The Market

Eight out of ten local authority areas in England and Wales have seen at least one £1mn+ property sale so far this year, up from only half in 2012.

Some areas are seeing many more new homes built than are needed, while other locations are falling far below their housing need.

After a frantic first half, Tim Hyatt reviews the state of play in the prime sales, lettings and new homes markets - and looks at how the next six months could unfold…

Westminster says planning deregulation will have a ‘devastating effect’ on the West End.

Property portal predicts house price growth will slow to 5% by the end of this year, but buyer demand remains high in the face of rising interest rates and costs of living.

Designed to "root out corrupt elites using UK property to launder their illicit wealth," the Register of Overseas Entities has officially launched, requiring more transparency for UK property transactions …

Catch up on all the latest movements and commentary in less than five minutes, featuring data and analysis from LCP, Homesearch, Savills, Chestertons, Foxtons, Propertymark & more…

"One of the biggest Covid-related housing market trends - moving out of London for the country - could be here to stay," suggests Hamptons.

The number of home-buyer mortgage approvals has fallen below the pre-pandemic average, according to the Bank of England. “Higher interest rates are starting to bite," says Savills.

"It's over," declares The Guardian's Economics Editor, Larry Elliott. "An era of ever-rising house prices stimulated by cheap money is coming to an end."

PCL heartlands including Chelsea, Belgravia, Kensington, Mayfair & Knightsbridge have accounted for half of all high-end sales in 2022 so far.

The window of opportunity for investors is closing, says LCP.