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Rightmove halves house price growth forecast

Rightmove halves house price growth forecast

Times20-07-2025
The country's largest property search website has halved its prediction for how much house prices will rise this year, with more homes up for sale than at any point in the last decade.
Rightmove, the first port of call for most would-be homebuyers, had previously estimated that UK house prices would rise, on average, by 4 per cent in 2025 but it has now cut this halfway through the year to 2 per cent.
Its data shows that the number of homes on the market is at its highest since 2015 and it is this 'high level of seller competition [that] is limiting price growth'. Sellers who are too punchy with their asking prices risk 'getting lost among the competition', it warned.
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Locals' fury at plan to move asylum seekers into £250,000 flats that they say will bring crime spike and violent protests
Locals' fury at plan to move asylum seekers into £250,000 flats that they say will bring crime spike and violent protests

Daily Mail​

timean hour ago

  • Daily Mail​

Locals' fury at plan to move asylum seekers into £250,000 flats that they say will bring crime spike and violent protests

Residents whose town could soon have a migrant hotel installed above shops in the middle of the high street fear it will cause 'mayhem' and lead to unrest. The Home Office sparked fury this week after it emerged they were secretly plotting, without consultation with the local council, to relocate 35 asylum seekers to a brand new development in Waterlooville, Hampshire, as part of a wider plan to lower the numbers in hotels and 'disperse' migrants across UK towns and cities. With just days to go until a decision is due to be made and amid a planned protest to block the move, residents have expressed concern at being kept in the dark over major decisions that could shape the future of their town. Pompey fan Steve, 58, who has lived in the area his whole life, told MailOnline: 'I've got a 13-year-old granddaughter, when you're about that age, you want to go out up the high street, but I'd be worried now. 'There's no criminal history checks on these people. It's easy to get swept up in that aspect, but it's not just that, I think it will attract trouble for us as well as the migrants. 'With the planned protests, I don't want people to start smashing things up because that plays into the hands of the Home Office and police who say 'see, there we go, right wing'. 'We have genuine concerns but the narrative can change quickly.' The earmarked development is a newly converted block of 19 flats called Waterloo House. It is owned by Mountley Group whose Director, Hersch Schneck, also owns a migrant hotel in nearby Cosham. At the top of the market, the flats could fetch £250,000 each but falling house prices mean taking them off the market and entering into a deal with Clearsprings, a company which procures accommodation for asylum seekers on behalf of the Home Office, could be a far more profitable move for Mountley Group. That's because the government could offer top of the market fees in order to get migrants into housing. As a result, Mountley Group could enjoy fixed guaranteed rates for several years and not be at risk of market turbulence. As well as private rentals, the Home Office is seeking medium-sized sites such as former student accommodation and old tower blocks to house migrants. The flats are located above a bric a brac store called The Junk Emporium which was once a Peacocks clothing store and before that, a Tesco. A member of staff at the shop, who rent from Mountley Group, told MailOnline how they only found out about the plans over Facebook and revealed the fallout of the row has severely impacted business. She explained: 'Yesterday we probably took around a third less. They [customers] think it's to do with us but it's not, we just rent the shop, they kind of assume we know what is going which we don't. 'We've had lots of phone calls and people coming in asking questions we can't answer. We were always under the impression that the flats above would be sold to commuters and people like that. 'The only thing the owners have told us is that it will not be for 35 single men, it is families. What concerns us is this protest. We have not had any assurances in the event of damage to the shop.' Others in Waterlooville, said to be named by soldiers returning from the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, feel just as left out of the conversation. Sid Conroy, who used to work for Airbus and now spends his time breeding racing pigeons, fears serious repercussions if the hotel gets given the greenlight. The 68-year-old said: 'I'm dead against it, there could be fights and trouble up here. You're going to have problems here, I can tell you that. 'There are people waiting years on housing waiting lists and it just seems like they get a brand new flat just like that? Why can't they look after us first? 'Our government is making us unhappy because of it. People are left behind, they're thinking more of the people coming in now. You get them coming over here, causing mayhem, causing trouble, all they get is a slap on the wrist and don't do it again. This is how I see it.' Jdarno Osborne, a mum whose children have challenging medical needs, says the hotel has left her angry because she has struggled to get stable housing in the past. The 36-year-old, who has lived in the area her whole life, said: 'It's funny how they can quickly house people from out of the country yet our own don't get support. 'I've got six kids, I lived in a two bed flat for thirteen years and yet somebody can come over and get helped straight away. 