Policy
Cornish resort town votes to ban second homes
An overwhelming majority of residents of St Ives - one of Cornwall's most famous, beautiful and in-demand destinations - have voted to ban second homes in a landmark local referendum.
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The New House Price Index: A Trojan Horse for Council Tax re-valuation?
A new official property price index - the House Price Index (HPI) - is due to launch next month, with a promise to end at least some of the monthly confusion over real estate value inflation/performance…
Buying In A New Era: How stamp duty is fundamentally changing the prime resi landscape
Unlike prices, transaction volumes in the UK's prime markets have not rebounded since the dark days of the Financial Crisis.
Does higher stamp duty really matter for investors in central London?
As we put a bonkers Q1 behind us, Tim Hassell considers the likely long and short term impacts of the latest SDLT hike on the UK's buy-to-let market...
Finance Bill last chance for rental sector to avoid ‘triple-lock’
The triple whammy of stamp duty reform, changes to buy-to-let mortgage tax relief and the Bank of England’s new rules for mortgage lenders will have "catastrophic consequences" for the UK rental sector,…
UK ‘still one of the cheapest places to invest in rental property’
In total tax take terms, the UK remains one of the cheapest countries in the world for investors involved in resi and commercial property rental, according to a new study.
Have boffins worked out how to predict the next up-and-coming neighbourhood?
Forget skips and Starbucks' - researchers from Cambridge, Birmingham, Queen Mary and UCL have put forward some compelling ideas on how location-based social networks could foretell the gentrification…
Picky planning is ‘contributing to a completely unfair and immoral housing shortfall’
"Change isn't happening", says Stirling Ackroyd's Andrew Bridges as new figures show that the number of new homes granted planning permission in London has plummeted by 64% in the last year, with…
Camden to follow RBKC in publishing planners’ advice
Camden Council has decided to publish its confidential pre-application planning advice after Kensington & Chelsea pioneered the idea earlier this year.
Buyer saves £750k by beating stamp duty deadline
It's come to light that a buyer in north London saved himself a handy £744,000 by pushing his £25m purchase through a few hours before the 3% stamp duty surcharge came into effect.
Brexit worries driving the downturn? Don’t make me laugh…
For the government to blame the increase in unemployment on Brexit worries is so fatuous as to be laughable, says Trevor Abrahmsohn...
Cash in the Attic: London’s untapped rooftop space worth ‘billions of pounds’
'If you have an expensive piece of land in any city centre in the world, you use it, but we have so much unused space in London and owners are unaware they can sell it'