The Market
Mortgage lending drops in London
Lending in London tailed off in 2014's Q4 says the Council of Mortgage Lenders, as the levels of both house purchase and remortgage lending fell both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter.
Record profits for Countrywide but ‘sluggish’ market on the cards for 2015
Countrywide, officially the UK's biggest estate agency and owner of brands like Hamptons International and John D Wood, has turned in a record set of results but warned of "sluggishness in market trends"…
Scotland ‘will outperform the rest of the UK this year’ – Savills
Scotland's mainstream property market is in line for a much better year ahead than it's southern counterpart, claims Savills.
The agency is forecasting a +3.
ONS publishes hyper-local house price stats 1995-2013
The ONS has published annual "House Price Statistics for Small Areas" (let's call them HPSSAs) for the very first time. The move is designed to make it that bit easier to drill down into local trends.
Letter from the West Country: Where to buy in 2015
The Buying Solution's West Country expert Ed Clarkson takes us on a whistle-stop tour of his patch and tips us off on where to find some serious value for money before everyone else cottons on...
Lewis looks to speed up s106 negotiations
Housing Minister Brandon Lewis is looking at ways to overhaul the Section 106 agreements process, with an eye to speeding up planning negotiations.
American Cream: Mapping New York City’s super-prime homes
There are 7,279 homes in New York valued at more than $5m, and a further 128 worth in excess of $25m, according to new research into the Big Apple's rarefied stalk.
Dubai Property Show to debut in London
London's first annual Dubai Property Show kicks off this week, promising 120 exhibitors with all manner of options for UK investors and, hopefully, copious amounts of boiled sweets.
Strutts revises PCL forecast down to zero but ‘pleasantly surprised’ at regional activity levels
Strutt & Parker may have quietly revised its 2015 PCL price forecast down from 2% to a big fat zero, but it's "pleasantly surprised" at the levels of activity going on the regions, especially given the looming…
Berkeley’s Ebury Square scheme rakes in £355m in just four months
Just sixteen weeks after launch, Berkeley Group's super-prime development in Belgravia has all but sold out, generating a whopping £355m for the firm.
Transactions climb but stay short of 2007’s peak (in most places)
The number of homes sold in the first ten months of 2014 was 21% higher than during the same period in 2013 and a solid 60% up on 2009's low-point, but was still 27% below 2007's boom-time.
‘Sharp jump’ for Scotland’s £1m+ market
The number of seven-figure deals in Scotland climbed by 9% in the last quarter of the year, reports Knight Frank.