The 7am Cut
In the news this week: the UK economy continues to grow alongside rental prices and house prices; and Manchester comes out on top as one of the best places to invest right now…
UK economy continues recovery with 0.6% growth
“The UK’s economy grew by 0.6% between April and June as it continued its recovery from the recession at the end of last year. The latest figure was in line with forecasts and follows a 0.7% increase in the first three months of this year
“The UK economy has now grown strongly for two quarters, following the weakness we saw in the second half of last year,” said Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the Office for National Statistics, which released the figures”…
– Dearbail Jordan, BBC News
UK rental price growth close to record high
“UK rental price growth remained unchanged at a near-record high in a sign of the impact of high borrowing costs and low housing availability on tenants.
Average UK private rents increased by 8.6% in the 12 months to July, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday”…
– Valentina Romei, Financial Times
House prices rise for fourth consecutive month as mortgage rates fall
“House prices rose for the fourth consecutive month in June, as momentum returned to the market following eight months of annual price falls. The average price tag for a home increased by 2.7pc, taking the average cost of a home to £288,000, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
Experts forecast the market to continue to rebound this year after the Bank of England cut interest rates for the first time since 2020 this month”…
– Josh Kirby, The Telegraph
Manchester’s appeal as home and workplace continues to thrive
“The latest edition of the UK’s Top UK Residential Investment Cities report sees Manchester overtake London to third place in the table, behind Edinburgh and Glasgow.
The data showed Manchester’s record house price growth of 33% during the last five years – eclipsing the report’s 20-city average of 15% – and predicted GDP growth at an annual rate of 2.2% over the next five years, also higher than the overall average of 1.8%”…
– Keith Osborne, BuyAssociation
245,000 sq ft office project approved in Stockport’s regen
“An additional 245,000 sq ft of workspace and 100 apartments at Stockport Exchange, the council’s own plans for a community hub in Marple, and a 45-home scheme on High Street all enjoyed safe passage though the planning process”…
– Dan Whelan, Place North
Manchester trumps London in residential investment ranking
“Hailed as the fastest-growing tech city in Europe by Tech Nation in 2020 and home to regional headquarters for Amazon.com and Klarna, the city is the largest in the group of 10 councils in the metropolitan county known as Greater Manchester.
Its economic output, based on gross value added, is forecast to grow 2.2% by 2027, faster than that of London, according to consultancy EY’s Economic Growth Report. Employment among those aged 16 to 64 rose to 71.4% in 2023 from 67.8% the previous year, data from the Office for National Statistics show”…
