Soaring stamp duty costs dampen house price growth July 29, 2025 Housing market activity has surged but price growth has slowed as high costs bite into buyers’ budgets. Buyer demand rose 11 per cent and agreed sales rose eight per cent year on year but house prices grew by just 1.3 per cent, according to Zoopla’s latest house price index. Higher stamp duty costs now impact [...]
Rightmove profits rise amid rental and commercial property growth July 25, 2025 Britain’s largest property portal, Rightmove, posted a rise in revenue and profit on Friday, buoyed by estate agents upgrading marketing packages and growing demand across its rental and mortgage arms. The FTSE 100 firm told the market that revenue rose 10 per cent to £211.7m in the first half of 2025, up from £192.1m last [...]
Swatch moves London headquarters to new Canary Wharf office space July 24, 2025 Swatch has signed a five-year lease for 9,500 sq ft of office space in a multi-purpose office building in Canary Wharf. The watches and jewellery manufacturer will move its London headquarters from Dockside Road to Docklands site Sierra Quebec Bravo (SQB). Swatch did not respond to a request for comment and did not disclose the [...]
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, [...]
Landlords lose confidence in face of Renters Rights Bill July 22, 2025 Fewer than one in twenty landlords have plans to increase investment in the rental sector in the short term as rising costs and regulatory confusion bite. Half of landlords surveyed by JLL say ongoing uncertainty surrounding the Renters’ Rights Bill discourages them from expanding their portfolios, while two in five say they have been out [...]
Historic Blackpool pier sale spells more trouble for seaside town July 22, 2025 One of the oldest piers in the UK has been put up for sale in a latest blow to Blackpool’s tourism industry. The Blackpool Pier Company has said it’s made the decision to offload the North Pier in the seaside town “with a heavy heart”. The North Pier is the sixth-oldest of its type still [...]
Branston maker buys Liverpool’s iconic Royal Liver Building in cut-price deal July 22, 2025 Princes, the food group behind the likes of Branston, Olivio and Batchelors, has acquired Liverpool’s iconic Royal Liver Building in a cut-price deal. The company has purchased the building for £60m, three years after it was put up for sale for £90m. The sale was called off in November 2022 due to a lack of [...]
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 [...]
Summer heatwave drives workers back to the office July 17, 2025 Record July temperatures have been sending workers back into the office as they look to escape London’s lack of air conditioned homes. With fewer than five per cent of London houses equipped with a fan, one company’s offices saw a 35 per cent uptick in usage in June. Flexible workspace provider Office Space in Town [...]