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The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has reported that the flow of fresh homes coming on the market reached its strongest level in nearly two years in May. A net balance of 14% of property professionals reported seeing new instructions to sell rising rather than falling in May, marking the best reading for new property listings since March 2021. The latest survey result also broke 13 months in a row of new instructions falling rather than rising. Housing market demand was also at its least negative level in a year in May. However, Tarrant Parsons, Rics senior economist, warned that the UK's stubbornly high inflation is likely to undermine the recent improvement in activity. A net balance of 7% of surveyors reported a drop-off in sales rather than a rise in May, Rics said. In London a balance of 3% of surveyors reported prices falling rather than rising |
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Daily Mail (10/06/2023) The Independent (10/06/2023) |
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Sadiq Khan says he is “committed to protecting” London’s green belt and that even “derelict and unsightly” parts of it should be shielded from development. It comes despite Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer stating councils should be given the ability to build on certain areas of the green belt as he vowed that a Labour government would be on the side of the “builders not blockers”. Asked about the mayor’s stance in light of Sir Keir’s comments, a spokesman for Mr Khan pointed to his London Plan – a strategy drawn up in 2021 to inform planning decisions in the capital for the next two decades – which is emphatic in its support for the green belt. |
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House prices have dropped 1% year-on-year, the first such drop since 2012, according to the latest Halifax House Price Index. The cost of a typical UK property is now £286,532, down from £286,662 in April, while property prices have fallen by about £3,000 over the last 12 months and by around £7,500 since the peak in August. Kim Kinnaird, the director at Halifax Mortgages, said: "As expected, the brief upturn we saw in the housing market in the first quarter of this year has faded, with the impact of higher interest rates gradually feeding through to household budgets, and in particular those with fixed-rate mortgage deals coming to an end." She added: "This will inevitably impact confidence in the housing market as buyers and sellers adjust their expectations." |
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Financial Times The Daily Telegraph The Times The Guardian |
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Houses are taking twice as long to sell as they did a year ago, with rising mortgage rates making it harder for buyers to afford homes. On average, it took home sellers 49 days to find a buyer in May, up from 26 days in the same month in 2022, according to analysis of Connells Group data by Hamptons. Four-bedroom houses were slowest to sell, with it typically taking 60 days to agree a sale in May - more than double the 27-day average recorded in May 2022. Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said demand for smaller homes has increased as buyers have downgraded their expectations and opted for cheaper properties. "Upward pressure on mortgage rates over the last two weeks runs the risk of freezing some buyers out of the market," she said. |
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Housebuilding activity in the UK has contracted at the fastest pace since the first Covid lockdown, according to the latest construction purchasing managers' index from S&P Global and the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply. Work on residential building projects fell for a sixth month in a row in May, with the reading for activity in the housebuilding industry dropping to 42.7, the lowest figure in more than 14 years. Despite the decline in residential development, the PMI survey showed that total construction activity in Britain had risen to a measure of 51.6 in May, driven by increases in commercial building and civil engineering activity. However, John Glen, chief economist at the institute, said the drop-off in residential development "will send a chill down the spine of the UK economy". |
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Financial Times The Times The Guardian |
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London's prime property market has seen a recovery in the first third of 2023, thanks to the return of global travel and a weak pound. Sales of luxury properties above £5m have risen by 40% compared to the same period last year, with buyer demand up 35% above the five-year average. However, transactions on properties below £2m have declined by 3%. The upmarket sector has reported an uptick in supply, with the number of sales instructions 16% higher this year, pushing the number of exchanges up by 8%. Average prices in prime London remain broadly flat, falling 0.1% in the year to May. |
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City AM (31/04/2023) |