property news & market information

A more certain future for prime UK market

Savills has released its forecast for the prime UK housing market for the period 2010 to 2015. read more

Fourth consecutive monthly increase for house prices

House prices increased for the fourth successive month in October, according to the latest Halifax House Price Index. read more

Responses To The FSA's Mortgage Proposals

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has set out proposals for the reform of the UK mortgage market. But what does the industry think? ... read more

Country house prices up for first time in two years

Prime country house prices rose on average by almost one per cent in the third quarter of the year, the first overall increase since autumn 2007, says Knight Frank... read more

Don't expect Armageddon, says Knight Frank

Experts predicting large house price falls next year have got it wrong, says Knight Frank... read more

House prices return to September 2008 level

House prices rose by 0.9 per cent in September, meaning they have returned to the same level as they were a year ago, according to a new report from Nationwide. This is the fifth consecutive monthly increase. read more

'Housing crash is over' declares HSBC as bank offers extra £500m in return to 90 per cent loans

Britain's biggest bank has promised to lend an extra £500 million to homebuyers applying for 90 per cent mortgages. read more

Recovery hopes boosted as economy shrinks less than forecast and mortgage lending hits five-month high

Hopes that Britain could emerge from the recession by the end of the year received a double boost today. read more

Increased sales in the Scottish property market

A 'saw-edged' recovery is underway in the mainstream and prime residential property markets in Scotland, according to a new report from Savills. read more

Prime London prices rise for fifth consecutive month

Residential prices in prime central London rose for the fifth consecutive month, leading to a boom in sales volumes, according to a new report from Knight Frank. read more

House prices rise for fourth consecutive month

House prices rose in August thanks to low interest rates, according to a new report from Nationwide. read more

Rents in London are stabilising

Rental prices in London are starting to level out, according to a new report from Winkworth. read more

Property market recovery 'is inevitable'

The growing imbalance between demand and supply makes an eventual recovery in property values inevitable, according to a new report from Savills. read more

House prices predicted to end year on high

House prices look likely to end the year higher than they started, according to a new report by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). read more

July sees house price rise

House prices increased by 1.1 per cent in July, according to the new Halifax House Price Index. read more

Mortgage approvals continue to rise

The number of mortgages approved for house purchase rose for the fifth consecutive month in June, according to data released by the Bank of England. read more

Islington shows annual house price growth

Islington has bucked the negative annual trend and has shown positive overall house price growth over the past year, says research from Chesterton Humberts. read more

House prices rise across London's prime suburbs

Knight Frank's Prime London Suburb House Price Index Q2 2009 has highlighted a rise in prices across London's prime suburban areas. read more

First eco-towns announced

The government has announced the locations of the first four eco-towns to be built in the UK. read more

Property sales remain high

The number of property sales per estate agent has remained high for the third consecutive month, say the National Association of Estate Agents. read more

NLA Property Women Awards 2009 finalists named

Successful women are revolutionising the rental sector, say the National Landlords Association, as they announce the finalists of their Property Women Awards 2009. read more

The decline in house prices 'is easing'

Average UK house prices declined by 0.5 per cent in June, suggesting that the underlying pace of decline is easing, says research by Halifax. read more

Farmland prices are on the rise

Farmland prices are on the rise, according to the Knight Frank Farmland Index. Here are the key highlights of the report. read more

Confidence is returning to the country property market

The Home Counties lead the way as the prime country property market shows signs of recovery, says research from Knight Frank. read more

Prime London resists tax impact

Some wealthy London residents are leaving the city following tax changes. But the impact on the capital's prime property market is slight, says Knight Frank... read more

House prices 'on the up'

The latest Nationwide house price survey shows that prices rose by 0.9% in June… read more

London leads property recovery

London is poised to lead the property market out of recession, according to the latest housing market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. read more

Prime central London 'recovering strongly'

Prime central London property prices are recovering strongly, according to two new reports… read more

rental scam - property fraud alert june 2009

Renters are warned of a property scam asking for deposits from 'PrimeLocation Services'... read more

Student Rental Sector Tipped As Investment Hotspot

Property investment has become much more difficult. But a new report from Savills suggests that the student rental sector could be a safe haven for investors… read more

housing market shows signs of improvement

House prices in England and Wales continued to fall slightly in April, but they have begun to rise significantly in London. read more

builders not trusted to give green advice

Most homeowners assume that advice on environmental improvements from building contractors is aimed at getting more work and cannot be trusted. read more

prime London leads market recovery

House prices rose slightly in May, according to the latest index from Nationwide – indicating that the property market may have bottomed-out. In particular, there are growing indications of higher demand for prime properties in London. read more

home improvement costs to rise?

