HOUSING NEWS

Share Stamp duty holiday withdrawals have “taken some of the heat out” of the UK housing market, according to the Nationwide. The building society said house prices dropped slightly in July compared with June, but were still 10.5% higher than a year ago. Any stamp duty savings have been outstripped by rising prices. But the […]

Property sales in the UK hit a new record level in June, official figures show, but analysts say it may mark the peak of the housing boom. An estimated 213,120 sales were completed during the month – more than twice the total in May, data from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) shows. Commentators said there […]

Some of Britain’s biggest high street banks are refusing to give mortgages to self-employed people who received government grants during the pandemic. Mortgage brokers say those working in sectors like entertainment, hospitality and travel are the worst affected. Many lenders spoken to by the BBC are not accepting mortgage applications from people on furlough. Brokers […]

A lack of available properties is helping to push up house prices, surveyors say. As a result, a majority of Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) members think prices will continue to rise over the next year. The shrinking supply meant the number of new properties coming to the market fell by a third in […]

Stamp duty rates in England and Northern Ireland are changing from 1 July. The stamp duty holiday introduced in June 2020 will start to be phased out. It means house buyers will have to pay stamp duty again for purchases above £250,000. How is stamp duty changing from 1 July? Stamp duty is a tax […]

Two big players in the leasehold sector have agreed to change the way they operate, following an investigation by the competition watchdog. Housebuilder Persimmon will allow its leaseholders to buy the freehold of their property at a discount. Insurance company Aviva, which buys leaseholds from house builders, will repay homeowners who saw their ground rents […]

UK house prices leapt another 9.5% in the year to May, boosted by the government’s stamp duty holiday which ends this month. The Halifax said prices rose by more than £22,000 to an average of £261,743. But it said buyer preferences are shifting “in anticipation of new, post-pandemic lifestyles”. “There’s greater demand for larger properties […]

UK house prices are soaring. Official figures show they have been increasing at their fastest rate for more than a decade despite the country being gripped by a pandemic. The UK’s biggest building society, the Nationwide, has described the UK housing market as “bouyant”. Potential first-time buyers and movers may have more of a sinking […]

Banks and building societies want ministers to extend help for those struggling to pay their mortgage owing to the financial effects of Covid. Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) is a loan available to some people in the UK on benefits, which is usually repaid when their property is sold. Applicants have to wait for 39 […]

The “mad rush” to buy properties to take advantage of stamp duty holidays waned in April, official figures suggest. Transactions fell by 36% compared with the record level of UK home sales in March, according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). An extension to the deadline for stamp duty relief into the summer is likely […]