Rents rise at slowest rate in nearly three years – but average hits £1,200 August 21, 2024 A rise in properties on the market means rents for new lets have grown by their slowest rate in nearly three years this year, and are expected to fall below wage growth for this first time since 2021, an analysis has revealed. Rents for new lets grew by 5.7 per cent in the 12 months [...]
‘Buyer buzz’: Outlook raised for UK house prices after interest rates cut August 19, 2024 Property portal Rightmove has said there is a “degree of buyer buzz” in the housing market, caused by the moderation in mortgages in light of the Bank of England’s decision to cut the base interest rate. It raised its house price forecast for 2024 from negative one percent to one per cent, citing more interest [...]
Croydon is a brutalist playground and a photographer’s dream August 15, 2024 I stand killing time on the platform of one of Croydon’s many decrepit railway stations. Like me, it’s seen better days, and again like me, its makeover has been on the cards for years. I do a lot of waiting and thinking here, mostly enforced. Norwood Junction: even the name sounds like a line from [...]
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 [...]
Rising London rents are ‘a pressure cooker ready to explode’ as home ownership ‘inching out of reach’ August 14, 2024 “A pressure cooker ready to explode” is how one expert has described the current situation in the UK housing market as data showed rents jumped close to 10 per cent in London over the past year. In fresh data released this morning it was revealed that average UK private rents increased by 8.6 per cent [...]
‘Magnificent’ Hyde Park penthouse on sale for £60m August 13, 2024 A £60m penthouse has gone on sale in Hyde Park in a tentative sign that the super-prime market may be turning towards bigger, more expensive homes again. The apartment, which is one of London’s biggest listings in 2024, includes “one of the largest private terraces in central London”, according to James Van Den Heule, co-founding director [...]
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 [...]
The Brewery: Royal Ascot caterer buys landmark Canada venue August 12, 2024 The company that provides catering for Royal Ascot has acquired a major large scale event venue in Canada. Rhubarb Hospitality Collection (RHC) has snapped up The Brewery, which hosts more than 500 events a year, for an undisclosed sum from Paul Lewin. RHC itself was acquired by Oak View Group (OVG) in [...]
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 [...]
Construction activity hits fastest pace in two years as housing sector returns to growth August 6, 2024 The reading put the construction sector in expansion for the fifth consecutive month and was the fastest pace of growth since May 2022.