The latest house price indices from the two major providers, Nationwide and Halifax, have been released this week for February and show only marginal changes across the UK, while rents are still a top issue for thousands as we look at the idea of rent controls. The north and Midlands have received extra focus and investment recently, while the construction industry is on a drive to get more homes built across the country. Here are seven things you might have missed this week…
1. House price indices from Nationwide and Halifax
Nationwide registered a 0.3% month-on-month fall in house prices in February, with annual price growth at 2.2%, while Halifax’s index saw prices climb slightly by 0.4% in the month to February, and a three-month growth rate of 1.8%.
2. New money laundering rules enforced on politician’s £22m properties
A new crackdown on UK property being bought using “murky” money from overseas has seen the first ever instance of the National Crime Agency issuing two unexplained wealth orders (UWOs) on £22m worth of London and south-east property.
3. Midlands to get build-to-rent investment from major asset manager
A partnership between leading financial asset manager ICG-Longbow and property management firm SDL Group will see £250m invested into building more than 2,000 build-to-rent properties in the Midlands, in line with the market’s general refocus away from homeownership.
4. The rent control debate: would caps help or hinder UK tenants?
The idea of implementing rent controls is one that has already existed across many parts of Europe for several years, and Jeremy Corbyn has promised to bring in such curbs if Labour wins the next general election. But views on the effectiveness of this strategy are mixed…
5. These northern cities are the top property hotspots for investors…
The Northern Powerhouse continues to make headway as it benefits from increased devolution powers and growing investments, and IP Global’s latest report has named Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Leeds as the country’s main investment hotspots.
6. How the buy-to-let sector could be affected by new Section 24 tax rules
The looming Section 24 tax relief changes for buy-to-lets are causing a stir among many landlords, while others remain in the dark about what the changes are and how they will be affected.
7. Construction industry is opening doors to attract new recruits
The construction industry is on a recruitment drive to meet the government’s annual target of 300,000 new homes continuing until the 2020s, to which Chancellor Philip Hammond committed £34bn of funding towards training and building apprenticeship programmes in last Autumn’s budget.
