Soaring stamp duty costs dampen house price growth July 29, 2025 Housing market activity has surged but price growth has slowed as high costs bite into buyers’ budgets. Buyer demand rose 11 per cent and agreed sales rose eight per cent year on year but house prices grew by just 1.3 per cent, according to Zoopla’s latest house price index. Higher stamp duty costs now impact [...]
House prices ‘continue to surprise’ as average property value ticks up in May July 16, 2025 UK house prices rose again in May, bucking predictions of a slowdown in the market after stamp duty relief was axed earlier this year. The average price for a UK property reached £269,000 in May, up 3.9 per cent year on year and 1.1 per cent month on month. The bulk of this increase was [...]
UK housing market faces ‘considerable upheaval’ as sellers lose confidence July 7, 2025 Estate agents have warned that a turbulent global economy and changes to stamp duty have caused upheaval in the housing market after prices flatlined in June. UK house prices were stagnant in June, according to the latest data from Halifax, after a 0.3 per cent drop from April to May. “Today’s news suggests that house [...]
Lords blast Renters’ Rights Bill: ‘The government is not listening’ July 2, 2025 Peers in the House of Lords have clashed with the goverment’s Renters Right Bill, arguing that the Commons hasn’t listened to their concerns about fixed-term contracts, student housing or holiday lets. The bill, which aims to rebalance the relationship between landlords and tenants, began its third reading in the House of Lords on July 1. [...]
Landlords pick Manchester over London for higher returns June 30, 2025 Manchester has surpassed London in terms of the best yields for landlords, despite the former having a much lower average rent. London ranked fifth in a survey of rental yields, with the average annual return on investment in the capital at just 2.25 per cent, versus 4.21 per cent in Manchester, according to specialist property litigation [...]
Crest Nicholson: Profit triples as housing market recovers June 12, 2025 Housebuilder Crest Nicholson has reaffirmed its annual guidance as it reported a jump in half-year profit. The London-listed firm said adjusted pre-tax profit more than tripled to £7.9m in the six months ended 30 April. On a statutory basis, the company swung to a £9.4m profit after posting losses of £30.9m in 2024. Revenue declined [...]
Relaxed mortgage rules could increase first-time buyer deals by a quarter June 2, 2025 Changes in the way lenders stress test borrowers for mortgages could lead to a huge jump in the amount of first-time buyers able to access the housing market, according to Savills. Savills’ analysis found first-time buyer transactions could increase by up to 24 per cent over the next five years if lending rules continue to [...]
Property transactions falter despite rise in number of homes available May 30, 2025 Homebuying in the UK slowed in April after the end of the stamp duty holiday, despite an uptick in the number of properties available. The number of UK residential transactions in April 2025 was 64,680, 28 per cent lower than April 2024 and 64 per cent lower than March 2025, according to official statistics. Estate agents attributed [...]
Topping up pensions with property wealth is becoming the norm May 27, 2025 Using property to fund retirement is going to become the norm, but there's stigma attached to it, writes James Daley.
Happy Cost of Rent Day Londoners – for the rest of the year your money is yours May 27, 2025 With the average London tenant needing to work 146 days a year just to pay off their rent, today marks a miserable milestone, writes Sebastian Charleton.