'My daughter is 15 now, they sometimes come here to hang with their friends. But it is worrying, there are things kicking off elsewhere because you hear of cases of rapes, harassment, stalking. 'We have to deal with this but people don't seem to care.' The row over the proposed hotel has triggered a political fallout which has seen local MP for Fareham and Waterlooville, Suella Braverman, the former Home Secretary, launch a petition to block the hotel going ahead. She said such sites make town centres 'no-go zones for the patriotic, common-sense majority' adding: 'This site, in the centre of our town, is utterly inappropriate for migrant accommodation. It must be stopped.' Her petition has garnered nearly 10,000 signatures. Leader of Labour-run Havant Borough Council, Councillor Phil Munday, said last week how the row came about after Clearsprings, who are procuring the site, sent their consultation to the wrong email address. In a furious public statement, he said he was 'extremely disappointed' that such an important issue was handled so poorly but went on to lambast Ms Braverman for 'headline-grabbing'. He added: 'They also failed to follow up to ensure a response of some kind was registered. These consultation exercises need to be taken seriously. The council have secured a 10-day consultation extension period to consider the plans. A decision is expected on 1st August. 'I look forward to the council providing a response that reflects the concerns of the borough', Mr Munday said. Nikki Woodley and her 14-year-old son Harry said they also have reservations if migrants were to be relocated to the high street. Nikki said: 'The council say the information was sent to the wrong person which I don't know if I agree with or not. But I'm obviously against the hotel. It's the worse place to put it because there are children everywhere here. 'I'm not saying they're going to be all horrible and bad and criminals but if they're illegal we don't know who they are, we've got no idea who they are, they could have PTSD. 'I don't suppose you'll come anyone who is for it.' Harry, who spoke to MailOnline with permission from his mum, said he sometimes hangs out on the high street and while the prospect of groups of young migrant men wouldn't bother him too much he said 'I'd probably feel a bit cautious' and consider socialising elsewhere. Kathleen Kingston, 67, who has lived in the area her whole life said housing people above shops on a high street is plain wrong. She went on: 'I think of the accommodation for locals like housing association, there are more people that need housing.' Patricia Walding, 87, added: 'These hotels are changing our towns, they are costing us a fortune and robbing the taxpayer while our own people are sleeping on the streets, I think it's disgusting.' But not everyone is so against the plans. One lady, an SEN teacher, who did not want to be named, feels local people are unloading unrelated grievances about their lives onto asylum seekers because they are 'an easy target'. The mum said: 'People have got different views, those views are not wanting to house asylum seekers. The views and reasoning behind it are one, very racist, and two, not the right reasons. You hear it a lot, just the chat about migrants. 'I don't believe for one second they care about the money side of things with the migrant criss or the actual safety of other people. 'I understand people are concerned about women and children. I'm concerned about the other side of it, the protests, all these people gathering. They'll say its peaceful but it definitely wont be. 'I've had asylum seekers as students, one of them has just past their level three and I couldn't be more proud. When you actually listen to someone like that and they tell you stories what it is really like to come from somehwere like that, you have no idea, you get to wake up in a warm bed every morning. When you see videos they won't show on the BBC. 'Everytime I share my views, people say it's stupid. But you can't help where you're born.' The Leader of Havant Borough Council, Councillor Phil Munday, said 'I understand we have an instructed duty from the Home Office to house asylum seekers within the borough, however it is important that the council works closely with all concerned to advise on the placement for these vulnerable people. 'I have taken immediate action and personally called The Home Office to request an extension to their consultation in order for us to respond accordingly. This has also been followed up with formal requests in writing from our officers. 'We are extremely disappointed that the company involved with this important consultation, considering the impact it may have on our local community, was not only sent to an incorrect email address, but they also failed to follow up to ensure a response of some kind was registered. These consultation exercises need to be taken seriously. Councillor Phil Munday added 'I also have grave concerns on the impact the recent video posted by MP Suella Braverman will have, and I would urge the community to act responsibly and allow us to address this matter formally in the correct manner. 'As part of my open letter to Suella Braverman MP on this matter I will be reminding her that those who could potentially be accommodated somewhere within our borough, will be supported asylum seekers. 'They are categorically not recognised by the state as illegal immigrants – regardless of the headline-grabbing title of Suella Braverman's petition – and I urge people to consider this in their views and actions.' As of late June 2025, there are approximately 32,000 asylum seekers housed in hotels in the UK. As of July 20, 2025, over 20,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats this year, according to the BBC.

