V-shaped bounce in UK housing
UK house prices rose 5% in the year to September, the biggest gain in four years.
Those searching for a V-shaped recovery need look no further than the UK housing market, says Thomas Pugh of Capital Economics. Nationwide’s House Price Index shows that house prices rose 5% in the year to September, the biggest gain in four years. The Bank of England reports that mortgage approvals in August hit 85,000, the highest level since 2007.
Covid-19 has made many rethink their living arrangements, says Jessica Beard in The Daily Telegraph. A Nationwide survey reports that “one in ten movers” are motivated by the pandemic. “A further 18% are considering moving for the same reason”.
That has driven a big boom in the London commuter belt, says Hanna Ziady for CNN Business. Data from Rightmove shows that the number of transactions in 16 English villages, mostly located an hour or two away from London, has already surpassed the total for the whole of last year. The boom has been especially concentrated at the top end of the market, with the number of sales of properties worth more than £1m doubling year-on-year in the first half of August.
MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Analysts expect the housing market to hit turbulence next year as unemployment rises and the chancellor’s stamp-duty holiday ends. Online visits to the main property websites started to trend down in September, says Samuel Tombs of Pantheon Macroeconomics. That’s an early sign that the boom is “coming off the boil”.
Get the latest financial news, insights and expert analysis from our award-winning MoneyWeek team, to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
Alex is an investment writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2015. He has been the magazine’s markets editor since 2019.
Alex has a passion for demystifying the often arcane world of finance for a general readership. While financial media tends to focus compulsively on the latest trend, the best opportunities can lie forgotten elsewhere.
He is especially interested in European equities – where his fluent French helps him to cover the continent’s largest bourse – and emerging markets, where his experience living in Beijing, and conversational Chinese, prove useful.
Hailing from Leeds, he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford. He also holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Manchester.
-
Review: The Hut, Colwell Bay – a seafood lunch with a holiday feel
Travel Getting to The Hut in Colwell Bay on the Isle of Wight is almost as rewarding as actually eating there
-
What is the 7 year inheritance tax rule and how does it help cut your bill?
Speculation is rife chancellor Rachel Reeves has plans to target inheritance tax once again in her upcoming Budget. But the 7 year inheritance tax rule can save you thousands - here’s how it works.
-
Pierre-Édouard Stérin wants to make France great again
Conservative billionaire Pierre-Édouard Stérin is seeking to lead a political and spiritual renaissance across the Channel. The planning looks meticulous
-
Global investors have overlooked the top innovators in emerging markets
Opinion Carlos Hardenberg, portfolio manager, Mobius Investment Trust, highlights three emerging market stocks where he’d put his money
-
Pinewood Technologies: a drive for growth
Pinewood Technologies’ platform is one of the best in the business. Investors should buy in
-
'EV maker Faraday Future will crash'
Faraday Future Intelligent Electric is failing dismally to live up to its name, says Matthew Partridge
-
Investors should cheer the coming nuclear summer
The US and UK have agreed a groundbreaking deal on nuclear power, and the sector is seeing a surge in interest from around the world. Here's how you can profit
-
8 of the best houses for sale with follies
The best houses for sale with follies in the grounds – from a five-storey Victorian Gothic tower in Tonbridge, Kent, to a former mill in Oxfordshire with gardens that include a folly on an island in a lake
-
A tale of two Reits – why performance matters for valuation
AEW UK and Regional are two Reits that are valued very differently, despite a shared focus on properties outside London
-
Healthcare stocks look cheap, but tread carefully
Shares in healthcare companies could get a shot in the arm if uncertainty over policy in the US wanes, but are they worth the risk?