 12th September 2008
 * Finding a short cut to a house sale - The remedy for the downturn in the housing market lies in cheaper borrowing for the creditworthy - 9th September 2008
 * Housing market ills cannot be cured by a sticking plaster - 3rd September 2008
 * Is the Chancellor Alistair Darling dancing to Vince Cable's tune? - 29th August 2008
 * Savills recovery predictions for the housing market - Commentators are now engaged in a contest to get the recovery time right - here are Savills forecasts - 22nd August 2008
 * Opening bids: the betting man's view of property prices - It is no longer possible to be in a state of denial over the new lower valuation for your home - 15th August 2008
 * We need stamp duty reforms, not rumours - Government announcements are so vague they might even backfire - 8th August 2008
 * What America's Fannie and Freddie mortgage crisis can teach us - The ailing giants among US mortgage companies point the way to easing our own property woes - 18th July 2008
 * How the credit crunch will (eventually) fade - Prime property in London should be the first to benefit from any lightening of the gloom - 11th July 2008



The Times:
Column name: Chain Reaction

Remit/Info: style and fashion coverage & opinion

Section: life & style

Role: expert

Pen-name:

Email: [mailto:anne.ashworth@thetimes.co.uk anne.ashworth@thetimes.co.uk]

Personal website:

Website: Timesonline / Chain Reaction

Commissioning editor:

Day published: Friday

Regularity: Weekly

Column format:

Average length:



Articles:

 * sell-offs do not mean a sell-out'' - Ethical consumers should not despair if their favourite brands are taken over by the big boys - 8th April 2009
 * grown-ups must rescue the high street'' - Britain is a nation of chain-store keepers. We have the expertise to save our favourites from the Monopoly players - 5th February 2009
 * Miss Sixty - You'll need a fat wallet for its skintight look - 30th May 2008
 * Why Boden is now in a field of its own - There's a new and hip look to the catalogue favourites - 23rd May 2008
 * CC caters for wannabe Jane Seymours - 15th May 2008
 * H&M - The Swedish store is now calmer - 2nd May 2008
 * Comptoir des Cotonniers - The chain sells French chic and is expanding in the UK. It's a bit pricey but you want to study every item in the shop - 17th April 2008
 * Kate Kuba - The small-ish shoe chain is playing a part in the larger Sopranos-like drama of the footwear sector - 11th April 2008
 * Massimo Dutti's credit-crunch chic - 28th March 2008
 * Designer and everyday: House of Fraser's winning formula - 7th March 2008
 * Tradition’s still great when bang up to date - Our correspondent identifies a shift away from the tidy and towards the trendy at John Lewis’s flagship store in Oxford Street - 1st February 2008
 * Tradition’s still great when bang up to date: A shift away from the tidy and towards the trendy at John Lewis’s flagship store in Oxford Street - 1st February 2008
 * Chain reaction: Saving the planet, one skirt at a time: Our expert admires Adili’s ethical allure - 25th January 2008
 * Noa Noa puts the flounce in your step - 18th January 2008



News & updates:


References:
