Conservatives call for ethics probe into Angela Rayner’s tax affairs August 30, 2025 Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner should face an ethics inquiry over her tax affairs, the Conservatives have said. The Telegraph newspaper claimed that Rayner, who is also the Housing Secretary, saved £40,000 in stamp duty on a second home she bought in Hove for £800,000. This was because she removed her name from the deed [...]
One in ten UK homes cut asking price in July August 28, 2025 One in ten UK homes registered a cut to the asking price in July, well above the five-year average, as sellers continue to adjust to a buyers market. Average house prices rose by just 1.3 per cent in the year to July, below the 2.1 price growth recorded at the start of 2025, according to Zoopla’s [...]
Bellway: Issues with government planning reforms cause delays August 12, 2025 Housebuilder Bellway has said local councils have found it difficult to adapt to the government’s changes to the UK planning system, causing delays in the building process. The government recently announced an overhaul of Britain’s clunky planning system, promising to unleash “seismic change” on the country’s construction process. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) has [...]
Rent on newly-let homes falls for first time in five years after ‘relentless’ rise August 11, 2025 Average rents on newly-let homes have fallen for the first time in around five years, according to a property firm. Across Britain, the average rent on a newly-let property fell by 0.2 per cent year-on-year in July, marking the first annual decline since August 2020, during the height of the Covid pandemic, Hamptons said. Despite [...]
Housebuilders in focus amid Labour’s planning reforms push August 10, 2025 UK housebuilders will be in sharp focus as the sector grapples with construction woes, despite the Government ploughing ahead with plans to stimulate more building. Persimmon and Balfour Beatty will announce their half-year results on Wednesday, and Bellway will provide a trading update on Tuesday. York-based developer Persimmon said in May that forward sales – [...]
Mortgage recovery hinges on a Bank of England interest rate cut August 6, 2025 Homeowners across the UK are catching a break as mortgage arrears fell for the first time since the cost-of-living crisis began – but a full recovery will hinge on the Bank of England’s decision on Thursday. Missed mortgage payments in the second quarter fell by 4.4 per cent across the UK, whilst direct debit rejections [...]
Over 50s mortgages help LiveMore turbocharge growth August 6, 2025 According to Legal & General Mortgage Services, which is involved in around a third of all mortgage transactions in the UK, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of over-50-year-olds applying for mortgages. Rising house prices, coupled with increasing longevity, have pushed the average age of the first time buyer to 33, with [...]
Mortgages rebound in lift for housing market July 29, 2025 Britons’ borrowing of mortgages and consumer credit rose at a faster pace in June, fresh Bank of England data has revealed, in signs that the recovery in the housing market is “well underway”. In monthly statistics released by the Bank to signal trends in the UK banking system, it was revealed that net borrowing of [...]
You can’t fix homelessness without building homes July 29, 2025 Housing First pilot schemes across Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham have proven to work, taking 1,000 people off the streets. Now the government must roll it out nationwide, says Steve Morgan As far as housing is concerned, I didn’t have the easiest start in life. Growing up I lived in nine different houses before the age [...]
Housebuilding targets are one thing, but we need mortgage reform too July 16, 2025 Increasing the supply of new homes won’t make homeownership more affordable by itself – we need new kinds of mortgages too, says James Browne The government’s planning reforms that aim to increase the housing stock by 1.5m homes by the end of the parliament are a welcome step towards addressing Britain’s housing crisis. But supply [...]