The Market
Conservative manifesto holds few surprises for the property sector
Tory election pledges on housing include a 3% Stamp Duty surcharge for foreign buyers, lifetime mortgages, and some planning tweaks - but no wider SDLT reform.
Reactions: On the Tories’ planned Stamp Duty hike for foreign buyers
Rounding up thoughts on the Conservatives' idea to ramp-up Theresa May’s 1% SDLT surcharge for foreign buyers to 3%
Tories plot Stamp Duty hike for non-residents
The Conservatives want to ramp-up Theresa May's 1% SDLT surcharge for foreign buyer to 3%
Westminster Council defends ‘gifting’ policy
Council fends off new questions over conflicts of interest after staff receive 240 individual gifts in a two-year period
Property markets to ‘remain stable’ in 2020, but prime buyers are ‘becoming less compromising’
Estate agency Jackson-Stops shares its predictions for country property markets next year
How England’s broken planning system has created (not reduced) the risk of floods
"Urban areas have been creating flood risk," writes Lee Bosher. "And this is largely due to the government’s focus on making land – low cost, flood prone land – available for development."
Labour manifesto moots rent caps & an end to property developers’ ‘free hand’
Jeremy Corbyn has set out his party's political stall ahead of next month's General Election; here's a summary of Labour's key property policies...
Lib Dem manifesto suggests linking Stamp Duty to home energy ratings; all new-builds to be Passivhaus by 2025
Jo Swinson's party has published its 2019 Election Manifesto; here are the Liberal Democrats' key property policies...
Hong Kong’s wealthy seek safe haven in London’s prime property market
HNW buyers from the troubled region have splashed over £25m with one PCL agency in recent weeks, snapping up apartments in Whitehall, Marylebone and Kings Cross...
Caution recedes slightly in London’s development sector, but certainty remains top of the wishlist
Latest poll of senior industry figures suggests cautiousness might be levelling out, although the majority believe that staying in the EU would ultimately be the best outcome for the capital's development…
UK house price growth is likely to under-club consumer inflation until 2021
London property prices will probably hold steady in 2020, according to a poll of experts carried out by Reuters
Luxury lifestyle prices are rising twice as fast as mainstream consumer inflation
Coutts bank's measure of luxury price inflation has risen by 4.7% a year since 2016; twice the rate of the mainstream Consumer Prices Index