Welcome to Taking Stock on Monday 18th September 2023
Taking Stock: Is a look at today's top business news & investment views plus we cover the winners, losers, the most read company news & the most followed. Today this includes:
Rightmove says there are signs that activity is starting to pick up after a subdued August, with the number of new properties coming to market up by 12% in the first week of September.
“Plenty of sales are being agreed for properties that are priced at the right level, and those that are selling are still taking five days less than at this time in 2019,” said Tim Bannister, director of property science at Rightmove.
“We’re also seeing the number of fall-throughs decline as market conditions and mortgage rates stabilise,” Bannister added.
Mortgage lenders have recently been cutting their fixed-rate deals, on hopes that UK interest rates may be close to their peak. Last week The Mortgage Works, a division of Nationwide, launched a five-year fixed-rate deal priced at 4.99%, a sign that a “mortgage rate war” was well under way.
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FALLERS
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TOP BUSINESS STORIES
Proportion of UK house sellers cutting asking price reaches ‘highest in over a decade’
UK house sellers are cutting their asking prices at the fastest rate in more than a decade, after high interest rates dampened demand for property this summer.
The proportion of homes on the market which have had at least one price reduction is at its highest level since January 2011, the property website Rightmove has reported.
According to Rightmove, more than 36% of properties on the market have had their asking price reduced at least once, compared with the pre-pandemic average of 31.2%, as sellers tried to attract offers.
Rightmove says there are signs that activity is starting to pick up after a subdued August, with the number of new properties coming to market up by 12% in the first week of September.
“Plenty of sales are being agreed for properties that are priced at the right level, and those that are selling are still taking five days less than at this time in 2019,” said Tim Bannister, director of property science at Rightmove.
“We’re also seeing the number of fall-throughs decline as market conditions and mortgage rates stabilise,” Bannister added.
Mortgage lenders have recently been cutting their fixed-rate deals, on hopes that UK interest rates may be close to their peak. Last week The Mortgage Works, a division of Nationwide, launched a five-year fixed-rate deal priced at 4.99%, a sign that a “mortgage rate war” was well under way.
Rental prices rise at fastest rate for nine years, figures show
The cost of renting a home rose by 12% in the year to August, according to estate agency Hamptons - the highest since it started its survey in 2014.
A typical monthly rent of a newly-let property is now £1,304, it said.
The rise in the past 12 months was more than the increase seen over the four years to 2019, Hamptons said.
Pressure on landlords from high mortgage rates and rising demand from tenants has been pushing up rental costs.
Brexit: Labour will seek re-write of deal, Starmer says
Sir Keir Starmer has said he will seek a "much better" Brexit deal with the EU if Labour wins the next general election.
The opposition leader told the Financial Times that the current deal, which is due for review in 2025, is "too thin".
Sir Keir was speaking at a conference of centre-left leaders in Montreal, Canada.
But he ruled out re-joining the customs union, the single market or the EU.