The Market
Uncertainty driving would-be buyers into the prime rental market
Stock levels are low and competition among prospective tenants is pushing up achieved rents, reports LonRes
Brexit uncertainty weighs heavy on Prime London as vendors and buyers ‘withdraw from the market’
LonRes records further declines in transactions, instructions and prices, but notes a boost in the number of homes going under offer;
Government firms up plans to raise stamp duty for overseas buyers
UPDATED: Consultation launches on proposed new 1% surcharge for non-UK residents
Tenants spent less on rent in 2018 than in 2017; the first annual fall in a decade
Tenants in Britain spent a grand total of £59.1bn on rent in 2018, report Hamptons International and Countrywide, marking the first annual fall in more than ten years.
Wealth taxes are back in fashion – but they’re still a terrible idea
'There is simply no escaping the fact that wealth is far more difficult to tax than income,' argues Jan Zeber in The Spectator.
High-rolling US buyers make their move on Prime Central London
Agency reports fresh influx of Stateside interest in the capital's priciest neighbourhoods as Brexit deadline approaches
PCL prices fail to stabilise; volumes continue to slide
Prime Central London transaction levels are now almost 50% lower than they were five years ago, reports Strutt & Parker, while prices ended 2018 at the lower end of the forecast;
Only half of Londoners are open to more homes being built in their local area
Perceptions need to change if housebuilding targets are to be met, warns London First
Canary Wharf lettings market ‘undimmed by Brexit’
The number of tenancies agreed in London's financial district was up 35% over the last 12 months, reports Knight Frank, the biggest increase in the capital...
A Moral Contract: Could reservation agreements fix the buying process?
The principle of a pre-contract commitment is sound, says Trevor Abrahmsohn, but as always, the devil will be in the detail...
Key trends and developments in the UK’s ‘£75bn’ private rented sector
Major new survey sheds some light on how the sector is changing, and where it will be in five years' time...
Eight things we learned from the latest English Housing Survey
There are around 23.2 million households in England, according to the latest official estimate; c.64% of these are owner-occupiers.