The asking price for UK homes is creeping closer to a record high, as demand for larger, more expensive houses picks up. New data from Rightmove this morning shows that the average price of property coming to the market rose by 1.1% (+£4,207) this month to £372,324. That’s just £570 short of the record set in May 2023. But “Top of the ladder” properties saw the biggest jump in asking prices in the last month, up 2.7%, while smaller properties more suited to first-time buyers only rose 0.3%. Rightmove reports that the number of sales agreed so far this year is 13% higher than at this stage in 2023, as activity rebounds from last year’s much more subdued Spring. Activity picked up at the end of last month; 28 March was the busiest day for new homes coming onto the market this year, and the third busiest since August 2020. Meanwhile, the troubled company Thames Water has this morning outlined plans to increase spending on its network to tackle leaks and sewage spills by at least £1.1bn. Thames, which is fighting to avoid temporary nationalisation, has submitted an update to its business plan for 2025-2030, under which it would spend £19.8bn to address environmental concerns over sewage dumping, guarantee high quality drinking water and ensure the security of water supplies. It had previously proposed spending £18.7bn on its network, under a plan that would lift customer bills by 40% to an average of £608 by 2030.This extra £1.1bn will not lead to even higher bills, Thames pledges, as it will rebalance “operating and capital expenditures”. But it is also proposing a further £1.9bn of potential investment – if the regulator approves, this would add an extra £19 to bills, taking the average to £627. Chris Weston, the chief executive of Thames Water, said:“Our business plan focuses on our customers’ priorities. As part of the usual ongoing discussions relating to PR24 [Thames’s business plan], we’ve now updated it to deliver more projects that will benefit the environment. "We will continue to discuss this with our regulators and stakeholders.” The Guardian reported last week that government plans were being drawn up for the renationalisation of Thames Water, under which most of its £15.6bn debt would be added to the public purse.
The agenda • 9.30am BST: Nathanaël Benjamin, executive director for Financial Stability Strategy & Risk at the Bank of England, speaks at a Bloomberg event • 11am BST: CBI industrial trends survey of UK factry sector • 1.30pm BST: The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for March • 3pm BST: Eurozone consumer confdence stats • 4.30pm BST: ECB president Christine Lagarde gives a lecture at Yale University We’ll be tracking all the main events throughout the day ...
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