Homeowners who buy conservatories and make other home improvements will have to meet tougher energy efficiency obligations under proposed new regulations expected to be endorsed by ministers in the coming days. read more

troubled times for buy-to-let

The buy-to-let market is being seriously damaged by the withdrawal of specialist mortgages, the latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders reveal. Yet for those who can access finance, the rewards from letting property remain strong. read more

recovery could be in sight

There are further signs of gradually improving health in the housing market, with higher levels of buyer inquiries recorded by chartered surveyors. read more

preventing house price booms

Homebuyers may face limits on the size of their mortgages to prevent future house price booms, the Financial Services Authority has indicated. read more

landlords face registration

A national register of all landlords has been proposed by the Government and seems likely to be implemented as a matter of urgency. read more

licensed not to steal

A national licensing scheme for lettings agents has been launched, which could be extended to become a legal requirement. The move is intended to stamp out the exploitation of tenants, including by failing to repay deposits. read more

boost for rental sector

Thousands of new homes could be built in London and the South East for private rental, as a result of a scheme launched by a government agency. The initiative would be a major boost for the troubled construction sector. read more

negative equity: negative impact

About a million homeowners are in negative equity, a report from the Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates. The result could be a brake on the housing market not just for months ahead, but perhaps for a year or more. It is also a psychological hammer blow to homeowners' sense of economic wellbeing. read more

mortgage approvals fall again

Hopes that the housing market was recovering have been dealt a blow by news that mortgage approvals fell in March. read more

The Budget 2009

The Council for Mortgage Lenders describes the Budget's response to the crisis in the housing market as "modest". Others are blunter and say its measures are not radical enough. read more

Budget 2009 provides limited boost for housing

Budget measures supporting the housing market left commentators disappointed, many of whom expected more. But the extension of the stamp duty holiday and a programme to build new homes on vacant development land provided some good news. read more

optimism spreads

There are further indications that the property market has stabilised, with news that mortgage lending increased in February - though remaining at low levels. read more

rising stock, rising demand, but prices still under pressure

Andrew Smith, Primelocation.com's Head of Research, comments: Asking prices in London's prime market have been on the rise for the past four months, but in March they fell by 0.5%. read more

second homes become yesterday's dreams

Homeowners are pulling at their purse strings and pulling up their metaphorical drawbridges as they stay put at home. New statistics reveal that the number of second home purchases both at home and abroad have slumped as the recession takes hold. read more

rents go down as 'accidental landlords' increase

Rents of prime central London properties fell quickly in the first quarter of this year. They dropped by 7.3%, the second largest fall since Knight Frank began surveying the market, and are now 18.2% below their level of a year before. This brings prime rental levels in the capital down to the prices of nine years ago. read more

no change may be good news

The Bank of England has maintained the base rate at 0.5%, as expected. The base rate is, in truth, so low that it is difficult to believe it could be cut further. But the signals from the Bank are also cautiously good news for the property market, which may be near its lowest point. read more

A hint of recovery?

Mortgage lending jumped 19% in February, giving hope that the property market might now begin a slow recovery. However, the latest figures must be treated cautiously as lending remains at less than a third of the level at its peak in mid-2006. read more

Mauritius on a budget

Another silver lining from the recession: property in the lush Indian Ocean island of Mauritius has become a lot more affordable, and no longer the preserve of the seriously wealthy. read more

architecture dream team

What's the value of owning a property by a named architect? One developer has been putting this question to the test on Portugal's Silver Coast, where the Bom Sucesso golf and design resort near Obidos features the work of no less than 23 prominent architects. read more

under inspection

The financial crisis has seen some developers turning increasingly to inspection trips as a means to shift slow-moving properties. read more

Dunfermline blow to mortgage market

The collapse of the Dunfermline Building Society does not shake the foundations of the global financial sector in the way that the problems of RBS, Halifax and Citigroup did. Yet it could have serious implications for UK mortgage lending. read more

London no longer the world's most expensive for property

London is no longer the most expensive city in the world for prime properties, following a dramatic 17% fall in house values in the last year. But the Fitzrovia area of London is the world's most attractive up-and-coming prime location, according to a report on international prime residential properties. read more

deflation - a serious threat to the housing market

For people of a certain age, inflation was the great evil - it destroyed wealth and savings. Now, we are told, deflation is the real threat - and unless deflation is conquered there is little chance of the housing market recovering. read more

rise in singles puts extra pressure on housing

A big increase in single households could help drive another house price bubble after the economy recovers, a new survey suggests. read more

stricter mortgage regulation on way

A much stronger system of mortgage regulation looks inevitable, following the publication of the Turner Review of banking. read more

