The Market

Top-end rental properties in Mayfair are going for as much as a third above the asking price, reports Wetherell, as Chinese students and socialites boost demand.

81% of UK vendors expect to sell within three months, according to the portal's latest sentiment survey.

"We can say with confidence that the London rental market decline is now firmly behind us," declares the boss of estate agency Benham & Reeves.

The majority of properties sold at or below asking price in September, according to Propertymark, but buyer demand continues to outpace sales supply.

Even those with healthy budgets of between £4m and £10m are coming unstuck in hotspots like St John’s Wood & Putney, according to Black Brick

Greenfield development land values picked up by 3.9% in Q3, says Savills, while urban sites increased by 2.2%.

"House prices have risen significantly faster since the start of the pandemic than we had expected, says the Office of Budget Responsibility.

The Mishcon de Reya team talks us through the key policy changes and announcements for affluent folk and business sorts, as revealed in the details behind Rishi Sunak's "relatively benign" Budget speech.

"This Budget could be regarded as a reprieve for the housing industry," says one commentator, while others bemoan an "underwhelming" speech...

"This Budget could be regarded as a reprieve for the housing industry," says one commentator, while others bemoan an "underwhelming" speech...

Chancellor Sunak has promised to cut taxes, not raise them in the coming years. But the country's biggest house-builders will have profits taxed 4% to help pay for the cladding scandal.