The Market
SDLT receipts dip just 6% despite Stamp Duty holiday
HMRC brought in £775m in Stamp Duty receipts in the year to February 2021, £49m less than the £824m recorded in February 2020.
Total UK housing value climbs to a record £7.56 trillion high
The total value of the UK’s housing stock has escalated to £7.56 trillion, rising by £380 million in 2020 despite the pandemic and global economic uncertainty.
One year on: Five emerging trends that will shape post-pandemic cities
While we cannot be certain what new normal will emerge in our cities, the acceleration of several emerging trends over the last year has helped to elucidate the general direction of travel, writes Ciaran…
London is ‘unlikely to benefit from the spring bounce to the same extent as some parts of the country’ – Garrington
"The property market is likely to become more free flowing" in the coming weeks, says buying agency Garrington, as more homes come to market and "some form of gradual normality returns post lockdown.
Buyers back in action, reports London agency, as viewings and registrations jump by a fifth
Chestertons saw a 20% rise in the number of buyers entering the market and a 19% increase in requests for property viewings in the first two weeks of March.
Prime London market busier than post-election bounce, as high-end sales continue to soar
The £5m-plus market has been flying over the last three months, reports LonRes, with exchanges up by nearly 20%.
Savills reports £40m deal flurry in Surrey
Bidding wars have been breaking out over mansions before they can even reach the market.
FT: The problem with the UK house price index
Valentina Romei explains the pros and cons of the UK's various housing market indices - and how to read them - in this useful guide for the Financial Times.
Ellingworth on leasehold reform: Be careful what you wish for…
Charlie Ellingworth runs through the potential implications - and unintended consequences - of the government’s latest proposals to up-end the ancient leasehold system.
Average transaction time jumps to 295 days
Property sales are being agreed more quickly, but the processing of transactions is taking a lot longer than before the pandemic and Stamp Duty holiday.
What would a CGT hike mean for buy-to-let landlords & second homeowners?
“The proposed changes from the Office of Tax Simplifications would act as nothing more than another nail in the coffin of the buy-to-let sector, in particular," says estate agency Benham and Reeves.
UK market set for spring bounce as return to normality beckons
‘Circumstances are conspiring to produce an active few months’, says Knight Frank.