UK housing market returned to growth in 2024 March 17, 2025 The value of the UK housing market returned to growth last year after mortgage rates dropped and affordability constraints eased. According to Savills, the total value of the UK housing market expanded by 6.3 per cent in 2024 to £379bn. The increase in spending on housebuying was fuelled by first-time buyers, who collectively increased their [...]
Iconic cinema in Chelsea put on the market March 13, 2025 An iconic Grade II ex-cinema in Chelsea has been put on the market, with potential to turn it into a hotel, housing or a member’s club. The closure of the cinema, which Hugh Grant called “strangely unbearable”, sparked headlines last year. The site, which originally opened in 1930 as the Forum Theatre, became the 26th [...]
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 [...]
Value of UK housing stock hits £9 trillion for the first time February 17, 2025 The total value of all homes across the UK has passed £9 trillion for the first time, according to new research by property firm Savills. After a brief slump in 2023, the UK’s housing stock grew by £346bn last year – meaning it is now more than 3.5 times the annual GDP of the UK. [...]
The end of stamp duty relief isn’t the only cost going up for first-time buyers February 11, 2025 First-time buyers (FTBs) are facing higher costs across the board as they grapple with not only high stamp duty fees, but a low stock of affordable houses, more stringent lending requirements and higher upfront costs. First and foremost, stamp duty relief is set to end on March 31, which has driven a significant boost in [...]
London’s top spot for super-prime property crowned January 29, 2025 Belgravia has taken the crown as London’s most-sought-after super prime neighbourhood, home to more than a tenth of sales in the capital last year and overtaking Chelsea for the first time since 2020. The area was even home to London’s first super prime deal of 2025, a £38m mansion on Wilton Crescent. “Belgravia has benefited from [...]
Savills: End of work from home drives recovery in office property market January 16, 2025 International property services company Savills has predicted a strong commercial property market this year driven by cheaper financing, the sustainability agenda and workers’ return to the office. The FTSE 250-listed firm told the market this morning that while it expected challenging conditions to continue, “most markets are in recovery”. However, the firm added that geopolitical uncertainty, [...]
Caution persists in London’s prime property market after Budget hit December 27, 2024 A tense political and economic environment has left buyers of prime property cautious in the last few months of the year, with prices dipping in central London. House prices in Knightsbridge and Belgravia fell by two per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively, while prices fell 0.8 per cent across the capital as a whole, [...]
Wealthy Americans look to London prime property after Trump’s victory November 27, 2024 Real estate agents in London’s prime property market have marked a spike in interest from wealthy Americans looking to relocate to the UK – particularly families – after Donald Trump’s successful Presidential election campaign. Estate agents Cluttons has experienced a “noticeable uptick in demand” post-election, according to its head of London residential, Laura Dam Villena. [...]
London rents rise again as Savills warns of double-digit UK increase November 20, 2024 Analysts have warned rents are being pushed to unsustainable levels amid another yearly jump and concerns there is no natural plateau in sight. The average UK private rent rose by 8.7 per cent in the year to October, up from 8.4 per cent in the year to September, according to the ONS. The increase was [...]