Category Archives: Real Estate

Average asking price for UK home drops by £5,000 in November

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Analysts say market is still relatively busy despite decline of 1.4%, which is unusually high for this time of year

The average asking price for a UK home has dropped by more than £5,000 this month as the autumn budget caused housing market jitters before the usual Christmas slowdown.

Average asking prices from new sellers fell by £5,366, or 1.4%, in November to £366,592, compared with the 0.8% decline usually recorded at this time of year, according to the website Rightmove.

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Leading UK estate agent cuts its longer-term house price growth forecast

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Hamptons says ‘modest’ rises can be expected amid ‘dampening effect’ of higher interest rates overall

Expectations that UK interest rates may stay higher for longer, as well as revenue-raising measures in the budget, have prompted a leading estate agent to cut its forecast for house price growth over the longer term.

The revised forecast from Hamptons came days after Halifax and Nationwide banks said the annual rate of property price growth had slowed, with the former saying it was likely to be “modest … for the rest of this year and into next”.

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Real estate agent who published identity of NSW tenant after one-star Google review broke privacy laws, commission finds

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Noonan Real Estate Agency in Sydney forced to apologise after it disclosed renter’s full name, occupation and financial circumstances to global audience

A New South Wales real estate agent who exposed the personal details of a tenant who left a bad Google review broke privacy laws, Australia’s information commission has found.

After the tenant, who has not been named for legal reasons, gave Noonan Real Estate Agency a one-star review in 2021, the agency responded by disclosing his full name, occupation and financial circumstances, according to a written decision.

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King and Prince William’s estates ‘making millions from charities and public services’

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Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster likely to make at least £50m from leasing land to services such as NHS and schools, according to investigation

King Charles and Prince William’s property empires are taking millions of pounds from cash-strapped charities and public services including the NHS, state schools and prisons, according to a new investigation.

The reports claim the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, which are exempt from business taxes and used to fund the royals’ lifestyles and philanthropic work, are set to make at least £50m from leasing land to public services. The two duchies hold a total of more than 5,400 leases.

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Regulators urged to examine UK business dealings with Bangladeshi ex-minister

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HMRC and FCA asked to look into property deals with Saifuzzaman Chowdhury now under investigation for corruption in Dhaka

British regulators have been urged by MPs to examine the relationship between London estate agents, lawyers and lenders and a former Bangladeshi government minister under investigation for alleged corruption.

Saifuzzaman Chowdhury was the land minister in Bangladesh until earlier this year, when the government of Sheikh Hasina was spectacularly toppled, after her regime’s violent suppression of student protests.

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Number of homes sold in UK up by a third, says Rightmove

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Autumn price bump failed to emerge as buyers spoiled for choice, with properties on market at a 10-year high

The number of homes being sold is up almost a third, year on year, so far this month, although the traditional autumn price bump has failed to emerge due to buyers being spoilt for choice, with the number of properties for sale at a 10-year high, according to Rightmove.

The number of sales agreed is up 29%, with the number of house hunters contacting estate agents up 17%, despite some market uncertainty caused by the looming budget at the end of October.

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UK house prices hit highest annual growth since 2022

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Nationwide says yearly rise in house prices increased by 3.2% in September putting the average home at £266,094

UK house prices are growing at their fastest annual rate for nearly two years as borrowing costs continue to fall on expectations that the Bank of England will keep cutting interest rates, Nationwide has said.

The building society said prices grew by 3.2% in September compared with the same month last year, well above the 2.4% annual growth recorded in August, and the fastest pace since the 4.4% recorded in November 2022.

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Rightmove rejects £6.2bn takeover offer by Murdoch-backed real estate firm

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FTSE 100 firm turns down fourth offer from the Australian property company REA Group

Rightmove has rejected a £6.2bn takeover offer from REA Group, the Australian real estate firm backed by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

The UK property portal told the City on Monday morning that its board had turned down REA’s fourth offer, having concluded it was “unattractive and materially undervalues Rightmove”.

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Viral Hollywood Hills mansion covered with graffiti closed down after arrests

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Two arrested in connection with vandalism in abandoned home owned by the son of Philadelphia Phillies co-owner

Two people were arrested on Wednesday in connection with vandalism in an abandoned Hollywood Hills mansion owned by the son of a Philadelphia Phillies co-owner.

John Powers Middleton, a film producer, owns a property that has long been left vacant and become a popular target for graffiti artists and squatters.

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Rightmove rejects third bid from Rupert Murdoch’s REA Group

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Australian company says it is frustrated that UK property website has refused to engage over £6.1bn offer

Rightmove has rejected a third bid from Rupert Murdoch’s REA Group and said the offer was “unattractive” and undervalues the UK’s largest online property portal.

