Robust Demand Pushes U.K. Home Prices to All-Time Highs
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Robust Demand Pushes U.K. Home Prices to All-Time Highs

Frenzied activity despite continued Covid-19 restrictions pushed the average asking price up.

By Liz Lucking
Tue, Apr 20, 2021 12:29pmGrey Clock 2 min

Homes hitting the market in the U.K. are more expensive than ever, with prices propelled by a flood of zealous buyers, tax breaks and low mortgage rates, according to a report Monday from Rightmove.

From March 7-April 10, asking prices for newly listed homes jumped 2.1% from the roughly four weeks prior, equating to an increase of £6,733 (A$12,096) that pushed the average national asking price to an all-time high of £327,797 (A$588,909), the online property portal said.

“This is only the second time over the past five years that prices have increased by over 2% in a month, so it’s a big jump, especially bearing in mind that the lockdown restrictions are still limiting the population’s movements and activities,” Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property data, said in the report.

In England, lockdown measures eased last week, and the government has said it hopes to lift almost all restrictions by the tail-end of June if strict conditions are met. Individual timelines are in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The property market has remained fully open and operating throughout wider limitations, “and is fully active to such an extent that frenzied buyer activity has helped to push the average price of property coming to market to an all-time high,” Mr. Bannister said.

“The stars have aligned for this spring price surge, with buyers’ new space requirements being part of the constellation alongside cheap mortgages, stamp duty holiday extensions in England and Wales, government support for 95% mortgages and a shortage of suitable property to buy,” he added, noting that the coronavirus vaccination rollout is also injecting growing optimism into the market.

In March, the government announced that it would prolong the stamp duty holiday. Introduced last July, the tax break scrapped the transfer tax on the first £500,000 of a home sale, for a maximum savings of £15,000.

Originally set to expire at the end of March, the initiative has been fully extended until the end of June and will taper off by the end September.

But as those economic support measures begin to come to a close later in the year, “some of the froth is likely to come off this spring surge,” though activity is expected to remain robust for the remainder of the year, the report said.



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As tariffs bite, Sydney’s MAISON de SABRÉ is pushing deeper into the US, holding firm on pricing and proving that resilience in luxury means more than survival.

Early indications from several big regional real-estate boards suggest March was overall another down month.

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The nearly 10,000-square-foot home stands right at the entrance to the Amazon billionaire’s grand, $165 million estate.

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A home that’s right at the entrance to Jeff Bezos’s Beverly HIlls estate, which the billionaire purchased for $165 million in 2020, is now on the market asking $19.8 million.

Shaded by mature olive trees, the three-story modern mansion on Angelo Drive spans nearly 10,000 square feet, and includes five bedrooms, a bar and lounge, a home cinema, a pool with floating benches, and a 15-car garage.

The modern home centers around a striking wood staircase that extends through all three floors, creating an eye-shaped spiral.

Other design choices include a full-height black marble fireplace, herringbone wood flooring, grayscale marble backsplashes in the kitchen and bathroom, banks of floor-to-ceiling windows and a seating area in the middle of the pool.

There is also an outdoor kitchen and eating area poolside, and a living space with sliding doors that open directly onto the pool deck, for indoor/outdoor living.

The home was built in 2021 and designed by Gabbay Architects for the owner, who purchased the underlying property for $4.1 million in 2015, according to property records accessed through PropertyShark.

The seller, who runs a Beverly Hills-based plastic surgery practice, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Benedict Canyon house came to market Friday with Tomer Fridman of Christie’s International Real Estate. He could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Bezos estate is also known as the Warner Estate, named after its first owner, Hollywood mogul Jack Warner of the Warner Bros.

After Warner, the 9-acre estate was owned by music executive and film producer David Geffen, followed by Bezos. The property includes a palatial Gregorian Revival mansion built in 1939 and designed by architect Florence Yoch to befit the status of one of the most powerful men in Hollywood.

At $19.8 million, the new listing offers quite a deal compared to other properties neighbouring Bezos. In Florida, the owner of a vacant lot next door to the Amazon founder’s estate on Indian Creek Island is asking $150 million for it.

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Renovations in Yorkshire included the revamp of a 30-room wing where a descendant of the estate’s builder still lives.

Market downdrafts tempt people to adjust their investments, but that’s not always a wise choice.

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