Board rejects non-binding indicative proposal of 705p a share for UK’s biggest online real-estate portal
REA, the Australian property company majority-owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, has made a £5.6bn offer for Rightmove, the UK’s biggest online real-estate portal.
The Rightmove board rejected the 705p a share offer, worth 18.6% of the enlarged company post-deal, which comes a week after REA confirmed it was considering a cash and share offer for Rightmove.
Continue reading...PM says ‘it’s unacceptable’ when asked about Jas Athwal allegations but adds MP is ‘taking action to put it right’
Keir Starmer has criticised a Labour MP who has been accused of renting out flats with black mould and ant infestations, calling the conditions “unacceptable”.
The prime minister addressed the accusations against Jas Athwal, the MP for Ilford South, on Monday after a report by the BBC quoted several of his tenants complaining about the conditions in the properties they rented from him. One said there were ants “everywhere”, adding: “They are on my kid’s body and on their clothes.”
Continue reading...Jas Athwal, the Ilford South MP, ‘shocked’ by allegations and ‘profoundly sorry’ for condition of his properties
A newly elected Labour MP has been accused of renting out flats with black mould and ant infestations.
Jas Athwal, the MP for Ilford South, owns 15 rental flats, according to a report by the BBC.
Continue reading...House prices grew at annual rate of 2.4% in August, the fastest since December 2022, Nationwide figures show
The UK housing market is at its strongest since the aftermath of Liz Truss’s infamous mini-budget that sent borrowing costs soaring, according to the latest figures.
Nationwide said house prices grew at an annual rate of 2.4% in August, up from 2.1% in July and the fastest rate since December 2022.
Continue reading...Rachel Reeves works on plan for 10-year formula to give councils and housing associations certainty
Social housing rents will rise by more than inflation over the next decade as part of UK government plans to boost affordable housebuilding and shore up the finances of struggling landlords.
The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is working on plans to introduce a 10-year formula to calculate social rent on homes that will result in rents increasing every year by the rate of the consumer prices index – which is now 2.2% – plus 1%, removing an existing cap on rises.
Continue reading...Figures from Rightmove show inquiries to estate agents since 1 August up 19% compared with a year ago
The first Bank of England rate cut in four years has triggered an immediate upturn in the UK property market, as cheaper mortgages prompt interest among buyers and drive up house prices.
Figures from the property website Rightmove show the number of potential buyers contacting estate agents about homes for sale since 1 August jumped by 19% compared with the same time a year ago. Contacts in July were up 11% on the previous year.
Continue reading...The economist behind the Covid furlough scheme has called for ‘unfair’ council tax and stamp duty to be axed
Council tax and stamp duty are “unfair and unpopular” taxes that should be abolished, says the economist who devised the Covid furlough scheme.
Tim Leunig, who has advised a series of cabinet ministers, including Rishi Sunak during his prime ministership, said it was time for a new and radical approach that would axe the two taxes and replace them with proportional levies.
Continue reading...Zoopla puts average viewing time at 49 minutes, as eye tracking study shows focus on mirrors and plants, not floors and walls
A fifth of homebuyers spend less than 20 minutes looking at a home before deciding to make an offer, with viewers more likely to focus on artwork and furniture than structural features, research suggests.
The average time for looking around a property before settling on buying it was about 49 minutes, according to a survey of people who have attended viewings in the past five years.
Continue reading...Labour leader rejects ‘desperate’ claim from Tory party that he has secret property tax plans
Keir Starmer has ruled out imposing capital gains tax on the sale of people’s homes and said it was “desperate” tactics from the Tories to suggest that he would.
The Labour leader said he could “absolutely” guarantee that would not happen.
Continue reading...Angela Rayner to promise party will build homes on sites by end of its first term and support private developers
A Labour government would aim to announce the sites for a series of new towns within a year of taking office, with the promise that homes would be built in them by the end of a first term, Angela Rayner is to say in a speech.
Giving more detail to a plan first outlined in Keir Starmer’s party conference speech in October, Rayner will tell a housing conference that Labour will strongly support private developers who create high-quality and affordable housing.
Continue reading...Pent-up demand from would-be buyers pausing their plans last year has led to price rise despite mortgage rates remaining elevated
The average British house price reached a record high of £375,131 in May, according to Rightmove. The average prices of properties coming to market rose 0.8%, or £2,807, month on month.
