Welcome to this week’s edition of Property News Weekly, where we bring you the latest updates shaping the real estate landscape.
This week, we take a closer look at UK House Prices and how the UK property market is getting busier than ever, with increased demand driving up competition among buyers and investors alike.
If you would like to speak to our experts for some industry insight on these important questions and discover the strategic opportunities this evolving market has to offer, reply to this article today.
Now, let’s have a look at the latest headlines that have caught our eye this week…
Have you listened to our podcast yet? A new episode drops on Monday. It contains the latest property news and free education straight to your favourite podcast platform.
Stay tuned in and up-to-date with the latest property news, expert opinions and more! You can listen to it on Apple Podcasts and all other major platforms.
We would really appreciate it if you could subscribe and leave feedback for our Podcast on Apple.
Property News this Week:
UK House Prices Hit Two Year High
UK house prices hit a two-year high last month, in the latest sign that the property market has recovered from the aftermath of Liz Truss’s infamous mini-budget that sent borrowing costs soaring, according to the latest figures from Halifax.
The lender said the cost of an average house increased by 0.3% last month, after rising 0.9% in July, pushing the average cost of a property to £292,505. This is the highest level since August 2022, the month before Truss’s disastrous mini-budget.
UK Property Equity Surges To New Record
The value of the UK’s property equity is higher than ever before having surged to almost £6 trillion, new research has revealed.
The study by the Equity Release Council calculated that recovering house prices helped to increase the figure to an “unprecedented” £5.7 trillion in the three months ending June 30, 2024.
This was up from £5.4bn in the same period last year and also surpassed the previous high of £5.6 trillion recorded in the second quarter of 2022. As a result, UK property is currently leveraged at its lowest rate since before the 2008 financial crisis.
HMRC: UK Property Sales Busier Than Last Year
HMRC property transactions data shows 90,630 residential sales were registered with the taxman during July on a seasonally-adjusted basis, up 7% annually.
The figure is up 13% annually on a non-seasonally adjusted basis to 96,800. While an improvement on last year, the number of sales registered with HMRC pre-pandemic in July has historically been at around 100,000.
London estate agency Chestertons suggests that the expected interest rate cut in August led to house hunters stalling their activity in July, resulting in 14% fewer buyers entering the market than in June.
That concludes this week’s updates. If you have any thoughts or questions about these headlines, feel free to reply—I’d love to chat with you about the latest market trends and discuss your investment goals.
I’ll be back next week with more insights on the property market. Enjoy your weekend!
