Policy
Cooling measures spread as global prime property price growth escalates
Vancouver is the latest global real estate hotspot looking to curb property price inflation (following the lead of Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney and more), bringing in a really quite chunky 15% levy…
Westminster’s anti-iceberg basement rules are now in play
Westminster Council's anti-iceberg rules came into effect this week, making it exceptionally difficult to create big-scale basement extensions in the borough.
Architects come up with 20 ways to ‘tackle the housing crisis’
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has set out a hashtagged batch of proposals to deal with what it calls "the UK’s dire housing crisis".
Three reasons why UK house prices have become detached from earnings
As we learned this week, home ownership is tumbling across the UK - the last Conservative regime has a lot to answer for, says Trevor Abrahmsohn...
Reactions: Bank of England cuts interest rates for first time in seven years
In a universally-expected move, the Bank of England has halved the Base Rate to an historic low of just 0.25% and renewed some quantitative easing. The BoE's interest rate had been at an already low 0.
Architects implore government to keep free movement following Brexit
All five professional bodies representing architects across the British Isles have issued a joint statement, after a big powwow in Belfast to discuss the implications of the UK referendum to leave…
New home registrations at highest level since the crash (but what’s going on in London?)
A total of 41,222 new homes were registered by the National House Building Council throughout the UK in Q2, an uptick of 1% on the same period last year.
Khan beefs up London devolution drive
Mayor Khan has tasked the London Finance Commission to bring forward a new, "beefed-up" set of devolution proposals to assert greater control over how the capital is run, including the making of key…
Vancouver brings in 15% non-resident tax to put the brakes on the property market
The British Columbia Government in Canada has rubber-stamped a 15% levy on foreign buyers of Vancouver property, in a bid to thwart spiralling house prices - but it's given the industry just eight days'…
What effect will Brexit have on residential property development?
Everyone knows that there are choppy times ahead for the British economy, as uncertainty over just what Brexit means continues until terms sheets are drawn up with the rest of Europe and the world.
RBKC developer fined for noisy building work
The Royal Borough is coming down hard on noisy construction works at the weekend after bringing in its “tough new regime".
Disputes: New tribunal decision bad news for landlords
Could have a big impact