Mayor bids for developer levy to fund replacement cladding work December 27, 2020 Sadiq Khan has called on Whitehall to introduce a £3bn levy on private housing developers to fund replacement cladding work. Thousands of Londoners, both in the private and social housing sector, are still awaiting replacement cladding work on their properties after the Grenfell Tower disaster exposed serious safety issues. Read more: Mayor warns of toughest [...]
Central London’s luxury property dips on Brexit uncertainty December 22, 2020 The allure of luxury property in central London has waned this year amid Brexit uncertainty and weaker demand. With Brexit reaching an impasse ahead of the end of the transition period, the annual price change in prime central and prime outer London properties grew to its widest this month. Average prices in prime central London [...]
UK house prices end year on high with £62bn more deals than 2019 December 21, 2020 UK house prices are set to finish the year on a high note despite the worst downturn since the 1700s, with the residential property market racking up £62bn more in agreed sales in 2020 than last year, according to new data. Property website Zoopla said house prices rose at an annual rate of 3.9 per [...]
Shock as government policy works! Why we need to keep the stamp duty holiday December 17, 2020 The stamp duty holiday is working — actually really, really well. So, of course, the government plans to reverse it shortly. Governments tax things either to raise money to spend, or to discourage you from doing them. Income tax and national insurance raise more than 40 per cent of all the annual £825bn tax revenue. [...]
Online estate agent Purplebricks expects to beat profit forecasts December 15, 2020 Online estate agent Purplebricks said it will beat full year profit expectations due to a surge in demand during the coronavirus pandemic as homebuyers shifted to technology-led platforms. The figures The company said there are “reasons to remain cautious on the economic outlook” but said it is confident that Ebitda for the full year will [...]
West End landlord Shaftesbury swings to £700m loss December 15, 2020 West End landlord Shaftesbury swung to a loss of almost £700m this year as the value of its retail and hospitality properties plummeted due to the coronavirus pandemic. The figures Shaftesbury this morning reported a loss after tax of £699.5m, compared to profit of £26m in the previous year, due to revaluation deficits. Net property [...]
Poor broadband can knock £40k off average London home: study December 10, 2020 Due to the global pandemic, many people have either chosen or have been forced to work from home. The shift out of the office and into people’s homes has changed the importance of factors people consider when purchasing a new property. Now, if a house has poor broadband, it will knock the house price down [...]
UK extends commercial tenant eviction ban until March December 9, 2020 The UK’s ban on commercial property eviction has been extended today to March 2021. Housing secretary Robert Jenrick announced that this will be the final extension of the business eviction ban, after it was originally supposed to end in September this year. A statement from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said the [...]
UK takes top-spot in European property investment market December 7, 2020 A recent global survey by international law firm DLA Piper, showed that the UK is considered prime real estate by investors, following Brexit. The survey of 500 investors, developers, and asset managers from across Europe, China and the US, ranked the UK highest for future residential property investment. The study showed that overall, the European [...]
UK house prices grow at strongest pace in four years December 7, 2020 UK house prices soared by 7.6 per cent in the year to November, according to the latest figures from Halifax, as buyers sought more space and tried to beat the end of the stamp duty holiday. House prices rose 1.2 per cent month on month and 7.6 per cent year on year to hit an [...]