Real estate news

A crash is unlikely, but the fall in UK home prices has a long way to go | Nils Pratley

13-07-2023 18:52

First-time buyers face higher mortgage rates, and surging rents and bills prevent saving for deposits – no wonder there’s a big slowdown Inquiries by would-be buyers of homes hit an eight-month low last month, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, which talked about “a renewed deterioration in UK home sales”. On the same theme, Barratt Developments’ trading update on Thursday related a near-halving in reservations from first-time buyers year-on-

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Profits at UK homebuilder Barratt drop as buyer demand slumps

13-07-2023 11:34

Soaring interest rates and end of help-to-buy scheme blamed for driving away first-time buyersBritain’s largest housebuilder, Barratt Developments, has suffered a double-digit drop in annual profits after a significant slump in demand, as the surge in interest rates and the end of the help-to-buy scheme drove away first-time buyers.Demand from would-be homeowners fell by 49% in the year to June, which dragged on overall sales and accounted for half of the total decline in its home reservat

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UK GDP: mortgage payers’ worst fears are likely to come true

13-07-2023 11:02

Cycle of interest rate rises look likely to continue after better than forecast economic dataUK economy shrinks by 0.1% in May after coronation festivitiesBusiness live: economy shrank after bank holidays hit activityFor mortgage payers, the latest economic growth figures are a disappointment.The 0.1% contraction in gross domestic product (GDP) between April and May tells the Bank of England that the jump in interest rates over the previous 18 months has only had a mild dampening effect on the e

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Profits at UK homebuilder Barratt drop by half as buyer demand slumps

13-07-2023 10:28

Soaring interest rates and end of help-to-buy scheme blamed for driving away first-time buyersBritain’s largest housebuilder, Barratt Developments, suffered a 56% drop in annual profits after a significant slump in demand, as the surge in interest rates and the end of the help-to-buy scheme drove away first-time buyers.Demand from would-be homeowners fell by 49% in the year to June, which dragged on overall sales and accounted for half of the total decline in its home reservations. Continu

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Number of would-be homebuyers falls to 8-month low as UK economic anxiety deepens

13-07-2023 01:01

Survey of estate agents reports growing reluctance among potential homebuyers to make a purchaseMortgages to cost 1m borrowers extra £500 a month by 2026, BoE warnsRenting a room in UK tops £700 a month on averageThe steep rise in mortgage interest rates and anxiety about the prospect of an economic downturn sent new house buyer inquiries to an eight-month low in June, according to a survey of estate agents.A fall in the number of buyers marked “a renewed deterioration in UK ho

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