The Caribbean islands that give you a passport if you buy a home
The Caribbean islands that give you a passport if you buy a home

BBC News

timean hour ago

  • BBC News

The Caribbean islands that give you a passport if you buy a home

Scroll through homes for sale in the Eastern Caribbean and it is no longer just bewitching beaches and a laid-back lifestyle being touted to woo and more property listings are offering a passport too – and political and social volatility in the US is said to be fuelling an upsurge in of the region's island nations – Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, and St Lucia – offer such citizenship by investment (CBI) from as little as $200,000 (£145,000).Buy a home, and you also get a passport that grants the holder visa-free access to up to 150 countries including the UK and Europe's Schengen the wealthy, the islands' absence of taxes such as capital gains and inheritance, and in some cases on income too, is another major draw. And all five of the region's schemes allow buyers to retain their existing citizenship. In Antigua, estate agents are struggling to keep up with demand, says Nadia Dyson, owner of Luxury Locations. "Up to 70% of all buyers right now are wanting citizenship, and the vast majority are from the US," she tells the BBC."We don't talk politics with them, but the unstable political landscape [in the US] is definitely a factor."This time last year, it was all lifestyle buyers and a few CBI. Now they're all saying 'I want a house with citizenship'. We've never sold so many before."Despite Antigua's programme having no residency requirement, some purchasers are looking to relocate full-time, Ms Dyson says, adding: "A few have relocated already."US citizens account for the bulk of CBI applications in the Caribbean over the past year, according to investment migration experts Henley & Partners. Ukraine, Turkey, Nigeria and China are among the other most frequent countries of origin of applicants, says the UK firm which has offices around the adds that overall applications for Caribbean CBI programmes have increased by 12% since the fourth quarter of 2024. Everything from gun violence to anti-Semitism is putting Americans on tenterhooks, according to the consultancy's Dominic Volek."Around 10-15% actually relocate. For most it's an insurance policy against whatever they're concerned about. Having a second citizenship is a good back-up plan," he Volek says the ease-of-travel advantages the Caribbean passports provide appeals to businesspeople, and may also present a security benefit. "Some US clients prefer to travel on a more politically-benign passport."Prior to the Covid pandemic, the US was not even on Henley's "radar", Mr Volek restrictions proved "quite a shock" for affluent people used to travelling freely on private jets, prompting the first surge in stateside CBI applications. Interest ratcheted up again after the 2020 and 2024 US elections."There are Democrats that don't like Trump but also Republicans that don't like Democrats," Mr Volek says."In the last two years we've gone from having zero offices in the US to eight across all major cities, with another two to three opening in the coming months." Robert Taylor, from Halifax in Canada, bought a property in Antigua where he plans to retire later this invested $200,000 just before the real estate threshold was raised to $300,000 last only does being a citizen avoid restrictions on length of stay, it also gives him the freedom to take advantage of business opportunities, he explains. "I chose Antigua because it has beautiful water, I find the people very, very friendly and it also means great weather for the later part of my life."Still, such programmes are not without controversy. When passport sales were first mooted in 2012 by the then Antiguan government as a way of propping up the ailing economy, some considered the ethics a little took to the streets in condemnation, recalls former Speaker of the House Gisele Isaac. "There was a sense of nationalism; people felt we were selling our identity, so to speak, to people who knew nothing about us," she of some other Caribbean nations that do not offer CBIs have also been quick to criticise, including St Vincent and the Grenadines' Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves. He has previously said citizenship should not be "a commodity for sale". Among the international community, there are fears that lax oversight may help criminals get through their European Union has threatened to withdraw its coveted visa-free access for Caribbean CBI countries, while the US has previously raised concerns over the potential for such schemes to be used as a vehicle for tax evasion and financial crime.A European Commission spokesperson tells the BBC that it is "monitoring" the five Caribbean schemes, and has been in talks with their respective authorities since says an ongoing assessment is seeking to substantiate if citizenship by investment constitutes "an abuse of the visa-free regime those countries enjoy vis-à-vis the EU and whether it is likely to lead to security risks for the EU".The Commission has acknowledged reforms carried out by the islands, which it says will have an impact on its evaluation. For their part, the five Caribbean nations have reacted angrily to claims that they are not doing enough to scrutinise Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has described his country's CBI programme as "sound and transparent", adding authorities had worked hard to ensure its government says passport sales have raised more than $1bn since the initiative's inception in 1993, paying for vital infrastructure including a state-of-the-art St Lucia, Prime Minister Philip J Pierre says the island adheres to the highest standards of security to ensure its CBI does not inadvertently aid illicit need to appease the world's superpowers with raising revenue is a delicate balancing act for small Caribbean nations with meagre resources, dependent on the whims of programmes were labelled a lifeline at a regional industry summit in April, with funds used for everything from cleaning up after natural disasters to shoring up national pension schemes. Antigua's Prime Minister Gaston Browne said money raised had brought his country back from the brink of bankruptcy over the past from buying property, other routes to Caribbean citizenship through investment typically include a one-off donation to a national development fund or similar. They range from $200,000 in Dominica for a single applicant, to $250,000 for a main applicant and up to three qualifying dependents in Dominica and St Kitts. In Antigua, investors also have the option of donating $260,000 to the University of the West the face of international pressure, the islands have committed to new measures to bolster oversight, including establishing a regional regulator to set standards, monitor operations and ensure six principles agreed with the US include enhanced due diligence, regular audits, mandatory interviews with all applicants, and the removal of a loophole that previously enabled an applicant denied by one country to apply in days, passport sales account for 10-30% of the islands' Huie, a journalist in St Kitts, says his country's CBI scheme is "generally well supported" as a result. "The public understand the value of it to the economy, and appreciate what the government has been able to do with the money."