On Wednesday Rightmove confirmed that its board had “unanimously rejected” the non-binding cash-and-shares offer put forward on Monday, which valued the company at £6.1bn.

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Competition minister ‘concerned’ Australians pay most in world to sell their homes online

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Agents and critics claim business practices and pricing structure of REA Group - which owns realestate.com.au - stifle competition in market

The assistant competition minister, Andrew Leigh, says he is “concerned” Australians are paying the highest costs in the world to advertise their homes for sale online.

After a Guardian Australia investigation into the market power of the Murdoch-controlled REA Group – which owns realestate.com.au – Leigh said he wanted to see costs in the property market come down.

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Why News Corp’s realestate.com.au can put fees ‘up and up and up’, according to ex-CEO

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Simon Baker says REA Group’s property portal is viewed ‘jealously’ by others around the world because the home-sellers pay the bills

A former chief executive of the News Corp-controlled realestate.com.au says the company views real estate agents as its “outsourced sales force”, outlining how home sellers have been targeted with ever-rising advertising costs.

Simon Baker, who was chief executive of REA Group from 2001 to 2008 and now works as a consultant in the property tech industry, says the “vendor-paid” advertising market operating in Australian real estate is rare globally.

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Billionaire Guy Hands’ property firm takes housing reforms to European court

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Annington Property fears recent legislation will force it to offload some of the 38,000 freeholds it owns on UK military homes

A property company founded by the billionaire Guy Hands has taken a legal fight with the UK government to the European court of human rights over fears it could lose significant sums as a result of planned housing reforms.

Annington Property, which owns the freehold of about 38,000 military homes, has filed the claim against the housing minister, Angela Rayner, over concerns that the new Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act could force it to off-load the homes well below market value. Last month it launched a challenge in the high court on the same grounds.

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Loch Lomond Flamingo Land plan rejected after fierce opposition

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Proposal for mega-resort on Lomond Banks turned down over concerns including loss of ancient woodland

Proposals by the theme park operator Flamingo Land to build a mega-resort on one of Scotland’s best-loved shorelines, on Loch Lomond, have been rejected, prompting celebrations among local people at the conclusion of a “David and Goliath” planning battle.

The Lomond Banks development, which would have included two hotels, more than 100 lodges, a waterpark and a monorail, had encountered fierce opposition, first from the village of Balloch, on the south-west shore of the loch, and then across Scotland, since it was first proposed in 2018.

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Revealed: criminals and unlicensed agents operating across Australia’s real estate sector

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Revelations come amid federal government push for additional scrutiny of sector through counter-terror financing and money-laundering laws

Convicted criminals and unlicensed agents are operating in the real estate sector across multiple states, a Guardian Australia investigation has found.

In New South Wales, the Guardian has established that two individuals convicted of dishonesty offences have been allowed back into the industry well within the usual 10-year prohibition, and that gaps in the law mean convicted money launderers are able to find their way back into the industry.

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Australians pay more than anyone in the world to sell their homes online

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Prices at the News Corp-controlled realestate.com.au can be as high as $4,000 for a single listing, prompting complaints from vendors, agents and industry disruptors

Australians are paying the most expensive advertising fees in the world to sell their homes online as a result of the market dominance of realestate.com.au and Domain, with the cost rising to as much as $4,000 for an inner-city listing.

The dominance of the News Corp-controlled realestate.com.au has prompted more than a dozen complaints to Australia’s competition watchdog, the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission, over the past decade from agents and industry disruptors, Guardian Australia can reveal.

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Giant tortoises in Seychelles face threat from luxury hotel development

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Conservationists and botanists express concern over plans for Qatari-funded upscale resort on Assomption Island

The habitat of the largest giant tortoise population in the world is threatened by a Qatari-funded hotel development that aims to bring luxury yachts, private jets and well-heeled tourists to a remote island in the Indian Ocean, conservationists have warned.

Plans for an upscale resort on Assomption, which is part of the Aldabra island group, are currently under discussion by the Seychelles authorities, and construction is already finished on an airport expansion that would allow bigger aircraft to land on the 11.6-sq-km (4.5-sq-mile) coral island.

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Housing market at its strongest since Truss mini-budget aftermath

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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.

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English councils to gain new powers to buy cheap green belt land

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Landowners unwilling to sell would face compulsory purchase orders if site could host ‘quality housing scheme’

Councils and public bodies in England are to be handed powers to compulsorily buy cheap green belt land as part of the new Labour government’s drive to build 1.5m homes by 2030.

Green belt landowners who are unwilling to sell would face compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) that would force them to hand over their land if the site could host a “quality housing scheme” in the public interest.

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Heatmaps show UK homebuyers look most at artwork and furniture before making decision

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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.

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