House prices dip unexpectedly as interest rates continue to dampen demand August 30, 2024 House prices dipped unexpectedly for the first time since April this month, but a closely watched survey today suggests that the outlook for the property market is likely to strengthen as interest rates are reined in. In its closely watched house price index today, mortgage lender Nationwide said British house prices slipped by 0.2 per [...]
Tallest skyscraper outside London approved August 29, 2024 Plans to build the tallest skyscraper outside London have been approved by leaders in Manchester. Standing at 71 storeys and 213 metres tall, the skyscraper will surpass the height of the previous record holder outside London – Manchester’s Deansgate Square South Tower – which is 201 metres high. However the new skyscraper, which is to [...]
Green light finally expected for £2.5bn Barratt and Redrow mega-merger August 28, 2024 The £2.5bn mega-merger of housebuilders Barratt and Redrow looks set to be finally given approval by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The watchdog launched an investigation into the proposed deal in June after it was first announced in February. Now, the watchdog has said it considers that there are reasonable grounds for believing that [...]
Price of the average London home on the rise as UK demand rockets August 28, 2024 The ‘average’ London home will now set you back more than £530,000 after house prices in the capital increased for the first time since April 2023, according to figures released today. Data from Zoopla’s latest house price index revealed that London property prices were up 0.2 per cent year on year in the first seven [...]
Rents rise at slowest rate in nearly three years – but average hits £1,200 August 21, 2024 A rise in properties on the market means rents for new lets have grown by their slowest rate in nearly three years this year, and are expected to fall below wage growth for this first time since 2021, an analysis has revealed. Rents for new lets grew by 5.7 per cent in the 12 months [...]
‘Buyer buzz’: Outlook raised for UK house prices after interest rates cut August 19, 2024 Property portal Rightmove has said there is a “degree of buyer buzz” in the housing market, caused by the moderation in mortgages in light of the Bank of England’s decision to cut the base interest rate. It raised its house price forecast for 2024 from negative one percent to one per cent, citing more interest [...]
Croydon is a brutalist playground and a photographer’s dream August 15, 2024 I stand killing time on the platform of one of Croydon’s many decrepit railway stations. Like me, it’s seen better days, and again like me, its makeover has been on the cards for years. I do a lot of waiting and thinking here, mostly enforced. Norwood Junction: even the name sounds like a line from [...]
One in three delay buying new home as high costs and interest rates bite August 14, 2024 The saga of first-time buyers trying to get on the UK housing ladder is long and well documented. High interest rates, rising costs and rents which swallow up more than a third of wages – in some parts of the country – have meant that around one in three people have delayed their purchase of [...]
Rising London rents are ‘a pressure cooker ready to explode’ as home ownership ‘inching out of reach’ August 14, 2024 “A pressure cooker ready to explode” is how one expert has described the current situation in the UK housing market as data showed rents jumped close to 10 per cent in London over the past year. In fresh data released this morning it was revealed that average UK private rents increased by 8.6 per cent [...]
‘Magnificent’ Hyde Park penthouse on sale for £60m August 13, 2024 A £60m penthouse has gone on sale in Hyde Park in a tentative sign that the super-prime market may be turning towards bigger, more expensive homes again. The apartment, which is one of London’s biggest listings in 2024, includes “one of the largest private terraces in central London”, according to James Van Den Heule, co-founding director [...]