Welcome to our weekly update giving you the key stories, breaking news and topical analysis from the past week up to today, 17 August 2018.
Whether Brexit will change things for landlords letting to EU nationals remains to be seen, but investors overall are still confident about the UK’s property market despite the political situation. Meanwhile, Manchester has left London trailing behind as the UK’s most liveable city, and we look at the benefits of the latest smart home technology. Read on for seven top stories you might have missed this week…
1. European investors returning to UK property market undeterred by Brexit
After the EU referendum in June 2016, some foreign investors began to shy away from UK property buying, but it seems the market is bouncing back. Click here to read the full story.
2. Boris Johnson calls for stamp duty cuts to kick-start UK housing market
Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson has said that “absurdly high” stamp duty rates are restricting the country’s property sector, while builders banking land is pushing house prices up. Click here to read the full story.
3. Manchester races ahead of London as UK’s most liveable city
The latest rankings from the Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual survey of the world’s most liveable cities has been released, and Manchester has excelled. Click here to read the full story.
4. Embracing smart home technology could be a lucrative investment
There are now thousands of products on the market that can make your home “smarter”, and almost a quarter of Brits already own more than one smart home device. Click here to read the full story.
5. Where are Generation Rent going to live if landlords are forced out of market?
The government is under pressure to look again at the private rented sector as rocketing demand is now coupled with a shrinking availability of rental homes. Click here to read the full story.
6. Landlords thinking of renting to students should consider these top areas
Buy-to-let investors can make healthy yields from renting to students, but many are still reluctant to open up their properties to the “hard-partying” tenant type. Click here to read the full story.
7. What will happen to EU nationals’ right to rent after Brexit?
All EU nationals have an automatic right to rent a home in the UK, but the government now needs to clarify the rules as the possibility of a no-deal Brexit is still on the cards. Click here to read the full story.
