Time to build homes on the green belt, Sadiq Khan says in major strategy pivot Politics Sir Sadiq Khan is to call for homes to be built on London’s green belt in a major strategic shift on housing policy. In a speech on Friday, the mayor of London is to announce that City Hall will “actively explore” releasing parts of the green belt in a bid to bring an end to [...]
Mortgage borrowing surges ahead of stamp duty changes Economics Net borrowing or mortgages spiked by £9.7bn in March as house buyers looked to clinch deals before higher stamp duty taxes came into effect. Net borrowing levels exceeded £13bn, according to the Bank of England, as the rise compared to February beat market forecasts of £3.2bn. EY ITEM Club’s Matt Swannell said the surge in [...]
House prices drop an ‘eye-catcher’ due to stamp duty changes Property UK house prices fell in April at their fastest month-to-month rate in nearly two years, fresh data has suggested, as adjustments to stamp duty knocked demand. Prices declined by 0.6 per cent in April compared to the previous month, according to Nationwide. The drop was attributed to stamp duty changes, introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves [...]
UK mortgage approvals dip in February March 31, 2025 Mortgage approvals for house purchases decreased again in February as gains in consumer credit borrowing slowed down by £300m compared to January, the Bank of England said on Tuesday. House buying appeared to slow down as lenders approved around 65,500 mortgages in February, compared to some 66,100 in January. January saw a decrease of around [...]
Springfield Properties: Revenue slumps as housing projects delayed February 17, 2025 Springfield Properties, one of Scotland’s leading housebuilders, has reported a 13 per cent drop in revenue to £105.6m for the first half of its 2025 financial year, reflecting a subdued housing market and delays in affordable housing projects. Despite the decline in revenue, the company posted a sharp increase in profitability, with adjusted profit before [...]
‘Prohibitive building costs’ stunting UK growth projects – Deloitte February 4, 2025 “Prohibitive costs” involved in construction projects in major UK cities led to a sharp decline in the number of new developments breaking ground in 2024, according to a new report from Deloitte. Deloitte’s latest Regional Crane Surveys, which covers the central areas of Belfast, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester, has revealed the number of new starts [...]
London house prices rise by just £600 as worst borough revealed January 14, 2025 The London borough where more houses fell in value than almost any other area in the UK in 2024 has been revealed. According to new data released by Zoopla, the value of 72 per cent of houses in Kensington and Chelsea fell by at least one per cent last year. A total of 73,200 homes [...]
Back to the 80s to fix the housing crisis January 10, 2025 Experts have been warning about the housing crisis for decades – and the solutions have been staring us in the face for just as long, says Kristian Niemietz “[T]he planning system […] has significantly increased land and housing prices […] and distorted the economic structure, all of which have led to the British standard of [...]
UK housing market returns to growth as north outpaces south November 29, 2024 Zoopla has predicted positive house price growth in all regions and counties of the UK in 2025, with the north expected to outpace the south. The real estate platform has forecast sales growth at five per cent and house price growth at 2.5 per cent across the UK, with the fastest price increases in Northern [...]
Rightmove predicts positive property market in 2025 November 8, 2024 Rightmove has said it sees a “positive outlook” for the property market next year as it updated its forecasts for the whole of 2024. The FTSE 100 company has upped its 2024 revenue guidance to around £390m, reflecting seven to nine per cent growth and in line with previous market expectations. Rightmove now expects average [...]