Pent-up demand from would-be buyers who paused their plans last year is a key driver behind increased home mover activity despite mortgage rates remaining elevated for longer than anticipated, the property website’s report said.
Continue reading...Local authorities will be allowed to turn unsold homes from developers into affordable housing
China will cut mortgage rates and allow local authorities to turn unsold homes from developers into affordable housing, in a series of drastic measures by Beijing aimed at propping up the country’s faltering property market.
The People’s Bank of China said it would scrap the minimum rate of interest and reduce down-payment ratios to 15% for first-time buyers and 25% for second homes. It will also create a 300bn yuan (£32.8bn) facility to support local state-owned companies to buy homes at reasonable prices, it said in a series of statements on Friday.
Continue reading...Banks may follow suit after UK weather-related claims on home insurance reach new high
Britain’s biggest building society has stopped granting mortgages on some properties where there is a high risk of flooding but said this affected only “a very limited number” of homes.
Nationwide’s head of property risk, Rob Stevens, said the lender used mapping technology to identify which homes were vulnerable to flooding, and it would decline to grant a mortgage to buy a property it deemed to be at high risk.
Continue reading...There were 830,000 unwanted moves in England over the past 12 months, meaning 40% have been forced to relocate
Unwanted home moves cost renters more than half a billion pounds a year, with tenants coughing up an average of £669 every time they are forced by landlords to leave their home, a survey has revealed.
Analysis by the homelessness charity Shelter estimated that there had been 830,000 unwanted moves in England over the past 12 months, meaning 40% of renters who move house are doing so because they have been compelled to look for other accommodation.
Continue reading...Average 13% increase by 2027 will put millions of households under further pressure, says thinktank
Rent rises in Britain are forecast to outpace wage growth, despite having already surged at the fastest pace on record after the Covid pandemic and the cost of living crisis.
The Resolution Foundation expects added pressure on millions of households and said average rents could increase by 13% over the next three years as current high growth in the private rental market work their way through existing tenancies.
Continue reading...Insurers have made huge hidden payments for buildings cover over many years, experts say
Landlords of developments in England and Wales where residents face hefty service charges face calls to disclose millions of pounds in “secret commissions” raked in over the years for arranging buildings insurance.
Experts say these hidden commissions, paid to landlords including City investment funds that hold freeholds and managing agents, have been worth tens of millions of pounds a year. The arrangements were made without residents being told and resulted in higher service charges.
Continue reading...Pressure on Michael Gove to act as householders see bills rise 40%, with many saying that they cannot afford to pay
Some of the UK’s largest housing providers have dramatically increased annual service charges by thousands of pounds, plunging residents into financial crisis, an Observer investigation has found.
Many residents who bought shared-ownership properties built as affordable homes have been sent bills in recent weeks with increases of more than 40%. Some say they are unable to sell the properties having now been lumbered with “extortionate” charges and no cap on future increases. More than 1,000 people across the country are now threatening to refuse to pay.
Continue reading...Subsidiary of Lazari Investments fined £67,000 for breaches of HMO licence conditions on Camden flats
A family-owned property empire whose holdings include the former Fenwick department store building on London’s Bond Street has seen one of its subsidiaries named on the city’s rogue landlords register and hit with fines totalling £67,000.
The Lazari family have an estimated fortune of £2.5bn, placing them 72nd on the Sunday Times rich list. It is based on a property portfolio that includes some of the most luxurious addresses in central London as well as rental flats in the north of the city.
Continue reading...Data from property website Rightmove finds average asking price has reached almost £370,000
An increase in buyer demand and stronger house sales during March have combined to push the average UK home’s asking price up by a further £5,279 to almost £370,000, as the market picks up after a “muted 2023”.
According to the UK’s biggest property website, Rightmove, this month’s 1.5% price growth is notably higher than the historical March average of 1%, and is the biggest monthly increase for 10 months.
Continue reading...Report calls for overhaul of rules on loan affordability and repayment, and more flexible mortgage products
Mortgage reforms introduced after the 2008 banking crisis have “tilted too far” in support of financial stability to the point that first-time buyers are being excluded from the housing market, building societies have warned.
A report commissioned by the Building Societies Association has called for an overhaul of affordability and repayment rules, which they say have contributed to a steady decline in first-time buyer mortgages since the mid-2000s.
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