Central London house prices first to stabilise

Asking prices in Prime London increased by 0.94% in February, the fourth successive month of rising values. read more

home enquiries up

Encouraging signs are appearing that people want to buy houses again - yet enquiries are still failing to convert into sales. read more

the blight of empty homes

Councils are being urged to bring empty homes back into use, after the biggest annual increase in vacant properties in 17 years. read more

Bank of England gets desperate

Base rates have been cut to a new all-time low of a mere half a per cent, the Bank of England has announced. read more

Croatia cuts the red tape

It has just got a whole lot easier to buy in Croatia, the country from the former Yugoslavia that inherited all the beautiful Adriatic coastline, and has been dubbed "the new Riviera". read more

foreign exchange mortgages

The risks of taking out a mortgage in a foreign currency have been sharply highlighted by the economic downturn in eastern Europe, where many locals have borrowed money to buy their home in Swiss francs and other currencies. read more

Bulgarian nightmare

Bulgarian Dreams, one of the best-known companies selling property in Bulgaria, has gone out of business, leaving dozens of furious buyers who are trying to get their money back. read more

affordable housing supply dries up

The supply of new affordable homes has dried up in recent months, with local authorities losing their ability to force developers to provide cheap new homes as part of estates of houses for sale. read more

Northern Rock resumes lending

Northern Rock has been given the go-ahead by the Government to make £14bn of new mortgage lending available over the next two years. The move could provide an important stimulus to the housing market. read more

lenders hold onto rate cuts

Mortgage lenders' have failed to pass on much of the cut in base rates, with margins between the base rate and lenders' Standard Variable Rates more than doubling over the last year. read more

call to cut VAT on building repairs

The Government is being urged to cut VAT on improvements to old buildings, removing a financial incentive to demolish properties and replace them with new premises. read more

sales: rising demand boosts prime property prices

Asking prices in Prime London areas increased by 1.2% (£16,106) in January, the third successive month of rising values, according to Primelocation.com's latest House Price Index; - a unique measure of the Prime market based on a sample of over 62,000 properties in London's most prestigious areas. read more

property auctions to increase as tens of thousands face repossession

Property auctions are set to rise as the Council of Mortgage Lenders predicts half a million homeowners fall into serious mortgage arrears in 2009. read more

buyer interest stokes housing market

There are signs of increased buyer interest in the still depressed housing market. But this is yet to translate into a house price 'bounce'. read more

almost giving it away... Bank cuts rate to 1%

The scale of the recession has been dramatically illustrated by the decision of the Bank of England to cut its base rate to a mere 1%. read more

house prices 'to fall further 25%'

House prices could fall by a quarter from current values if predictions from the Centre for Economics and Business Research prove correct. read more

government defeats eco-towns challenge

Campaigners have lost the latest stage in their battle against the construction of up to 10 'eco-towns' that the Government claims will provide tens of thousands of environmentally sustainable new homes - but which protesters argue will blight some of England's most attractive countryside. read more

the pros and cons of leasebacks

At a time of uncertainty, a scheme that enables you to buy a holiday home with a close-to 20% saving on the asking price, and meaningful rent guarantees thrown in, looks extremely attractive on the surface. read more

bargains abound in the undiscovered regions

It was recently described in the South China Morning Post as "Tuscany without the English" and has been recently highlighted as a hot-spot for cost-conscious visitors to Italy this year. read more

there is good news on exchange rate front

Sterling has taken a real battering in recent months, most notably against the US dollar and the euro, making properties in the countries that use those currencies much less affordable than they were six months ago. read more

bail-out (phase two) begins

Phase two of the Government's bail-out of banks and wider economy has begun. If it works, there should be a big increase in mortgage lending over the rest of the year. If it fails the property sector will stay depressed for a long while yet. read more

lenders phase out buy-to-let mortgages

People wanting to buy properties to rent may find it impossible to arrange a mortgage, the latest figures from analysts Moneyfacts suggest. Moneyfacts reports that 93% of buy-to-let mortgage products have been withdrawn in the last 18 months. read more

Foxtons 'is not collapsing', insist owners

Foxtons, the estate agency that brought 'bling' to the property market, is not in danger of collapsing, nor will it be sold, its owners insist. read more

base rate cut to lowest ever level

The Bank of England has cut the base rate to a mere 1.5% - the lowest rate in its 315 year history. But some of the largest mortgage lenders are unlikely to pass on to borrowers the full benefit of the reduction. read more

South East prices fall fastest

English property prices are falling fastest in the South East and London, according to the latest figures published by the Land Registry. read more

more houses become affordable

Falling house prices are good news for potential first-time buyers, the Halifax review of housing affordability has stressed. There has been a big improvement in housing affordability over the last year. read more

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