John Lewis may convert department stores into affordable housing July 30, 2020 John Lewis is considering converting some of its store estate into housing in an attempt to strengthen its services business as the high street battles the impact of the coronavirus crisis. The retailer, which owns the department store chain and Waitrose, said it is exploring the concept of new mixed-use affordable housing with third parties. [...]
London commercial rents set to slump amid ‘drastic’ change to market July 30, 2020 Commercial rents in London are widely expected to fall across the board in the next three months, a new survey from RICS has shown, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to hammer the property market. According to the data, 95 per cent of survey respondents expect retail rents in the capital to decline in the next [...]
Prime house price growth slows to lowest rate in 11 years July 29, 2020 House price growth in global prime residential markets slowed to the lowest rate in 11 years in June as the coronavirus pandemic took its toll. The Knight Frank prime global cities index increased 0.9 per cent in the year to June, down from 2.3 per cent in March. It is the slowest rate of growth [...]
How badly will coronavirus hit UK house prices in 2020? July 29, 2020 Property experts hope a stamp duty holiday and relaxed lockdown restrictions will protect UK house prices from a sharp coronavirus fall this year. At the height of lockdown, experts predicted that UK house prices could fall by as much as 10 per cent this year due to the impact of coronavirus. However, chancellor Rishi Sunak [...]
UK mortgage approvals beat expectations as housing market reopens July 29, 2020 UK mortgage approvals beat expectations and rocketed in June as the housing market reopened from the coronavirus lockdown, the latest figures have shown. The number of mortgages approved by UK banks rose to 40,000 in June after May’s record crash to just 9,300, the Bank of England said today. Analysts had predicted a rise to [...]
Taylor Wimpey swings to a loss in first half July 29, 2020 Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey swung to a loss in the first half of the year after costs related to the coronavirus pandemic reached £39.2m. The figures The developer’s share price fell more than seven per cent this morning as it reported an operating loss of £16.1m, compared to a profit of £311.9m in 2019, and loss [...]
UK housebuilder stocks surge on Help to Buy extension reports July 28, 2020 UK housebuilder stocks surged this morning on reports that the government is preparing to extend the Help to Buy scheme. Barratt Developments’ share price was up 5.07 per cent and Berkeley Group’s shares jumped 4.07 per cent this morning. Taylor Wimpey’s share price increased 3.29 per cent and Persimmon’s stock was up 4.06 per cent. [...]
London estate agent Foxtons reports widening losses after coronavirus lockdown July 28, 2020 London estate agent Foxtons this morning said it was confident in the capital’s “resilient” housing market, despite reporting widening losses for the first half of the year due to coronavirus restrictions. The figures In the half year to 30 June group revenue fell 22.2 per cent to £40.4m as the housing market was brought to [...]
Stamp duty cut sees London house sales rocket 27 per cent July 28, 2020 The stamp duty holiday has significantly boosted London’s housing market, with new sales agreed up by over a quarter in just two weeks, new data has shown. UK house prices rose 0.2 per cent in June as a jump in demand for houses outstripped a fall in the number of sellers, the figures also showed. [...]
Link REIT buys Canary Wharf office block for £380m July 27, 2020 Link REIT, Asia’s largest real estate investment trust, has bought a Canary Wharf office block for £380m. Canary Wharf’s 25 Cabot Square, which is occupied by Morgan Stanley, is Link’s first asset in the UK. The sale of the 17-storey building, which was previously owned by Hines, is the biggest deal to take place in [...]