If Kate and William upsize, will an old pile with a tennis court be a curse?
If Kate and William upsize, will an old pile with a tennis court be a curse?

Times

time2 hours ago

  • Times

If Kate and William upsize, will an old pile with a tennis court be a curse?

William and Kate are reported to be considering a move from their cosy four-bedroom home in the grounds of Windsor Castle for somewhere more expansive — and certainly grander. If it's true, they will be swapping their picturesque cottage for a gothic fort. Fort Belvedere, also in Windsor Great Park, and where King Edward VIII signed his abdication papers, has eight bedrooms, 59 acres, a swimming pool, tennis court and a walled garden. It's the upsizing equivalent of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle moving into Toad Hall. The idea makes sense on many levels. William is the future king, has three children, presumably a number of staff, and needs a house where you can find room to store ceremonial robes as well as boxes of Lego. The idea of more space for a young family will certainly be enticing. But some aspects of the move to somewhere much larger will be challenging too. And I know. I've done it. • Read more expert advice on property, interiors and home improvement Ten years ago, on a whim, I decided to sell my one-bedroom basement flat in north London for a grand eight-bedroom house with two staff cottages and an enormous walled garden set in 72 acres of Capability Brown parkland in Hertfordshire. We managed to get a hefty mortgage, some financial help from family, and a good price for my flat. Madness, of course, but the house and park, belonging to the youngest son of an earl, had fallen into slight disrepair, and my husband and I fancied a project. The house was so charming and so near London, had great potential, and was reached by a magical mile-long drive that took you into a stable-yard through the archway of a bell tower. Buying the property took every penny we had. There would be little spare each month to run and restore it. The immensity of the task ahead was very apparent the day we moved in. With all the previous owner's grand furniture and metres-high family portraits removed the house looked bleak, shabby and even larger than before. We couldn't afford a proper removal company so had hired some men with a lorry that we had found online. They got lost while trying to find the property and didn't arrive with my modest amount of furniture until 4am. When they had finished unloading our possessions I was dismayed to discover that everything we owned fitted into one small room of the house. Over the next few weeks I spent a lot of time on eBay searching for sofas and beds. When you upsize so dramatically it takes some time to adjust to the new proportions you now live within. A pretty three-seater sofa I bought online, which looked suitable in size and period for our Georgian house, appeared ridiculously small when I placed it in the drawing room, as if it had been stolen from a doll's house. Our bedroom was enormous too. It took about five minutes to cross it to reach the en suite bathroom. A few weeks after we moved in, the soles of my feet began to ache so much it hurt to walk. I went to see my GP because I thought I might have developed plantar fasciitis. The doctor asked me if I spent much time walking around in bare feet. Only to get to the bathroom each day, I told him. That was what had caused the problem. I would need to wear shoes to go for a wee in the future, he said. • Ten planning applications and £60,000: the torment of building a house Slowly, we managed to populate areas of the house and buy mattresses to go with the eight beds we now owned; paint the giant walls; sand the endless