Rightmove demands stamp duty overhaul July 25, 2025 Rightmove has called on the government to overhaul stamp duty thresholds to help first-time buyers get on the property market. The UK’s largest property platform urged ministers to increase the thresholds at which the tax kicks in, to reflect house price rises that have occurred in recent years and “help mobility across many parts of [...]
Savills cuts estimate for house price growth over next two years July 24, 2025 Savills has cut its estimate for house price growth over the next two years as caution stalls the housing market, but expects looser mortgage rules to boost in the market in the medium term. The real estate giant cut its forecast for house price growth in 2025 from four per cent to one per cent, [...]
FCA softens remortgaging rules in dash for growth July 22, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is set to remove red tape on remortgaging in the latest sign public bodies are tearing up their rulebooks to align with the government’s growth agenda. In new measures introduced by the City regulator, mortgage holders will be able to reduce the terms of their borrowing and switch to new [...]
Why are London house prices falling? July 21, 2025 House prices in London have fallen this month as higher taxes hit both domestic first-time buyers and international non-doms. Inner London prices fell by 2.1 per cent in July month on month, according to Rightmove’s latest house price index, while overall prices in the capital fell by 1.5 per cent. Rightmove noted that April’s increase [...]
Planning permissions for home improvements falls to lowest level in a decade July 21, 2025 Planning permissions for home renovations has plummeted as the low consumer confidence permeates the construction industry. Consents for developments in England totalled 151,177 in the 12 months to March, 27 per cent below the 10-year average, according to data from Savills. This is despite a 24 per cent uplift in housing transactions as buyers rushed [...]
Safe as houses: Value of 1m UK homes has increased by half since pandemic July 17, 2025 Around one million UK houses have risen in value by more than 50 per cent since 2020, according to new research. House prices have increased by a fifth (20 per cent) on average since 2020, according to Zoopla. The property platform attributed house price growth to pandemic and lifestyle-led changes in buyer requirements that have [...]
Dubai first-time buyer scheme hopes to lure Brits, and keep them July 17, 2025 A new first-time buyer scheme in Dubai will keep expats in the country for longer and is likely to help lure even more ambitious Brits priced out of the property UK market to the gulf state, property experts in the Emirate have said. The city state’s Land Department unveiled its first formal programme to help [...]
Does Rachel Reeves believe in capitalism? July 17, 2025 The Chancellor can’t do the biggest things she needs for growth because she can’t escape her own ideology, says Helen Thomas Spin only gets you so far in the business world. Action has to back up rhetoric or the game will be found out. This is the main difference between business and politics: the former [...]
House prices ‘continue to surprise’ as average property value ticks up in May July 16, 2025 UK house prices rose again in May, bucking predictions of a slowdown in the market after stamp duty relief was axed earlier this year. The average price for a UK property reached £269,000 in May, up 3.9 per cent year on year and 1.1 per cent month on month. The bulk of this increase was [...]
Mansion House reforms will make London the destination of choice for financial services July 16, 2025 The Chancellor’s Mansion House speech sets out a new strategy to cut bureaucracy in the UK’s financial services sector, aiming to drive investment, support businesses and savers, and restore the country’s status as a global financial leader, says Emma Reynolds For too long, our most promising businesses have been held back by a system that [...]