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
-
Nationwide promises to protect all its branches from closures until at least 2030The building society has extended its pledge to keep all high street Nationwide and Virgin Money branches open, now until at least 2030.
-
Could dividend tax nearly double in the Budget?Self-employed directors and investors, including pensioners, who get an income from company shares would be hit if the rumoured move to hike dividend tax goes ahead.
-
STS Global Income & Growth: Buying quality at a discountInvestors should consider STS Global Income & Growth to diversify away from mega-cap tech
-
'We still live in Alan Greenspan’s shadow'When MoneyWeek launched 25 years ago, Alan Greenspan was chairman of the Federal Reserve. We’re still living with the consequences of the whirlwind he sowed
-
Venture capital trusts that offer growth, income and tax reliefOpinion Alex Davies, founder of high-net-worth investment service Wealth Club, picks three venture capital trusts where he'd put his money
-
Go for growth: how to invest in emerging marketsDeveloping countries offer investors compelling long-term economic prospects, says David Prosser
-
How to invest in private equityNew forms of private equity funds give access to ordinary investors of more modest means. Should they rush in?
-
Isaac Newton's golden legacy – how the English polymath created the gold standard by accidentIsaac Newton brought about a new global economic era by accident, says Dominic Frisby
-
Investing in AI – the ultimate bubbleIs it “different this time”, or are we in the mother of all bubbles? The economics of AI should give investors pause for thought, says Dan McEvoy
-
Why MoneyWeek studies at the Austrian school of economicsA heterodox tradition in economics has been a guiding light for MoneyWeek over our 25 years, says Stuart Watkins
