Jack Ray

MAYFAIR RESIDENTIAL MARKET UPDATE Thoughts and wisdom from the Mayfair Guru “Is it goodbye to the good buys?”   £150M of Mayfair exchanged sales in the last 5 weeks, with sales up to £5M amounting to £83M. Does this highlight that now is the time for the buyers’ opportunities?   Multiple price reductions have seen only a 5% discount from asking price to exchange.   All sales over £5M have been for either repeat sales in new developments or immaculate in 2nd hand period stock and selling between £4,000 to £5,000 psf range.   Sales up to £5M have been mainly unmodernised and in period buildings around £2,250 psf.   Although a limited dataset, Wetherell was the primary instructed agent on 35% market share.   Of the properties currently under offer – only 50% came on in 2025. The longest on the market and now under offer after price reductions have been 8 years / 3 years / 2.5 years or less.   The 2025 under offers have been launched at perceived market prices and went swiftly under offer.   For those with FOMO (fear of missing out) – worry not because there is currently the largest amount of property currently for sale – ever - and with nearly 50% with price reductions.   The challenge for buyers is identifying the market sellers – either new to market at selling prices or bargains to be negotiated on long in the tooth stock.  

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Complex case specialist Market Harborough Building Society has reduced residential larger loan rates by up to 0.60%, for cases between £3m and £5m. The specialist lender’s variable, and two, three and five-year fixed larger loan rates have dropped by the following: Tier one rates: by 0.35% Tier two rates: by 0.60% Tier three rates: by 0.15% Its standard residential rates for cases up to £3m remain unchanged. The Society’s larger loan rates now start from 5.24% fixed and 5.59% variable for tier one cases, with a fixed product fee of £2,495. The specialist lender will also reduce its Standard Variable Rate (SVR) by 0.20% to 7.39% on 1 October. https://lnkd.in/extfqieA

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If you underwrite a development at £70 per sq ft, but are getting rents that top £100 per sq ft, that’s got to put a little pep in your step, right? It certainly has for Aviva Investors, according to this piece from Tim Burke in Estates Gazette this week. Aviva is standing by its conviction in offices with three big schemes in the Square Mile at varying stages of progression and is on the hunt for more opportunities in the City. Demand is on the up, supply remains tight. The maths is starting to make sense, even if margins remain uncomfortably tight. Offices, good offices in the right locations, are back. And while flexibility in how we work and hybrid working is here to stay, so too is the importance of the office. We heard earlier this week from Revolut boss Nik Storonsky how vital its new HQ is to its global ambitions and in driving innovation, here Aviva’s new global head of real estate James Stevens puts it even more simply: “It’s unequivocal. You need an office.” As Dan Carey would say, viva la office renaissance. Head to https://lnkd.in/e4qRCc65 to read the article. 📸 Aviva Investors’ One Liverpool Street. Designed by Eric Parry Architects.

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🏘️ What happened in the property market during Q2? 🏘️    Our Connells Group Market Report for Q2 2025 revealed some encouraging trends in buyer behaviour following the stamp duty changes at the end of Q1.     What we saw:  👉 Buyer registrations grew by 6.8% (June 2025 vs March 2025)  👉 Buyer offers increased by 0.9% quarter-on-quarter  👉 A marginal 0.9% year-on-year decrease in total applicants registered     While we saw a slight softening in year-on-year applicant numbers, the quarter showed consistent month-on-month growth in buyer registrations. By June, registrations were sitting 6.8% higher than at the end of Q1. Added to that, buyer offers continued to climb even after the stamp duty changes, suggesting ongoing confidence in the market fundamentals. These metrics point to a resilient property market where serious buyers remain active and engaged.     Want to understand more about the UK property market? Read our complete Q2 2025 Connells Group Market Report for the full analysis 🔗➡️ https://lnkd.in/e9YKUpFW #UKProperty #HousingMarket #ResidentialSales #MarketInsights Chris Rosindale

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✅ Members of AREF (The Association of Real Estate Funds), BPF and Investment Property Forum have voted overwhelmingly in favour of creating Real Estate:UK (RE:UK).   Launching on 1 January 2026, RE:UK will serve as a unified convenor and voice for the whole of the real estate sector, bringing together institutional and private investors, property companies, developers, asset owners, managers and advisers.   Its work will focus on six key pillars: 📢 Advocacy 📊 Research and data 💡 Thought leadership and innovation 🤝 Networking and events 📚 Upskilling and training 📏 Standards and guidance   This is an exciting milestone and a strong endorsement of a shared vision for a unified and powerful voice for real estate in the UK.   ➡️ You can read the full press release here: https://lnkd.in/erfj_2Hb

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Later living developer-operator Pegasus Homes has secured new debt financing for its rental strategy and a new £32m loan for its ‘for sale’ stock from Barclays UK Corporate Bank and Leumi UK respectively. https://lnkd.in/eDQzf48e

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