UK rents soar as high interest rates hit property market – as it happened

Let by signs outside a block of flats in Slough. Photograph: Maureen McLean/Shutterstock

3.00pm BST

Afternoon summary

Time for a recap.

Residential rents across Britain are rising at their fastest on record, as high interest rates push up costs for landlords and shut would-be buyers out of the property market.

Hamptons reports that the average rate of annual rental growth on a newly-let property hit 12.0% in August, the fastest growth since its index started in 2014. The average monthly rent for a newly-let home in August was £1,304.

“Forces slowing property purchases are leaking into rentals & helping fan inflation-busting inc’s in the cost of lettings.” A shortage in rentals is compounded by anemic construction levels @BloombergUK @Hamptons1869 pic.twitter.com/kIrduJIHpK

— Emma Fildes (@emmafildes) September 18, 2023

UK house sellers are cutting their asking prices at the fastest rate in more than a decade, after high interest rates dampened demand for property this summer.

The Rightmove index is just new listings.
They also report "36.3% of properties currently for sale have had a price reduction, with an average reduction equating to £22,700 nationally (6.2%)" https://t.co/wQjlGCRpUp

— Neal Hudson (@resi_analyst) September 18, 2023

The eurozone will suffer a “mild technical recession” in the second half of this year, S&P Global Market Intelligence have predicted.

Sir Martin Sorrell’s digital marketing group S4 Capital has cut 500 jobs in the face of a plunge in spending from clients fearful of an impending recession.

The number of pubs in England and Wales that shut their doors for good has risen sharply this year….

…while UK manufacturers are cutting back on their hiring plans, as output and new orders slow.

Britain’s competition watchdog has warned that artificial intelligence could lead to a proliferation of false information, fraud and fake reviews as well as high prices for using the technology, hurting consumers.

Financial markets should be wary of stubborn inflation and a sharper economic slowdown next year than forecasters predict, the Swiss-based adviser to central banks has warned.

Prospective investors in the proposed Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk will undergo “strict national security checks”, the government has said, as it formally kicked off a hunt for outside investment.

Updated at 3.03pm BST

2.45pm BST

Over in New York, the head of the International Monetary Fund has just rung the Wall Street Opening Bell.

IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva did the honours, kicking off the new US stock trading week.

The NYSE welcomes the International Monetary Fund to recognize the 78th Session of the @UN General Assembly. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the IMF, rings the Opening Bell. #UNGA78 @IMFNews | @KGeorgieva | @JRTuttle https://t.co/AaucnRhEMG

— NYSE 🏛 (@NYSE) September 18, 2023

So far, the Dow Jones industrial average is up just 12 points or 0.04% at 34,631 points, while the broader S&P 500 index is down 0.1%.

#WallStreet, avvio debole

-Dow sulla parità
-Nasdaq -0,2%
-S&P 500 -1%

A suonare la campanella al NYSE Kristalina Georgieva, n.1 del FMI#Bitcoin in rialzo (+3%) sopra 27.300$ pic.twitter.com/DYmUIvwagy

— Class CNBC (@classcnbc) September 18, 2023

Updated at 2.48pm BST