UK house prices climb at fastest rate since 2021 – but fears over Budget impact mount January 7, 2025 According to Halifax, UK house prices rose 3.3 per cent across 2024 as a whole, with the majority of the house price growth coming in the second half of the year.
Housing sales end year on a high but fears about mortgage rates linger December 23, 2024 The London housing market has ended 2024 on a high, although buyers remain price-sensitive and concerned about the cost of mortgages. Over 280,000 homes worth £104bn are in the sales pipeline for 2025 – the highest number in four years, according to Zoopla. In another good sign, house prices returned to growth – up 1.9 [...]
Build a new town in London December 18, 2024 The government has committed to building new towns with at least 10,000 homes but where should they go? London is the obvious place, says Jonathan Seager If you were asked to picture a new town in England, what comes to mind? Some of the better-known settlements established in the mid-20th century may well feature – [...]
Lack of bids keeps 17,000 homes stuck in development purgatory December 17, 2024 Around 17,000 affordable homes are stuck in development purgatory due to a lack of demand from housing providers, according to new research. Under the English planning system, housing developments must set aside a proportion of the site for affordable housing via a Section 106 deal. These Section 106 houses have become an increasingly important mechanism [...]
Housing market braces for the New Year rush December 16, 2024 The housing market is getting ready for a big Boxing Day bounce following a seasonal dip in house prices this month. New seller asking prices dropped by 1.7 per cent in December to £360,197, according to Rightmove, but ended the year 1.4 per cent above December last year. Activity remained substantially stronger than the same [...]
London house prices reach ‘unaffordable’ levels – even for top earners December 9, 2024 Even the richest people in London are being priced out of the property market as house prices reach record levels, the Office for National Statistics has found. “In London, the average home was not affordable for any household income decile,” the statistics watchdog said in its latest Housing Purchase Affordability index, using 2023 data. The [...]
How to build affordable housing December 9, 2024 Any plan to actually deliver the 1.5m homes the government has committed to must be guided by pragmatism, not dogma – and lower targets for affordable housing can often result in more actually getting built, says Marc Vlessing The sudden departure of both senior leaders at Homes England is an opportunity to rethink the role [...]
Newts can’t be ‘more protected than people who need housing’, Rayner says December 8, 2024 Angela Rayner has said the UK should not be in a situation where “newts are more protected than people” who need housing, ahead of a government shake-up of planning. The deputy Prime Minister suggested protecting the country’s wildlife should not always be prioritised over building new homes, after Sir Keir Starmer last week reiterated his [...]
Construction projects in London dipped but developer optimism remained November 28, 2024 Construction projects in London dipped this year, but positive signals like lower interest rates and easing construction cost inflation have boosted optimism amongst developers. The number of construction projects started between April and September this year fell by 12 per cent, with refurbishments down 57 per cent, according to the Deloitte London office crane survey. [...]
Khan unveils plan to make housing affordable for key workers November 25, 2024 Mayor Sadiq Khan has launched a consultation on plans to make housing more affordable for Londoners. Khan has proposed rents based on 40 per cent of key workers’ average household incomes, with rent rises potentially linked to wage growth. The proportion of a key worker’s income needed to cover rent on a median one-bedroom property [...]