The Market
‘No radical change to property taxes’ expected in the March Budget
But major property tax reforms are on the cards longer-term...
MPs to consider SDLT holiday extension
Mixed messages from Whitehall on an extension to the Stamp Duty holiday, as a popular petition forces a debate in the House of Commons.
10% more property sales were agreed in 2020 than in 2019
The sales market has seen a busy start to the year, although asking prices have dipped in the last month as vendors price competitively.
Land Registry data reveals ‘shocking’ fall in flat sales
48% drop in transactions marks 'first official confirmation that fears over unsafe housing are freezing the market'
Buyers & sellers ‘remain largely undeterred’ by lockdown, but half do not feel safe on physical viewings
A third national lockdown has deterred just 14% of buyers and sellers from a purchase or sale in 2021, according to a survey of over 10,000 people, with 81% planning to carry on as they planned.
Planning clampdown stamps out PCL’s mega-basement boom
New figures show a massive decline in basement-related applications across RBKC & Westminster since the introduction of stringent rules designed to prevent over-development.
What has Brexit done to house prices?
The pace of property price inflation in the UK has slowed sharply since the EU Referendum. 14% growth since 2016 compares to 28% - double the rate - in the equivalent time period prior to the vote.
Architecture sector rallies with ‘fragile growth’, except in London
"It is a mixed and changing picture but with an overall growth in confidence," says the RIBA.
Savills reports ‘an extraordinary rebound’ in prime resi activity
"The volume of activity in prime residential markets [outside London] for [2020] as a whole was the strongest since before the global financial crisis," says Savills.
‘Sales market momentum will fade further in coming months,’ warns the RICS
Housing market activity continues to rise but momentum is easing, according to the latest survey of Chartered Surveyors.
Prime London market begins 2021 with bumper stock levels
Huge inventory builds up across the prime postcodes after Covid blows seasonal activity patterns off course.
Rokstone boss: To shut the housing market jeopardises jobs, personal finances and the economy all in one go
The government may be "absolutely determined" to keep the housing market open, but pressure is mounting from various quarters - including the science one - to pull the shutters down again as Covid continues…