UK property has shrugged off the end of the stamp-duty holiday. Online estate agent Rightmove reports that “every region of Britain saw house asking-price records broken in October”, says Helen Crane on This Is Money. That is the first time this has happened since March 2007. Wales and the northwest of England have seen the strongest rises, as buyers race to complete before expected interest-rate hikes from the Bank of England.
The average UK asking price is up by 6.5% year-on-year at £344,445, but “most homes still sell below the asking price”. Property website Zoopla calculates that the boom has taken the total value of British homes up by £550bn in a year, says Hilary Osborne in The Guardian. Zoopla values the housing stock at £9.2trn, four times GDP. The market has boomed since Covid-19, says Ross Clark in The Spectator.
But could an interest-rate rise finally do for UK property? Cheap money has underpinned the long boom: prices in many places have quadrupled over the last 30 years, but that is only because mortgage rates have plunged by 75% over the same period. The trouble is that the government is so scared of the chaos that a housing bust would unleash that it is unlikely to let it happen: witness the tax goodies offered to the sector during the pandemic. Governments “of both colours have repeatedly come up with wheezes to keep the housing market afloat”.
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
-
What are my retirement income options?We’re all told to save into a pension, but there’s widespread confusion about how to take an income from our savings and investments at retirement, a new study has found. We look at your retirement income options.
-
UK interest rates: will the Bank of England lower rates?The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) final interest rates meeting of the year takes place tomorrow (18 December) and most experts expect a cut
-
British blue chips offer investors reliable income and growthOpinion Ben Russon, portfolio manager and co-head UK equities, ClearBridge Investments, highlights three British blue chips where he'd put his money
-
Coreweave is on borrowed timeAI infrastructure firm Coreweave is heading for trouble and is absurdly pricey, says Matthew Partridge
-
Renewable energy funds are stuck between a ROC and a hard placeRenewable energy funds were hit hard by the government’s subsidy changes, but they have only themselves to blame for their failure to build trust with investors
-
Profit from document shredding with RestoreRestore operates in a niche, but essential market. The business has exciting potential over the coming years, says Rupert Hargreaves
-
The war dividend – how to invest in defence stocks as the world arms upWestern governments are back on a war footing. Investors should be prepared, too, says Jamie Ward
-
Literacy Capital: A trust where great returns fund a good causeThere’s plenty to like about specialist private-equity trust Literacy Capital, says Max King
-
An AI bust could hit private credit – could it cause a financial crisis?Opinion Private credit is playing a key role in funding data centres. It may be the first to take the hit if the AI boom ends, says Cris Sholto Heaton
-
8 of the best ski chalets for sale nowThe best ski chalets on the market – from a traditional Alpine-style chalet in Switzerland to an award-winning Modernist building in Japan’s exclusive ski areas
