The Market
Sunak floats CGT hike in a ‘triple tax raid on the wealthy’
Bank Holiday weekend newspapers carry "leaks" of Treasury plans for a "£30bn triple tax raid" and/or a "quintuple whammy of tax increases".
Rental viewings ‘hit a ten-year high’ in August
A late student flurry, a glut of stock, and falling rental prices boosted lettings market activity in August, reports Knight Frank.
Summer sales spike borne out in BoE mortgage data
66,300 mortgages were approved in July, according to the Bank of England.
Inaugural August auction raises over £20m
Savills' auction team has sold over £254m-worth of property during 2020 - 35% more than during the same period in 2019.
Why London will still be the ‘live-work-play’ capital of the world
Those calling time on the capital’s place as the centre of the UK economy – and indeed, the global financial system - could not be more wrong, argues Grant Lipton...
‘No sign of a slowdown’ as Zoopla predicts 2-3% property price growth this year
The average "time to sell" a home has fallen by almost two weeks (31%) since lockdown restrictions were lifted, compared with the same period 12 months prior.
Estate agencies’ sales numbers hit a 13-year high
An average of 13 sales were agreed per estate agency branch in July, the highest figure recorded since June 2007.
Running out of the gates: On the rush to the country & the hollowing out of a great city
"One would have thought the very city itself was running out of the gates”, wrote Daniel Defoe of London in 1665.
How did past recessions affect UK house prices? Comparing downturns, 1960-2020
"The ‘once in a lifetime’ re-evaluation of housing requirements on the back of the lockdown will be a counterweight to the impact of the recession on housing market activity over the rest of 2020,"…
Stamp duty holiday ‘sparks home-moving frenzy’ in southern commuter belt
Almost 94,000 new property listings were brought to market across London, the South East and East of England between 8th July and 16th August, reports Rightmove - which is over 31,000 more than the same…
Ranked: The UK’s most ‘recession-proof’ property hotspots
An estate agency has put a brave face on the UK's bleak economic outlook, suggesting that house price inflation may carry on regardless in the face of a global recession - in some locations, at least.
The truth about local opposition to housebuilding
Although opposition to development may sometimes slow things down as politicians try to avoid unpopular decisions, its effects on housebuilding are far from clear, explains Andy Inch...