The Market
Development land value growth stalls
Land values fall in the South East for the first time in two years, reports Savills, as planning approvals jump
London’s City Hall is developing a ‘blueprint’ for rent controls in the capital
'The arguments for rent control are overwhelming,' declares Mayor Sadiq Khan, 'and Londoners overwhelmingly want it to happen'
Half of Londoners know the specific street or house they want before starting a property search – Zoopla
One in three British househunters know the street or even the specific house they want to move to before starting a property search, says Zoopla; that rises to one in two in the capital
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