House sales fall by 16 per cent amid increase in mortgage rates – as industry looks at shoots of recovery Property The number of house sales fell by 16 per cent in August compared with the same month a year earlier, according to provisional HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) figures. An estimated 87,010 home sales took place across the UK last month, which was 16 per cent lower than in August 2022 but 1% higher than [...]
Mortgage and remortgage approvals fall as higher interest rates hits property market Mortgages New mortgage approvals fell to the lowest level in six months while approvals for remortgaging plummeted as rising interest rates dented the mortgage market.
426,000 first-time buyers could vanish from property ladder by 2027 Property As many as 426,000 fewer first-time buyers in England could get on the property ladder between this year and 2027 compared with the long-term average, a building society predicts. Leeds Building Society, in partnership with specialist advisers WPI Strategy, analysed first-time buyer affordability between 1982 and 2022, and how the challenges of buying a first [...]
London tenants rattled by shock order to tear down Greenwich tower blocks September 28, 2023 A shock order from Greenwich Council to demolish two recently built residential towers because they did not have accurate planning permission has rattled the tenants currently living there. On Monday, borough officials announced that the Mast Quay Phase II development, constructed by Comer Homes last year, should be torn down as the finished building looked [...]
Average five-year fixed mortgage rate slides down towards six per cent mark September 27, 2023 The average five-year fixed-rate homeowner mortgage is edging closer to falling back below the six per cent mark, according to figures from a financial information website.
‘Higher for longer rates’ sparked shift to premium London office space September 27, 2023 Property developer Landsec reported strong demand for premium office space in central London, as firms react to the message of interest rates being “higher for longer.” The commercial real estate giant said office occupancy in Victoria, where half of its central London business sits, is now 100 per cent let and with £17m of lettings [...]
Greenwich: London council orders demolition of luxury blocks built ‘without planning permission’ September 26, 2023 Greenwich Council has ordered that two luxury riverside residential towers be torn down because they were erected without planning permission. Mast Quay Phase II, located in Woolwich, was completed in 2022 and residents have since moved into the posh towers which feature an onsite gym. But the council has argued that the finished building looks [...]
Facebook owner Meta shells out £149m to break London Regent’s Place lease September 26, 2023 Facebook owner Meta Platforms surrendered one of its two buildings at Regent’s Place, paying £149m at the end of September to break the lease. Property developer British Land revealed that the end of the lease will result in post interest savings of 0.6 pence for the half year. The £149m fee was first reported by [...]
Gazumping and you: How to avoid being gazumped on your dream home September 22, 2023 Moving house is rated as one of the top three stressful events in life, alongside death and divorce, heaven forbid. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, along trundles the devilish duo of gazumping and gazundering. Derived from the Yiddish word “gazumph” (to overcharge or cheat) these twin horsemen of the property apocalypse [...]
Horizon 22: Europe’s highest free viewing gallery opens doors next week September 20, 2023 Horizon 22, London's newest and highly anticipated viewing gallery, will open its doors to "welcome and wow" guests next week.