Britain’s happiest places to live have been revealed by Rightmove, with Richmond in London claiming the number one spot this year. Winchester in Hampshire came second in the list of happiest areas to live. Monmouth in Wales is third, the first time an area from Wales has made the top three since 2018, and Galashiels is the happiest place to live in Scotland for a second...

The Government has pledged that section 21 ‘no fault’ repossessions will not be scrapped until improvements have been made to the way courts handle legitimate possession cases. At present it takes an average of over half a year for the courts to process possession claims where landlords have good cause, such as tenant rent arrears or anti-social behaviour. The Nat...

It has been reported that OnTheMarket (OTM) has been bought for £100m by £33 billion global property data group CoStar. Sky News says the portal, which is due to publish its results today, will also reveal that the portal’s board has approved the sale, persuaded by a bid ‘substantially’ over its current 70p share price. The sale comes after OTM ha...

UK estate agents receive the lowest sales commission across eight of the world’s biggest property markets, new research suggests. The analysis suggests agents in the UK take home the second-lowest income, only out-earning agents in Malaysia. Self-employed agency brand iad UK has analysed the average residential estate agent sales commission in eight of the world’...

The base interest rate remains at 5.25% after the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted 5-4 against an increase. Many commentators had expected another rise in the rate, but the surprise fall in inflation probably prompted a rethink. Inflation fell slightly last month to 6.7% from 6.8% in July, prompting some analysts to predict that the Bank would steer away...

Slowing food prices helped drive a surprise fall in inflation in August, with prices now rising at their slowest rate in a year-and-a-half. Inflation, which measures how prices change over time, fell to 6.7% in the year to August, down from 6.8% in July, official figures show. It is the third month in a row that the figure has dropped. Prices for...

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has promised more time for households to make the transition to heat pumps under plans to decarbonise the country’s homes. The Neg reported yesterday that a delay to the ban on gas boilers was being considered by the Government. The target was for no gas boilers to be installed in new homes by 2025, and for the phasing out of boilers altog...

A council leader is calling for more low-cost housing to be built to ease the pressure on first-time buyers. Houses in the Cotswolds have an average price of £411,000 - 14 times the local average annual salary. An increase in buyers from London is keeping prices high, one estate agent said. Councillor Joe Harris said: "I'm sick of friends my age - I'...

The rising cost of renting has again hit its highest level since comparable records began in 2016, with strong demand from tenants. With fewer properties available to rent in many areas, the mismatch between supply and demand has pushed up costs for many people. Prices paid by UK renters rose by 5.3% on average in the year to July, the Office for Nati...

The Bank of England will raise interest rates again next month despite UK inflation cooling, analysts predict UK inflation fell further than expected in June to 7.9%, easing forecasts for how aggressively the Bank of England will raise interest rates over the next few months. The Office for National Statistics said the annual inflation rate as measured by the consumer prices i...

There has been a notable increase in the number of tenants being asked to provide a guarantor to secure a rental property, new research has revealed, as lack of supply and inflationary pressures push up average rental prices and landlords seek out additional assurances from tenants. Goodlord analysed more than 220,000 tenancies taken out between January 2020 and June 2023. Its...

The Bank of England (BoE) has announced an increase of 0.5% to its Base Rate this month. This is the 13th consecutive rise, and has pushed interest rates to 5%, which is the highest they’ve been for 15 years. The Bank keeps raising interest rates to tackle high levels of inflation. It was announced that the inflation rate has remained at 8.7% in the month to Ma...

The Bank of England has raised interest rates by 0.25% to 4.5% as expected today, after a majority of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by Governor Andrew Bailey (pictured) voted for the increase again. This increase is the 12th successive rise, taking the rate to its highest level in almost 15 years. The Bank is reacting to a stubborn inflation figure,...

The number of mortgage approvals being made to home-buyers increased in March, the latest bank of England figures reveal. According to the data, the volume mortgage approvals for residential property purchases increased significantly, to 52,000 in March from 44,100 in February. However, the Bank pointed out that the latest total remains below the monthly average for 2022 of 62...

Residential property transactions edged up 1% in March 2023 compared to the previous month, the latest HMRC figures have revealed. Across the UK, there were 89,560 home sales last month, according to the provisional seasonally adjusted estimate. While this was slightly higher than February’s total, it represents a 19% decline on the figure for the corresponding period of...