Lockdown blues: Breakups and divorces support UK house prices July 21, 2020 The property market is currently defying gravity, with asking prices hitting an all-time high in July and spirits buoyant after the chancellor slashed the stamp duty homes tax. But estate agents say a less-publicised factor has been helping the property sector ride out economic turbulence better than most had predicted: A surge in lockdown breakups [...]
UK looks to build upward with new planning laws July 21, 2020 The government will today put forward new planning laws that will make it easier for UK homeowners to add two storeys to their properties in a bid to ease the country’s housing crisis. Homeowners will be able to add extra storeys through a “fast track approvals process”, while the new laws will also allow developers [...]
UK housing market enjoys ‘mini-boom’ as asking prices soar in July, says Rightmove July 20, 2020 Residential property asking prices soared in July as coronavirus lockdown restrictions were lifted, sparking a “mini-boom” in the UK housing market. The average asking price of property coming to market in July was up 2.4 per cent compared to March, before the coronavirus lockdown was announced. The 3.7 per cent annual rate of increase recorded [...]
Real estate investment firm Castleforge Partners closes third fund at over £270m July 17, 2020 London-based real estate investment firm Castleforge Partners has today announced the close of its third commercial fund at over £270m. Castleforge Partners III exceeded its predecessor by 15 per cent, even in the face of looming Brexit uncertainty and the global coronavirus pandemic. The investment fund received support from existing investors, with around 60 per [...]
McCarthy & Stone swings to a loss as completed projects halve July 15, 2020 McCarthy & Stone posted a £25m loss for the first half of 2020 this morning, and warned of further difficulties as the pandemic continues. The retirement-home builder said coronavirus had dampened housing transactions, affecting the number of sales it was able to complete in the six months to the end of April. McCarthy & Stone [...]
Derwent London to sell two Soho properties to Travelex founder July 13, 2020 Property developer Derwent London has inked a deal to sell two properties in Soho to Travelex founder Sir Lloyd Dorfman’s family property interests for £40.5m. The sale includes the long leasehold interest on 2 and 4 Soho Place, part of Derwent’s Soho Place development scheme, which is due to be finished in 2022. The deal [...]
London house prices flatline amid coronavirus uncertainty July 10, 2020 London house prices stayed flat in the second quarter of this year as coronavirus took an uneven toll on the property market across the country, according to new figures. The Halifax house price index on Tuesday showed that UK house prices fell for the fourth month in a row in June. That meant house prices [...]
Great Portland Estates collects just 28 per cent of June retail rent July 10, 2020 Great Portland Estates received only 28 per cent of rent due last month from those in its retail, leisure and hospitality spaces, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to weigh on the economy. The West End landlord collected 74 per cent of the rent due from office locations in the three months to June, utilising rent [...]
Boris Johnson must resist the urge to build, build, build back the same July 9, 2020 My (increasingly bushy) eyebrows raised somewhat last week when Boris Johnson stood in front of his podium with his latest three worder “build, build, build” and his promise to cut red tape around infrastructure – and raised even further when the chancellor promised to cut stamp duty during his economic statement delivered yesterday. It is [...]
Buyers return to UK housing market as lockdown lifts July 9, 2020 Buyers returned to the UK’s housing market last month as it reopened after months of standstill during the coronavirus lockdown, however activity remained low, the latest research showed. The latest survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors found that a net balance of 61 per cent of its members reported a rise in new [...]