One in three delay buying new home as high costs and interest rates bite August 14, 2024 The saga of first-time buyers trying to get on the UK housing ladder is long and well documented. High interest rates, rising costs and rents which swallow up more than a third of wages – in some parts of the country – have meant that around one in three people have delayed their purchase of [...]
UK’s largest pension fund agrees £405m homes deal with Blackstone August 13, 2024 The UK’s largest pension fund has acquired 3,000 homes from Blackstone for more than £400m. The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) has snapped up the portfolio of shared ownership homes from affordable housing company, Sage. Sage is majority-owned by Blackstone alongside real estate investor Regis and was formed in 2017. The £405m deal is the first [...]
Marshalls: Revenue at building supplier drops but group ‘cautiously optimistic’ about the future August 12, 2024 Housing industry supplier Marshalls has reported a mixed set of results for the first half of the year due to what management called “weak end markets.” However, despite weakness in the construction market over the past year, the company said it was “cautiously optimistic” about the future. Marshalls announced revenue of £306.7m in the half-year [...]
Has the UK housing market turned a corner as the Bank of England cut interest rates? August 9, 2024 Quiet optimism is the mood of the day in the housing market, as house prices firmly ticked up in July. Both the Nationwide and Halifax house price indices posted accelerating house price growth. Nationwide reported a 0.3 per cent month on month increase and Halifax pointed to a stronger 0.8 per cent month on month [...]
Housing operator Mears ups guidance as Ministry of Defence extends contracts August 8, 2024 Affordable housing operator Mears has reported an “excellent” set of results driven by government social housing contract wins and high demand from immigration-related services. Mears, which manages 17,000 houses for local and central government, reported a 10 per cent rise in revenue for the six months ended June 30, to £580m up from £525.6m. Profit [...]
Persimmon: Builder ups guidance amid ‘positive momentum’ on planning reform August 8, 2024 Housebuilder Persimmon has said it would build 10,500 homes this year—at the top end of its guidance— and has outlined plans to boost construction next year as Labour’s planning reforms start to take shape. In its half year results for the six months ended 30 June 2024, Persimmon said it completed 4,445 new, up by [...]