Bosses talk of higher margins, and more houses being built, but shares in housebuilding firms remain gloomily lowSomething doesn't feel right in the housebuilding sector. Shares are..

From an old piano factory to a Georgian mansion

You know what, it's exactly like it sounds on the Shipping ForecastWhat's going for it? "Never heard of it," said the petrol station attendant. Really? Really? He had a wicked gleam in his..

By the turn of this year, the housing market was enjoying a very fragile recovery, but in the last few months it has begun to suffer a relapseLet us start with two propositions. First,..

• This week's top news stories• Virginia Wallis answers your homebuying questions • Table-turning is bad manners, diners sayThis week's top stories• House prices fell by 0.9% in..

Trace the ups and downs of UK house prices since May 2006

House prices fell by 0.9% in August, while the three-month rate of change fell from 1.2% to 0%, Nationwide's latest index showsPoll: Is this the beginning of a new slump?House prices fell..

House prices have fallen for a second month in a row. Is this the beginning of a new slump?

From a listed cottage in Somerset to a villa on the French Riviera

Q The survey's been done, the price has been agreed but I'm really worried about the state of the market. We are first-time buyers. We were wondering if we should believe the troubling..

Developers would share their planning gains with local people under Policy Exchange proposals for building more housesBritain needs a massive house-building programme to stabilise property..

• Government to water down 2016 'zero carbon' target for new homes• Environmentalists call the move a 'travesty'One of the UK's most radical environmental policies – requiring all new..

Analysts at Co-operative Asset Management assess which FTSE 350 companies may have the most sustainable business modelsHere, analysts at Co-operative Asset Management look at how some broad..

Homeowners will need to be quick out of the blocks to profit from tourists by renting out their properties during the 2012 Games – the race has already startedThere are still almost two..

Frequent house moving can be bad for your childrenIf you are contemplating moving house and are prone to doing so frequently, be sure it's really necessary. Not only do repeated moves upset..

My husband is out of work but reluctant to take on a house to do up. His lack of motivation frustrates me. Should I move alone?My 51-year-old husband is about to become unemployed again –..

Ring roads and roundabouts, yes, but bloomin' good schoolsWhat's going for it? No, I wasn't at the V Festival. I was in Chelmsford for proper cultural reasons, checking out the architecture..

In this week's gallery you can see a stunning Maldives coastal property and a handsome town house in West Sussex

Coastal property in the Maldives or West Sussex townhouse, anyone?

Prices went up by 6.7% over the past year, but experts remain cautious as first-time buyers continue to struggleHouse prices in England and Wales have increased by 6.7% during the past..

In the US, Ireland and Spain, the housing market is in freefall. Here, it isn't, and that's why Britons are still shopping - for the momentHow are the doomsayers going to explain this one?..

• Savills reports £14.4m in first-half pre-tax profits• Hong Kong property market and London recovery significant• Property consultancy cautious on prospects for AsiaProperty..

A selection of the finest properties on the market in the UK and further afield

Q We are considering accepting a gifted loan from my father-in-law in order to buy our next home. The amount is £9,000 and we would be repaying this interest-free at £100 per month..

Q I am a first-time buyer currently living in London but from Northern Ireland, where I'm considering buying a one-bedroom property for £180,000. I plan to transfer ownership of this..

Latest YouGov and Markit household finance index reports pessimism greater than at any time since the end of the recessionFears about job cuts, rising prices and a weak housing market are..

You cite Lucy Boggis living in a caravan as a novel way of coping with living costs while trying to achieve an Olympic Games selection (Capital's house prices create new kind of Londoner:..

A group of students renting a home for the first time are typically signing a £15,000 contract. It pays to get it right before you moveThe letting agencyBeware exaggerated charges often..

Our practical overview will give you a wide range of information about accommodation location and costIt's the tallest and largest student accommodation block ever built. It towers 33..

The big money has arrivedWhat's going for it? If someone had told me 10 years ago when I was living round those parts that Bethnal Green would, within my lifetime, contain a boutique hotel,..

Forest views, loch-side dream homes and a 15th-century villa in Croatia

A rural body's dismay at plans to make building countryside homes more difficult has little to do with preserving village lifeLast week, as part of its "big society" initiative, the UK..

Q My wife and I are both retired. Poor advice and poor judgement mean that our savings have taken a bit of a battering (they were worth £120,000 but have gone down to £40,000).Luckily,..

Q I have lived in my flat for nearly seven years so it is my main residence. I have just bought a second flat and am considering moving in there, then letting the flat I currently live in..

From a country pile in North Yorkshire to a luxury home in FloridaAnna Tims

Bexhill-on-Sea offers the best quality of life among Britain's seaside towns, according to a survey published by the Halifax today. The survey ranked seaside towns according to the labour..

Areas where the state is a big local employer are likely to see the largest falls in property values, says research from HometrackAreas of the country most vulnerable to public sector job..

London's campsites are teeming with commuters who have shunned bricks and mortar to make ends meetIt is a mystery to many how ordinary people can afford to live in the UK's capital...

House prices dominate headlines but, with a lack of affordable property, a growing number of Britons will never own a home and face a lifetime in the unregulated rented sectorIt was among..

As fewer of us own the houses we live in, the government should concentrate on policies guaranteeing family securityOne of the most pernicious fictions of the economic boom was the notion..

Britain's most expensive apartment marks a new high – and low – in oligarchic excessThe first thing I learned to draw was a house. It was like the house from the opening titles of Play..

There is no evidence that high house prices are caused by a shortage of homes (Editorial, 6 August). With over a million properties suitable for housing lying empty in England alone, it..

From a Welsh wreck to a villa in Barbados

Unlike its Cornish rival, stag parties are conspicuous by their absence. As are Hooray Henrys...What's going for it? No, not that Newquay. See, two words, not one. And Wales, not..

The coalition intends to almost halve the benefit that helps redundant homeowners maintain mortgage interest payments at a time of mounting job fearsThe forces of supply and demand appear..

Number of homes repossessed falls 4.1% but charity warns struggling borrowers will be hit by cut in government supportHome repossessions have fallen for the third quarter running, but..

• This week's top news stories• Virginia Wallis answers your homebuying questions • Falling house prices? Blame the mediaThis week's top stories• The number of homes taken into..

The number of house repossessions fell 4% in the second quarter, but debt advice charity CCCS sees the picture worseningThe number of homes taken into possession by lenders remained..

EU legislation means that from 2012 all homes for sale will require an energy efficiency rating to be carried out upfrontEU legislation will make it compulsory for energy efficiency ratings..

Bank of England warns of 'choppy recovery' as it cuts growth outlook amid slew of gloomy dataFears that Britain could slip into a protracted depression intensified tonight as markets took..

From a literary locale in Sussex to a cottage in Suffolk