At the end of any given year, you could usually argue that the UK property industry has been busy. However, 2024 has also been highly transformative with the introduction of the Renters Rights Bill, the first base rate cut in 4 years, and of course, a 'painful' budget delivered by a new government.
Here, we take a look back at the biggest stories of 2024.
10: Budget 2024: Another wasted opportunity to address UK housing issues
We kickstart our top ten most-read articles with coverage of the Spring Budget and a final chance for the then Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt to address at least some of the mounting issues facing the UK property market ahead of a highly anticipated General Election. With so much at stake, surely this would be the year where the Conservatives finally attempted to appease potential landlord voters?
Our tenth most popular article of the year
9: The fate of Section 21 – the industry responds to Labour government’s impact on landlords
Following the General Election back in July, all eyes in the property industry turned to the housing market which, despite being under the tenure of 16 different Housing Ministers since the Conservatives came to power, was not in a good place. In particular, landlords, who had long perceived they were under attack from the government, were keen to see how they would be affected following a change at no 10.
The full article can be found here
8: Revealed: The most expensive streets in Britain
Market analysis from Rightmove back in April this year highlighted the most expensive streets to buy a home on in the UK.
As you would imagine, the capital dominates the luxury property market and is not only home to the top five most expensive streets to purchase a property on in the UK but also remains the most expensive place to rent.
As Tim Bannister of Rightmove said: "Although the possibility of buying one of these homes is limited to a very lucky few, there’s clearly a fascination with these prestigious homes."
You can read our 8th most popular of the year here
7: Bank of England cuts base rate: the property industry reacts
On the 1st of August, The Bank of England reduced the base rate by 0.25% to 5.0%, marking the first reduction in rate since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The split decision (5-4) came amid an improved economic outlook and more favourable inflation data allowing the Bank to relax the degree of policy restrictiveness' that had been in place.
Our seventh most popular article this year was a round-up of some of the property industry's reactions to the news that many homeowners had been waiting for.
6: Are landlords really fleeing the sector?
A predicted 'landlord exodus' has been on the cards for years. Whether brought on by changes to tax, legislation, spiralling costs, or even Brexit, it always seems like landlords are quitting the market. Or are they?
In our sixth most-read article of 2024, Allison Thompson, National Lettings Managing Director at Leaders Romans Group argues that while it’s true that some have decided to stop being landlords, many rental properties that have come to the sales market have done so simply because landlords have retired.
You can read Allison's article here
5: Eight things that will devalue your home in 2024
With the effects of the cost of living crisis still playing havoc with people's finances back in February, Yopa's timely analysis of certain property-related features which could reduce the value of a seller's home quickly became our fifth most-read article of the year.
Artificial grass, lack of parking, and pebbledash are all likely to be a serious deterrent for those who think differently, according to Yopa who added that buyers would be put off by property features that require an additional budget during financially challenging times.
4: The UK areas where house prices are falling the most
The fourth most popular article on Property Reporter this year was an analysis of the UK housing market published in June by Open Property Group.
At first glance, the firm's topline analysis of the market might suggest that things were looking up after a tricky couple of years. However, despite the wider picture of positive growth, almost half of LA districts had at that time actually recorded falling prices over the previous 12 months.
CEO Jason Harris-Cohen explains: "While the national picture shows annual growth of almost 2%, price changes in specific local markets can be wildly different."
3: New seller asking prices fall 'beyond seasonal norms': Rightmove
Last month, Rightmove reported that pre and post-budget 'jitters' were the likely cause of an unseasonal 1.4% drop in average new seller asking prices.
The previous month's budget had created new challenges for the housing market, according to the portal and appeared to have caused a larger-than-normal seasonal slowdown in pricing ahead of the run-up to Christmas.
Yet despite the doom and gloom, our third most-read story on Property Reporter this year also highlighted that the market remains more positive than last year, with average asking prices (at the time of publication) 1.2% higher than in 2023 and in line with forecasts of a 1% overall increase for 2024. Rightmove now predicts that we’ll see a stronger year for prices in 2025.
2: Universal Studios could wipe as much as £50k off local Bedford house prices
Our 2nd most popular story this year, published in July, centred around an analysis of the predicted impact of the planned Universal Studios theme park near Bedford on local house prices.
Along with the excitement among the wider population for a taste of Hollywood, new theme parks also bring hordes of visitors, noise pollution, and worsening traffic congestion argued Yopa. Over time, things like this can have an impact on the level of buyer demand in the area, and as demand slips, so too will house prices.
The full analysis can be found here.
1: Labour's Budget
It should come as no surprise (and also feel somewhat satisfying that we have come full circle here) that the most-read stories of the year centred around our coverage of Labour's first Budget. The language used by the government in the press during the run-up such as "societal black hole", "worse than we ever imagined", and the fantastically blunt and ominous "painful" ensured that all eyes would be on new Chancellor Rachel Reeves as she delivered Labour's first budget in a generation.
For the property industry, changes made to Right to Buy discounts and CGT (particularly for landlords) proved to be the most interesting as did the surprise announcement that stamp duty for second homes was to increase before the dust had fully settled following one of the most eagerly anticipated Autumn Statements in recent times.
