Barratt Developments to restart construction work this month May 1, 2020 Housebuilder Barratt Developments will restart work on construction sites this month after temporarily closing operations during the coronavirus lockdown. Work to implement social distancing measures will begin on 11 May, after which Barratt will restart building work across 180 of its construction sites, representing 50 per cent of its sites. The developer this morning said [...]
UK house prices: Experts predict sharp recovery after coronavirus lockdown May 1, 2020 UK house prices could rebound after the coronavirus lockdown eases, after they grew at the fastest pace since 2017 before the crisis, Nationwide said today. The value of British homes grew at their fastest rate since February 2017 before the coronavirus lockdown brought the market crashing to a halt, Nationwide data released today showed. UK [...]
Estate agent Countrywide warns on impact of housing market slowdown April 30, 2020 Property giant Countrywide this morning said its sales pipeline had remained “resilient” during the lockdown period so far but warned it expects a “material slowdown” in transactions. The company, which owns the Bairstow Eves and Hamptons International estate agent brands, agreed sales pipeline throughout said the agreed sales pipeline during the coronavirus lockdown stood at [...]
Westminster approves £150m Cavendish Square health hub underneath Oxford Street April 29, 2020 Developers have today been given the green light for a £150m plan to transform Cavendish Square into a subterranean health and wellness hub. Property firm Reef Group has outlined proposals to turn a 1960s car park below the Georgian square in the West End into specialist facilities for the healthcare sector, as well as premium [...]
Housebuilder Persimmon confident in outlook as construction sites reopen April 29, 2020 Housebuilder Persimmon said customer enquiries have remained at good levels throughout the UK coronavirus lockdown so far as the developer pushes ahead with the phased reopening of its construction sites. The company said steady customer enquiries provided “some encouragement on the resilience of demand” during the coronavirus crisis. Persimmon’s current forward sales position is “robust” [...]
Lenders grant 1.6m mortgage payment holidays to homeowners April 28, 2020 Lenders have granted 1.6m mortgage payment holidays to homeowners facing financial difficulties due to the coronavirus outbreak. Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced in March that households with mortgages would be entitled to three-month payment holidays. Over a third of payment holidays approved so far were done in the first week of the UK’s lockdown. One in [...]
Zoopla: £82bn of UK house sales on hold as transactions set to halve in 2020 April 28, 2020 Hundreds of thousands of property transactions have been put on hold as the UK housing market freezes up during the coronavirus lockdown, with house sales set to fall 50 per cent this year. Roughly 373,000 property transactions with a total value of £82bn are on hold after the government put in place strict coronavirus restrictions, [...]
Housebuilding set to drop 35 per cent in 2020, says report April 27, 2020 Coronavirus lockdown measures will mean 35 per cent fewer houses will be built in the UK in 2020 than originally planned, according to a new report, a fall likely to add to the stresses in the British housing market over the coming years. Property consultant Knight Frank predicted in a new report that around 104,000 [...]
Persimmon will start reopening construction sites next week April 24, 2020 Persimmon has announced a phased restart to work on its construction sites from next week, as the housebuilding sector starts to return to work. The housebuilder said it will start to open up sites from 27 April “in response to the UK government’s objective of getting the construction sector back to work.” Following the announcement [...]
Commercial landlords banned from using ‘aggressive’ rent collection tactics April 23, 2020 UK shops, restaurants and pubs will be protected against aggressive rent recovery action during the coronavirus crisis after the government issued new rules for commercial landlords. The government has temporarily banned the use of statutory demands and winding up orders until at least June following pressure from the retail and hospitality sectors. Many retail, hospitality [...]