Kevin McCloud: Housebuilder ‘oligopoly’ needs urgent reform May 2, 2025 Britain’s housebuilding industry is a cartel-like oligopoly that needs root and branch reform in order for the UK is to build enough high-quality homes to solve its housing crisis, Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud has said. In a withering assessment the track record of major housebuilders, McCloud said the UK construction sector’s supply chain had [...]
Controversial tower opposed by Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton and Felicity Kendal rejected April 25, 2025 Plans for a 29-storey mixed-use tower at the southern end of Battersea Bridge have been unanimously rejected by Wandsworth Council. The 110-home Glassmill scheme was voted down at meeting of the authority’s planning committee on Thursday night. The decision follows months of local opposition to the project, with more than 2,000 objections from members of [...]
Mortgage completions surged 50 per cent in March amid race to swerve stamp duty April 21, 2025 Mortgage completions have risen to their highest level since September as buyers rushed to avoid higher property taxes. Completions in March jumped 70 per cent compared to February for first-time buyers, according to Barclays, ahead of a change to stamp duty rates in April. “We experienced a blockbuster month for completions in March, as buyers [...]
Barratt Redrow shares rise as housebuilder predicts growth April 16, 2025 Construction giant Barratt Redrow has said it is "well-positioned for sustainable growth" as its forward sales dropped by double-digit figures
Londoners earn the most but spend very little, IFS finds April 11, 2025 Londoners top the ranking for income per head across the UK, yet spend very little after housing costs are taken into account, according to research by leading think tanks. A new report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE) signals that high housing costs in the capital city [...]
International buyers shun top end of the London housing market April 7, 2025 The number of international buyers looking to buy London mansions has fallen to its lowest recorded level as stamp duty increases and broader tax changes weigh on housing demand. The proportion of international applicants – or people registering to buy a home – in Great Britain fell to one per cent of all buyers in [...]
It’s Rayner to the rescue but who will build Labour’s 1.3m homes? April 2, 2025 Labour’s only hope for growth is new housebuilding – but Britain doesn’t have the workforce to deliver even the newly downgraded targets. There is an obvious solution, says Jamila Robertson In the Spring Statement, Rachel Reeves acknowledged that she will no longer be able to meet the government’s manifesto pledge to build 1.5m homes by [...]
Savills: Shares continue month-long slide despite strong results March 13, 2025 Savills has reported a huge uptick in profit, although its investment management arm suffered last year on high interest rates. The FTSE 250-listed firm told the market this morning that revenue increased by seven per cent in the year ended December 31, reaching £2.4bn from £2.24bn in 2023. Underlying profit before tax rose 38 per cent [...]
Planning bill will ‘avoid bat tunnels’, housing minister claims March 11, 2025 The government hopes its planning reforms will “avoid bat tunnels”, the housing minister has said. It comes as Labour unveiled major changes to the UK’s planning permissions system – as part of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill – with measures to overhaul how developers meet environmental obligations, replacing site-specific schemes with a general fund. Speaking [...]
Buy-to-let market ‘resilient’ despite fears of landlord exodus March 11, 2025 UK landlords are more optimistic than previously thought about buy-to-let as the market gears up to absorb economic and regulatory challenges, according to a new survey. A survey of 300 UK landlords has found that a third of landlords plan to expand their portfolios this year, while 43 per cent expect yields to improve. “It [...]