House prices suffer biggest August slump in eight years August 17, 2026 House prices in the UK have suffered their biggest August drop since 2018, as a usually quiet period for the property market is stifled further by fears of Budget tax rises. The average house price slumped by two per cent this month to £364,999, according to property portal Rightmove. House prices are down one per [...]
Family feud: London estate agent Winkworth sues chair over plot with wife to oust son from board August 7, 2026 London estate agent Winkworth has initiated High Court proceedings against its chair, Simon Agace, for an alleged breach of contract after he and his wife attempted to oust the company’s board, including his son, City AM can reveal. The AIM-listed company, which is one of the UK’s oldest estate agents and specialises in high-end properties [...]
Rightmove: Housebuilders face worst conditions since financial crisis July 31, 2026 The boss of property portal Rightmove has warned that UK housebuilders are facing the worst conditions since the 2008 financial crash. Johan Svanstrom, the FTSE 250 firm’s chief executive, said on Friday that new home developments are at “historically low levels due to continued softer build rates”. The property platform said growth in its new [...]
House prices slump as Iran war and interest rates hit demand July 31, 2026 House prices slumped in July after the Iran war and higher interest rates squeezed demand and triggered a slowdown in sales. Annual house price growth slowed to 1.8 last month, down from 2.2 per cent the prior month. Month on month, average house prices remained broadly flat, rising by just £58 to reach £277,542, up [...]
High interest rates and low confidence put construction firms under pressure, Lords warns July 30, 2026 Construction firms have been hit by a barrage of reduced market confidence, high interest rates and rising national insurance costs, builders’ merchant Lords has warned, after it suffered its biggest-ever single-day stock fall. The London-based firm released a challenging market update on Thursday, which saw its shares plunge 20.61 per cent to an all-time low [...]
Industry hits out at rumours as No 10 denies plan to abolish stamp duty and council tax July 27, 2026 Andy Burnham is “not considering” scrapping stamp duty and council tax, Downing Street has said, as the government moves to pour cold water on rumours of major tax changes that had spooked property sector leaders. Business chiefs condemned the government over the danger of property tax speculation after reports over the weekend suggested that Burnham [...]
Top-end priced UK properties may take four times longer to leave market July 25, 2026 Property sellers in Britain asking for too high a price who have to reduce it to make a sale take four times as long to sell than those listing an accurate initial asking price. According to new research from estate agent Savills, 33 per cent of sales required the asking price to be slashed to [...]
Housebuilder hits a wall: How did Vistry become the UK’s most shorted stock? July 24, 2026 Vistry, the “nation’s favourite housebuilder,” has become the UK’s most shorted stock. From a shift to a bold new model to hopes that it can fuel Burnham’s housing vision, Felix Armstrong unpicks the firm’s recent history Back in 2024, Vistry boss Greg Fitzgerald was brimming with optimism. The housebuilder’s ambitious switch from a private market [...]
Stop recycling Angela Rayner and reform planning instead July 21, 2026 Angela Rayner is back as housing minister but still nothing substantial has changed in housing policy, says Duncan Kreeger Angela Rayner has returned to the housing brief. Fine, I suppose – she’s paid her stamp duty bill now at least. But if Andy Burnham wants us to have hope that the country might actually build [...]
Sadiq Khan’s London plan is not nearly ambitious enough July 20, 2026 London isn’t building and the draft London Plan put forward by the Mayor last week will do very little to change that, says Sam Dumitriu It is unwise to take on additional responsibilities when you are failing to fulfill those you already have. As Mayor of London, one of the soon-to-be Lord Khan of Tooting’s [...]