CategoriesWeekly News
Hello,
I hope you’ve had an enjoyable week. We are very excited at the launch and impending launch of new phases within some of our most popular projects.
The momentum of property development is experiencing a noticeable uptick right now, which is fantastic news for our investors.
If you are keen to find out about our new launches from the moment they hit the shelves, reply to this post to register your interest.
Now, let’s take a look at all the headlines that caught our attention this week. I always try to summarise the links to save you from having to click through.
Episode 46: From Real Estate Boom to Bust and Then Back Again – The latest episode of the Pure Property Podcast is out now. You can listen to it on Apple Podcasts and all other major platforms.
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Property News This Week
- Experts Predict House Prices to Rise Further in 2023 – The Director of the National Association of Property Buyers has commented that some areas of the UK property market could see a further price increase of 5% next year, despite growing concerns over economic strains and growing inflation that could see average house prices dropping by 10% in 2023. Even though the cost of living crisis, constant interest rate hikes and mortgage cuts have put a huge strain on the British people, real estate appears to be holding its value surprisingly well. The north and Midlands in particular are seeing uninhibited growth, with undersupply in the markets and the rental sector crisis being two of the biggest factors driving growth. With rent prices continuing to climb, a growing number of people now cannot afford to rent and are instead focusing on saving for a mortgage deposit.
- Tory U-Turn on Section 21 Abolition Puts Tenants at Risk – With parliament in turmoil, we have witnessed an unprecedented number of government u-turns in the past few weeks, and it is suspected that the government may be planning to backtrack on its promise to ban Section 21; the current legislation governing no-fault evictions. In 2019, Theresa May pledged to abolish Section 21 in an attempt to provide more security for renters. The legislation currently allows landlords to evict tenants at short notice without providing a reason. There is no doubt that this type of eviction is soaring. In the past year, just under 20,000 households were under threat of losing their homes due to Section 21 orders; a 121% increase from the previous year. There is no doubt that renters need more protection from unscrupulous landlords and that a reform is necessary to avoid a huge spike in homelessness as the winter approaches.
- Labour Says Rent Freezes will Cause Landlord Mass Exodus – Plaid Cymru has lobbied Labour MSs to copy Scotland’s decision to freeze rents and ban evictions over the winter months during the latest Senedd debate. This possibility has been dismissed by Labour, who voted down the possibility of freezing rents in Wales. Ministers agreed that while they are taking active steps to help renters, such as increasing funding to local councils to help the problem, freezing rents may have the opposite intended effect by driving landlords away from the sector in droves. This would leave thousands at risk of homelessness. The Welsh Housing Minister said that, while they are still considering rent controls as a possibility, she was committed to supporting private landlords and acknowledges the crucial role they play in keeping roofs over the heads of Welsh citizens. She also called on the UK government to finally raise housing allowance in line with inflation, since housing allowance limits now largely fall drastically short of what is needed to rent a property.
- Construction Sector Stays Strong Despite Challenges – According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, both July and August saw a slight increase in construction output as a result of new building projects. Construction output increased slightly in August for the second consecutive month thanks to new building projects in the sectors of private, industrial and housing projects. Throughout August, though new project output rose by 1.9%, it was noted that repair and maintenance dropped by 2% month-on-month, showing that the Construction sector at large is still being rocked by instability. There is still a very long way to go to fixing the long-term challenges such as increasing costs and labour shortages. However, it is still encouraging to see growth at this time, however small, and it may be a sign of a more positive uptick to come as we head into 2023.
That is all we have for you this week. If you have any comments or questions on this week’s news summary, please feel free to email us at [email protected] – if not, see you next week.