UK Property

Earlier this year, The Holme, a 40-bedroom Georgian property in Regent’s Park that was listed for £250mn in March 2023, finally sold for £138.9mn. After almost two years of failing to attract buyers, it had achieved a price cut of more than £111mn. Sure, this is an extreme example of overvaluing at the very top end of the super-prime market, but it paints a picture of how overvaluations are out of control across the property landscape and how they not only put off buyers but stall certain segments of the real estate...

Half of UK farms could go out of business by 2035 due to proposed changes to inheritance tax (IHT), as farmers grapple with the financial burden of the so-called “Family Farm Tax”. That’s according to the findings of a survey, commissioned by Ashbridge Partners and involving 2,000 British farmers. It reveals that 39% of farms will be unsustainable within the next five years, with 56% expecting to close by 2035. See also: Inheritance tax in the spotlight at FW Question Time The changes to agricultural property relief, set to take...

Rents are growing at their lowest rate for three and a half years in a new blow for property investors.Buy-to-let landlords have already been facing higher taxes and scaled back mortgage reliefs, as well as impending rental regulations - and now the profits from their property portfolio are at further risk.Zoopla’s latest quarterly Rental Market Report found the average UK rent for a new let now stands at £1,284 per month annually. Subscribe to MoneyWeek Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE Get 6...

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.UK rental prices rose at the slowest annual rate in more than three years in January as tenant demand eased, according to data that signals a softening in the prolonged squeeze on renters’ finances. Monthly rent for new tenancies increased by an annual rate of 3 per cent in January, taking the average cost to £1,284, according to data published by Zoopla on Tuesday. The reading from the property portal was down...

Brits considering renting a home have been issued an urgent warning after cases of fraud surged last year, with one age group deemed particularly vulnerable.Cases of criminals duping people out of cash for fake rental properties have surged in the past year.One common scam offers access to properties that do not exist or that are not theirs to rent.Fraudsters typically use fake details and photos and offer prices well below the market rate.According to figures released by the Home Office that were taken from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB),...

When a UK chancellor announces changes to tax relief in a Budget speech, it does not usually generate big headlines. Nor does it create a lasting impression in the minds of voters. But in her inaugural Autumn Budget last October, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced controversial changes to the UK’s inheritance tax regime — most notably to reliefs and exemptions — that have had an enduring impact, both in the media and in the public consciousness. The principal rationale for changes to IHT reliefs is, of course, to raise funds for the...

This week, we’re in Chiswick, West London (Picture: David Sandison) Welcome back to What I Own – Metro’s property series where we speak to homeowners about getting on the ladder. This week, we’re in Chiswick, West London having a nose around Lexie Carducci’s two-bedroom flat. She bought the £442,000 home at just 24, having saved a 20% deposit. She’s made a career out of the property world too, having ‘fallen’ into the industry after she started dating an estate agent when she first moved to London at 18. Now, 15 years on, she describes...

A mansion in the centre of London set in acres of land and a private pool is a dream that most people can only ever dream of.Someone is now living that dream - in a four-acre estate complete with 40 bedrooms and and its internal decor adorned with millions of pounds worth of gold leaf.Set in London’s Regent’s Park, this property made headlines when it hit the market in March 2023 for its eyewatering price, meaning it was to become the UK’s most expensive home if it sold for the...