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”.
Subscribe to 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
-
Tesco braces for supermarket price war with rival AsdaTesco, Britain’s biggest grocer, has opted to cut its prices more quickly to prevent Asda grabbing market share
-
Supersonic travel: How China could 'leapfrog' US and Europe's commercial aviation industryOpinion Innovation in commercial aviation has been stuck for 60 years. A commercial supersonic jet might be back on the market soon, but will China get there first?
-
BP's 'long, painful decline' – and why next year could be even tougherOpinion Long-suffering shareholders in oil giant BP have been pushing for change. It won’t come soon enough, says Matthew Lynn
-
Investment trusts tap the profits in exotic and obscure global marketsOpinion Peter Walls, manager of the Unicorn Mastertrust fund, highlights three investment trusts as he shares where he'd put his money
-
Falling revenues and mounting debt spell trouble for Jumia TechnologiesStruggling African e-commerce platform Jumia Technologies looks headed for the exit, says Dr Matthew Partridge.
-
Next reports £1 billion in annual profits for the first time – what's next for the retailer?Clothing retailer Next has become only the fourth member of its sector to surpass £1 billion in annual profits. What does this mean for the company's future?
-
8 of the best properties for sale with librariesWe look at eight of the best properties for sale with libraries – from an 1860s baronial mansion in Fife, Scotland, to a Grade II-listed manor in Gloucestershire with a library with flagstone floors and oak columns
-
Best of British bargains: cash in on undervalued companies in the UK stock marketOpinion Michael Field, Chief Equity Market Strategist, EMEA, Morningstar, selects three attractive UK stocks where he'd put his money
-
Building firm Keller presents low debt and ample scope for growthGeotechnical contractor Keller, which supports vital global infrastructure, boasts rising profits and a cheap valuation
-
PZ Cussons share price down 75% in last decade – why it's one to watchOpinion Once-strong consumer-goods business PZ Cussons is out of favour with the market. That spells opportunity for investors, says Jamie Ward
