The Market
Bridging loans became much more widespread, and a fair bit cheaper, in 2018
New data and a broker survey indicate growing demand for short-term property finance
Bleak end to the year for the UK’s resi auction market
Lots offered, sold and total raised were all well down on the same period in 2017, reports EIG, as the market remains 'on tenterhooks'
UK transactions dipped in December but show yearly rise
HMRC reports seasonally adjusted resi transaction count for December at 102,330, down slightly on the previous month but up 3.6% on December 2017
Priciest boroughs weigh heavy on the capital as annual growth falls back below zero
LSL & Acadata index records UK house price growth at seven-year low, with London slipping back into negative territory; Westminster & RBKC post 12-month movements of -24.8% and -21.2% respectively
Slow start to the year for asking prices, as new listings fail to materialise in London
"The Christmas slowdown came early" for the UK property market, says Rightmove, "and the hangover lasted a few days longer into the New Year than usual".
Build-to-rent construction surges by 40%
There are now 139,508 build-to-rent homes completed, under construction or in planning across the UK; 14,615 units were completed in the regions in 2018, compared to 14,801 in the capital
Is Build to Rent built to last?
'Is build to rent too good to be true?' asks Lisa Simon, Head of Residential at Carter Jonas, as she predicts that 2019 will be 'the year of institutional lettings'
Online agents’ market share ‘stabilises’ at 7.2% of exchanges
The total number of new instructions across the UK increased by 4% from Q4 2017 to Q4 2018, according to TwentyCi, but exchanges fell by 1.2%
‘Cold snap freezes housing market’, declare surveyors
RICS' latest monthly survey delivers its weakest near-term sales expectation reading since it started, in 1999
London asking rents hit a record high as supply dwindles – Rightmove
Property portal expects asking rents to rise by around 3% this year outside of London, and by 4% in the capital
Why the housing ladder doesn’t exist any more
The FT's Thomas Hale has written an interesting piece (with lots of sums), arguing that the traditional lifetime escalation from a first-time buyer's flat to a family-sized house is now 'a myth that young…
London property prices continue to fall – UK HPI
The UK's average house price increased by 2.8% in the year to November 2018; London's average dropped by 0.7%, according to official figures.