Housing market in England and Wales weakening due to Iran war, say estate agents
Fears of higher mortgage rates and rising inflation as a result of the Middle East conflict are leading to a subdued and downbeat housing market, according to estate agents.Demand from potential homebuyers across England and Wales has shown a “noticeable softening” recently, according to a monthly survey of estate agents by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).Members have told the professional body that buyers and sellers are becoming more cautious, and many agents have cited clients who are worried about whether inflation and interest rates will rise in the coming months, leading to slower sales, fewer homes on the market, and more price-sensitive buyers.The Bank of England warned last month that interest rates may have to increase in the coming months as “higher inflation is unavoidable” because of the war in the Middle East and resulting jump in oil and gas prices.At the same time, mortgage rates are likely to be affected by the current sharp rise in government borrowing costs, as swap rates – which lenders use to price their fixed-rate mortgages – tend to move in tandem with government bond yields.
Tarrant Parsons, head of market research and analysis at the RICS, said: “Until there is a clearer path for inflation and borrowing costs, activity and sentiment look set to remain subdued, particularly across southern England and London where affordability pressures are most acute.”The RICS said a net balance of 34% of its members said inquiries from new buyers in April had fallen since the previous month.This is a slight improvement on the net balance of 40% who said inquiries had fallen in March, but still “indicative of weak market momentum”.The index measures the difference between the share of agents reporting rising and falling new buyer inquiries.The volume of agreed sales deteriorated in April, with a net balance of 36% of members reporting a fall, versus 35% a month earlier.
Estate agents are pessimistic about this improving much over the next three months.The report added that the flow of new properties being put up for sale was “largely stagnant” over April, while 34% more members reported decreases in house prices over the past three months than increases, marking a “further deterioration” from the -25% reading seen last month.However, there is a widening regional divide in house price growth, with stronger price falls being reported in London, the south-east, East Anglia and the south-west, while the north-west and north of England continued to post marginally positive readings.In the rental market, demand is outpacing supply, as a rising number of landlords leave the sector in face of increasing regulation and higher taxes.RICS members said the level of demand from new tenants has been increasing, with a net balance of 14% reporting a rise over the past three months, while there was a drop in new instructions from landlords to put their properties up for rent.
A net balance of 25% of respondents expect rents to rise over the coming months,The RICS report ties in with results from Savills, the estate agent, which said that it had seen “greater caution” among buyers and sellers in its UK residential business since the onset of the Middle East conflict,The company, which was giving an update to shareholders before its annual general meeting, said this caution has resulted in longer completion timeframes, and transactions overall for the first quarter increased by just 1% year on year,
‘We have the same monster’: three women brought down their rapist – this is what happened next
In 2023, the Guardian profiled a group of women who had formed an unshakeable bond after they saw their attacker convicted and decided to waive their anonymity. That interview has now led to a documentaryThe three women refer to each other as “the girls”, even though they are in their 40s and 50s, long past girlhood. They have a WhatsApp group called Sister Solidarity, even though they are biologically unrelated.The unshakeable bond between Laura Hughes and Lauren Preston, both 45, and Mary Sharp, 58, came about for the saddest reason – all three were raped and abused by Martin Butler, a manipulative drug dealer on their estate in London who groomed and coerced them decades ago.Butler is now serving a lengthy sentence for the rape and buggery of Sharp in 1988
Did breakthrough in US fentanyl crisis start in China?
As Donald Trump travels to Beijing this week, fentanyl – and China’s role in its supply chain – remains an enduring point of acrimony in bilateral relations.At a UN meeting in March, the US again accused China of failing to stop its chemical industry selling the precursors required to make the potent synthetic opioid, while China suggested the US was shifting the blame for its domestic drug problem.Yet there are growing signs that the US fentanyl crisis has turned a corner – and some experts believe that interventions made in China have played a key role.“There was a supply shock: the purity of fentanyl fell,” said Keith Humphreys, a professor at Stanford University. “The question is why was there a supply shock
Getting children to eat their vegetables starts in the womb, researchers suggest
Rather than bribery, or hiding carrots under ketchup, the key may be to expose foetuses to healthy flavoursIt is an age-old battle with small children that most parents will recognise: please, please, eat your vegetables.Some will read them books with titles such as The Boy Who Loved Broccoli. Others have been known to smother veg in tomato ketchup, or mix avocado and fruit with Greek yoghurt and call it icecream. Or resort to plain bribery.Now, a study suggests there may be a more effective approach – but mothers need to start early
Older people risk mental decline if they do long hours of caring, UK study shows
The stresses and strains of caring for someone for 50 hours or more a week leads to “accelerated cognitive decline” in middle-aged and older people, research shows.However, providing care for only five to nine hours a week has the opposite effect, boosting brain health so much that the benefits last until older age.Carers UK called the findings “extremely worrying” and said they highlight how long hours spent providing care raises the risk of social isolation and burnout.Dr Baowen Xue, an academic at University College London and the lead author of the paper, said: “Our study shows that the caring responsibilities many people take on in later life can be a double-edged sword.“On the one hand, lighter caring responsibilities can be good for you by providing mental stimulation from interacting with loved ones or others you’re helping and a sense of purpose and usefulness
Capacity of lifts not kept up with UK obesity levels, study shows
Lifts are no longer big enough to fit the UK’s larger citizens, according to researchers.A study of maximum capacity in elevators in the UK and mainland Europe found lifts have not kept up with increasing obesity levels, raising concerns about safety and equity.The research, presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul, Turkey, used photos of weight limits for 112 lifts manufactured between 1972 and 2024 in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria and Finland.Prof Nick Finer, the president and chair of the International Prader-Willi Syndrome Organisation and lead author of the study, compared the average maximum weight allowance (total weight allowance divided by maximum passenger limits) with the average adult weight in the year the lift was manufactured.The research found that despite adults’ continued growing weight, total lift limits have not increased since about 2004
More than 6,000 children treated at obesity clinics in England, figures show
More than 6,000 children living with obesity, including hundreds as young as four, have required treatment at specialist NHS weight-loss clinics, new figures reveal.NHS England data, published for the first time, underlines the scale of the growing childhood obesity crisis.Since the first Complications from Excess Weight clinic (CEW) opened in 2021, the NHS has treated 6,497 children and teenagers. Of these, 423 were four years old, 1,088 were aged between five and eight, 1,791 were aged nine to 12 and 3,137 were aged between 13 and 17. The age of a further 58 is unknown
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Ah, ah, ah, ah - I saved my dad’s life with a little help from The Office and the Bee Gees