Build, Baby, Build: The Apprenticeship Levy is a tax by another name August 23, 2024 SME house builders need to attract young talent more than ever, but the inflexible Apprenticeship Levy is standing in the way, says Rowland Thomas The new Labour Government’s pro-development approach and commitment to getting Britain back building has been largely welcomed by the housebuilding industry. However, even if the Government delivers on its promise to [...]
‘Buyer buzz’: Outlook raised for UK house prices after interest rates cut August 19, 2024 Property portal Rightmove has said there is a “degree of buyer buzz” in the housing market, caused by the moderation in mortgages in light of the Bank of England’s decision to cut the base interest rate. It raised its house price forecast for 2024 from negative one percent to one per cent, citing more interest [...]
Rising London rents are ‘a pressure cooker ready to explode’ as home ownership ‘inching out of reach’ August 14, 2024 “A pressure cooker ready to explode” is how one expert has described the current situation in the UK housing market as data showed rents jumped close to 10 per cent in London over the past year. In fresh data released this morning it was revealed that average UK private rents increased by 8.6 per cent [...]
House price growth accelerates ahead of potential interest rate cut August 1, 2024 UK house price growth has accelerated in the past month as buyer confidence picked up and mortgage rates fell ahead of a potential interest rate cut by the Bank of England. UK house prices rose by 0.3 per cent month on month in July, Nationwide reported in their monthly house price index. The annual growth [...]
Rayner must defy her own backbenchers and build, baby, build July 31, 2024 Angela Rayner has clearly been reading City A.M.. In a statement to the House of Commons yesterday the housing secretary outlined plans to build 370,000 homes a year, in a clear victory for our Build, Baby, Build campaign. The challenge now is to realise that ambition in bricks and mortar. It is encouraging, then, that [...]
Rightmove urges Reeves to keep stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers as it posts ‘solid but uninspiring’ results July 26, 2024 Property giant Rightmove has called on the Government to retain the stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers, as it announced a solid but “uninspiring” set of results. Revenue at Rightmove rose by seven per cent to reach £192.1m, “as both agents and new homes developers renewed contracts, upgraded their packages and invested in additional products”, [...]
‘Steady picture’: UK house prices increase at fastest rate since July 2022, as London rose slowest July 17, 2024 Expectations of a cut to interest rates and continued tight supply helped house prices to rise for the third successive month in May, the Office for National Statistics has said.
Mark Kleinman: Water sector’s goodwill will evaporate under Labour July 11, 2024 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and is the man that gets the City talking in his fortnightly City A.M. column. This week he writes about the new government’s plans for water firms, housebuilders and Schroders The moment has arrived. By the time City AM readers set eyes on today’s newspaper, Ofwat, the water [...]
Housebuilder Barratt to deliver profit ‘slightly ahead’ of expectations despite challenging conditions July 10, 2024 In a trading update covering the year to June, Barratt said that total home completions were at 14,004. Although this was down on 17,206 last year, it was still at the "upper end" of the firm's guidance.
Housebuilding giants Bellway, Berkeley and Barratt laud Reeves’ planning pledge July 8, 2024 Some of the UK's largest property and housebuilding firms have welcomed the new Labour government's promise to "get Britain building again" with a reintroduction of compulsory housebuilding targets, calling them "hugely encouraging".