UK Property

A handful of cities in Texas are grabbing the attention of international buyers, who are coming mainly from India, China, and Mexico to find low prices amid a possible housing crash. Houston, Austin, and San Antonio all made the list of destinations where homebuyers from around the world are purchasing investment properties, second homes for their kids, or a home they will retire in.Houston was the number 5 most searched US city by non-US consumers throughout the month of April, according to a new report from Realtor.com.International demand also grew noticeably in...

Property’s ability to generate both income and share price gains has long given it a special place in retail investors’ hearts. As Mark Twain famously remarked: “Buy land, they’re not making it any more.” The residential and warehouse sectors — beds and sheds — have been particularly popular in recent years.That enthusiasm is easy to understand. The rise of online shopping and the growing need for giant data centres — both fuelled by coronavirus lockdowns — meant record breaking demand for warehouse space and ultra-low vacancy rates. Those factors in...

UK house prices slump by £1,150 month-on-month (Image: Getty)Average house prices in the UK fell by around £1,150 or 0.4% month-on-month in May, according to a leading index.Property prices now average £296,648, compared to £297,798 last month, Halifax has said. But, despite the monthly price drop, property values are still more than £7,000 higher than last year, Halifax said. May’s month-on-month price fall follows a 0.3% increase in April. Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said: "These small monthly movements point to a housing market that has remained largely...

Dallas-based private equity firm Lone Star Real Estate Fund VII has agreed to buy nine purpose-built student accommodation assets for £212 million. The seller is Unite Student, the UK’s largest developer and owner of student accommodation, while the deal is set to go through in August 2025. The portfolio comprises 3,656 beds across nine high-quality PBSA assets in five well-located university markets: Aberdeen, Leicester, Leeds, Nottingham and Sheffield. Jérôme Foulon, global head of commercial real estate for Lone Star, said: “This transaction aligns with Lone Star’s global strategy of investing...

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Workplace pensions myFT Digest -- delivered directly to your inbox.A contentious change in UK legislation around pensions will push more defined contribution workplace schemes to boost investment in British private markets, pension experts have said. The Pensions Schemes Bill, published on Thursday, sets a framework to allow regulators to force the default funds of workplace DC schemes to invest in specific assets including private equity, private debt, venture capital or property. The power, which would be enforced by the Financial Conduct Authority and...

Discover how AI is transforming UK property accounting with automated bookkeeping, MTD compliance & predictive insights.  Photo by Binti Malu from PexelsProperty accounting is getting simpler – and faster. With Making Tax Digital (MTD), the end of self-assessments is on the horizon, and landlords are leaving behind spreadsheets and paper records in favour of AI tools that can automate admin and help them keep their financial records in order and compliant with regulations. Of course, AI is getting a lot of attention at the moment, and you might think the...

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.What better place to test the health of the UK property market than a doctor’s office? A takeover battle for NHS landlord Assura — which involves a private equity bidder slugging it out with a listed competitor — has renewed the debate over the future of the City of London. Assura, which owns a portfolio of mainly GP surgeries and healthcare centres, seemed set to become the latest in the procession of...

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.What better place to test the health of the UK property market than a doctor’s office? A takeover battle for NHS landlord Assura — which involves a private equity bidder slugging it out with a listed competitor — has renewed the debate over the future of the City of London. Assura, which owns a portfolio of mainly GP surgeries and healthcare centres, seemed set to become the latest in the procession of...

The latest house price data feels about as clear as mud. According to Rightmove, there was a smaller than usual monthly increase of 0.6 per cent in May, leaving prices up just 1.2 per cent on this time last year. But by Nationwide’s measure, annual house price growth was a more buoyant 3.5 per cent. And according to the official UK House Price Index (HPI), the latest monthly rise was 1.1 per cent, leaving house prices 6.4 per cent higher year on year.IndexRightmoveNationwideUK HPIMonthly house price increase (%)0.60.51.1Annual house price...

A fourth man has been arrested for the arsons related to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's property.The 48-year-old was arrested at Stansted airport today, the Metropolitan Police have confirmed.He was initially stopped by officers under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act, 2000, before being arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life.The arrest is connected to an investigation into a series of fires and suspected arson attacks across North London last month. They included: vehicle fire in NW5 on Thursday, 8 May; a fire at...