UK property investment magazineFriday, 17 July 2026
Market Snapshot
UK Avg House Price £278,024 ▼ 0.6% MoM2yr Fixed 3.96% ▲ 0.91ppBoE Base Rate 3.75% Avg Rental Yield 6.1% Updated weeklyUK Avg House Price £278,024 ▼ 0.6% MoM2yr Fixed 3.96% ▲ 0.91ppBoE Base Rate 3.75% Avg Rental Yield 6.1% Updated weekly

Author: Anna Ibbotson

The worst of the housing slowdown may finally be passing. That is the tentative message from the latest RICS UK Residential Market Survey, which shows several key indicators moving in a less negative direction for a second month running, an early signal that the UK housing market outlook is improving for investors.
News

UK housing market outlook brightens as RICS sees the slowdown starting to fade

RICS data hints the UK housing market outlook is finally turning. See which indicators improved in June and what it means for your next move.

By Anna Ibbotson · July 15, 2026
UK room rents have reached record highs in six of the country's regions at the same time as the supply of flatshare rooms has contracted for the first time in three years, according to the latest rental index from SpareRoom.
News

UK room rents hit record highs as flatshare supply falls for the first time in three years

UK room rents just hit record highs in six regions as flatshare supply falls. See where rents are rising fastest and what it means for landlords.

Anna Ibbotson · July 15, 2026
Institutional money is still chasing London's rental market. Brydell Partners, a London-based real estate investment firm, has acquired 325 rental homes across five schemes in the capital, in one of the more eye-catching examples of London build to rent investment this year.
News

Brydell Partners seals £85m London build to rent investment with 325-home portfolio

Brydell Partners' £85m London build to rent investment lands 325 homes in three commuter boroughs. What the deal signals for landlords and investors.

Anna Ibbotson · July 15, 2026
The former Spaghetti House in Fitzrovia is on the market at £4m. Why this restaurant property for sale in London is a rare West End opportunity.
Commercial Property Investment News

Spaghetti House landmark seeks £4m buyer in rare Fitzrovia opportunity

The former Spaghetti House in Fitzrovia is on the market at £4m. Why this restaurant property for sale in London is a rare West End opportunity.

Anna Ibbotson · July 15, 2026
Artificial intelligence businesses are set to lease one million sq ft of London office space in 2026, according to Knight Frank, twice the amount AI companies signed for last year and the equivalent of roughly two fully occupied Gherkin buildings.
Commercial Property Investment News

AI firms on course to double their London office take-up this year

AI companies London office space take-up is set to hit one million sq ft in 2026, double last year. See what the boom means for rents and investors.

Anna Ibbotson · July 10, 2026
Metro Bank has pushed lending to the very top of the loan-to-value scale with a new joint borrower sole proprietor mortgage allowing first-time buyers to borrow over 95 per cent and up to 100 per cent of a property's value, backed by the income of an immediate family member. Brokers have welcomed the launch but cautioned that it "needs very careful advice".
News

Metro Bank takes joint borrower sole proprietor mortgage to 100 per cent as brokers urge caution

Metro Bank has pushed lending to the very top of the loan-to-value scale with a new joint borrower sole proprietor mortgage allowing first-time buyers to borrow over 95…

Anna Ibbotson · July 8, 2026
Leading economists, including an adviser to the man expected to be Britain's next prime minister, have called for stamp duty and council tax to be swept away and replaced with a single annual property value tax, in what would amount to the biggest shake-up of property taxation in a generation.
News

Economists urge Andy Burnham to scrap stamp duty and council tax for 1% property value tax

Top UK economists urge Andy Burnham to scrap stamp duty and council tax for a 1% annual property value tax. What UCL's Prosperity 2030 plan means for property…

Anna Ibbotson · July 7, 2026
Britain's rearmament is about to become a property story. The government's newly unveiled £298bn Defence Investment Plan, which added a further £15bn this week, is not just a matter of submarines, missiles and drones.
UK Property Insights

How Britain’s £298bn defence plan is rewriting the industrial property playbook

Britain's £298bn Defence Investment Plan could unlock 32m sq ft of new industrial and logistics demand. Here is what it means for property investors.

Anna Ibbotson · July 1, 2026
Letting and property management businesses risk being caught out, not by failing to comply with the Renters' Rights Act, but by failing to grasp what it does to their numbers, according to financial specialists The Property CA.
News

Renters’ Rights Act: letting agencies warned they are underestimating the financial fallout

The Property CA warns letting agencies are underestimating the financial fallout from the Renters' Rights Act, urging cash-flow modelling and scenario planning now.

Anna Ibbotson · June 30, 2026
Three in every five homes put up for sale since January are still looking for a buyer, according to fresh figures from the property portal Zoopla, as stubbornly high mortgage rates continue to sap the confidence of would-be purchasers.
UK Property Insights

Priced to sit: three in five homes stay unsold as mortgage rates test buyers’ nerve

High mortgage rates have left 60% of UK homes listed since January unsold, Zoopla reports. See the regional winners and losers, the latest rate moves and what it…

Anna Ibbotson · June 30, 2026
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