wooden floors; pull up stained carpets, restore rotten window frames and replace the 1970s kitchen units. It may still have looked more Bleak House than Downton Abbey, but it did at least look like people lived there. When you upsize so dramatically, it also takes a period of adjustment to use the extensive space you now have. We were used to living in an open-plan flat where everything was within easy reach of the sofa. So initially we tended to live within only three of the property's many rooms. It was hard to think of a reason to leave the sitting room you were in to sit in another sitting room instead just because you could. I became obsessed that it was a waste to have so many rooms that were unused, even unseen. So every evening when I got back from work I would wander round the house, and the two empty cottages, and peer into every room we owned. It seemed unappreciative not to do so. By the time I had done this each night it was time for bed. And, first world problem, I know, but losing your glasses or misplacing the house keys in a property this size is a monumental disaster. A whole weekend can be spent searching every room and garden bench to find them. Eventually, keys and spectacles were fixed with electronic trackers to help us locate them more speedily. And thank God for the Find My function on iPhones. Cash to cover his new home's running costs is unlikely to be a problem for the Prince of Wales. His income from the Duchy of Cornwall will more than cover the heating bills and the costs of a gardener or two at Fort Belvedere. We weren't quite so prosperous, so winters were chilly, parts of the house would effectively be closed until spring, and the walled garden looked a little underwhelming populated with only a couple of small vegetable beds and a row of dahlias. You needed a sat-nav to locate them they looked so minuscule. And it was three years before we could afford to renovate and use the overgrown tennis court. It looked more like an allotment than a Wimbledon lawn. • Babies or house: how would you rather spend half a million pounds? Eventually, we rented out the house for film and shoot locations to fund further renovations. Sometimes this was quite fun. We watched them film a scene from The Crown on our staircase (when Princess Margaret meets Antony Armstrong-Jones) and witnessed a gruesome murder take place in the cellar for a horror film. But it had it's drawbacks too: you would get shouted at for flushing the loo upstairs when they were filming an emotional scene downstairs; objects you cherished would never be seen again unless you watched the film they had been borrowed for; and sometimes I'd get home from work, desperate to flop in front of the TV, only to discover the sitting room had been turned into a bathroom and the sofa had been replaced by a bidet. One July evening I returned to find reindeer and snow in the garden and a bunch of small children running round a dining room laden with festive food and tinsel. A department store was filming its Christmas ad campaign at our house. After five years of extraordinary adventures, cashflow challenges and unforgettable house parties — one New Year's Eve all 32 guests stayed overnight with us — we were made an offer we couldn't refuse to sell the house. The family who brought it from us renovated it for seven years before moving in. In that time, we've already bought and sold three times. We now live in a four-bedroom farmhouse in Cumbria, a house more appropriate to the income I receive from the Duchy of Langmead. It's probably the house that I've been happiest in. I quite like being downwardly mobile. My upsize days are over. William and Kate's are only just beginning.

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