{"id":8383,"date":"2026-02-23T15:48:58","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T15:48:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/quilter\/?p=8383"},"modified":"2026-02-24T10:08:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T10:08:37","slug":"property-review-february-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/quilter\/2026\/02\/23\/property-review-february-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Property Review – February 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
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High demand for office space – research shows office space is currently the most in-demand commercial property asset class<\/td>The government\u2019s Warm Homes Plan was launched in January with a \u00a315bn investment<\/td>Leading housebuilders have met with ministers to discuss planning reforms and the housing market<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The best month to sell your home<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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February is the best time to put your home on the market, according to research from Rightmove.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The study analysed property listings between 2014 and 2024 (excluding 2020 due to the pandemic). It found that 68.9% of homes put up for sale in February go on to secure a buyer, the highest success rate of any month. January and March followed very closely, with 68.8% of homes listed in these months successfully attracting a buyer. This suggests that the first quarter of the year is an optimum time for sellers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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While February listings see the highest proportion of successful sales, January listings sell the fastest, taking an average of 47 days to find a buyer. Colleen Babcock at Rightmove commented, \u201cSellers who are yet to act but are considering a 2026 move might consider coming to market soon to take advantage of the increase in home-buyer activity.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Warm Homes Plan launched<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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In January, the government launched the Warm Homes Plan, a \u00a315bn investment aimed at upgrading British homes and reducing energy bills.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Key measures in the Warm Homes Plan include a commitment to triple the number of homes with solar energy by 2030 and deliver over 450,000 heat pump installations each year. Also, \u00a32.7bn will be invested into the expanded Boiler Upgrade Scheme, meaning eligible households can apply for a grant to replace their fossil fuel heating system with a heat pump or biomass boiler. Overall, the initiative is expected to create 180,000 new jobs in energy efficiency and clean heating.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, said, \u201cthis is a landmark plan to make the British people better off, secure our energy independence and tackle the climate crisis.\u201d But some experts are concerned that the cost of implementing the plan will be more than the allocated \u00a315bn.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Ministers discuss housing progress<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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In January, leading housebuilders met with ministers to discuss planning reforms and the current state of the housing market.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Housing Secretary Steve Reed chaired the roundtable, which was attended by major developers including Vistry, Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Redrow. Discussions focussed on the government\u2019s target to deliver 1.5 million homes, which has been supported by the New Homes Accelerator announced in August 2025. Reed said, \u201cThanks to our changes to planning laws we\u2019re now seeing the green shoots of recovery \u2013 with an 18% increase in work starting on new homes compared to the previous year.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Industry figures have weighed in on the discussion. Steve Turner at the Home Builders Federation welcomed the progress thus far but called for further action: \u201cWith no government-backed scheme in place for the first time in decades, many first-time buyers are locked out of the market, suppressing demand and limiting the ability to increase supply.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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High demand for office spaces<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Recent data shows that office space is attracting the highest level of investor interest in England.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Research from BPS London shows that office space is currently the most in-demand commercial property asset class, with 30.5% of office opportunities either under offer or sold subject to contract. This indicates that businesses are shifting back to office-based working after the pandemic. Retail spaces are a close second with 30.2% of opportunities under offer, followed by industrial and warehouse opportunities at 27.5%. Meanwhile, investor demand is much weaker in the leisure and hospitality sectors, with only 16.1% of opportunities attracting an investor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Investors are showing particularly strong interest in office spaces in the West Midlands (39.0%) and the South East (36.6%). London offices are attracting lower levels of interest (21.6%) \u2013 this is likely due to oversupply, with offices representing 71.0% of all available commercial rental stock in the capital.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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London offices update<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Research from Knight Frank offers an insight into the current state of the London office market.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Office take-up in the capital reached 12.1 million sq. ft across 1,400 deals in 2025, marking London\u2019s strongest performance since 2019. This was partly driven by a notable rise in demand for larger spaces, with around 70% of major corporate lettings in Central London expanding their office footprint last year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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However, supply of prime space is limited; vacancy rates for new, high-spec offices in the City Core are now at 0.3%. Competition is likely to intensify in the coming years, as up to 50 million sq. ft of London office leases are due to expire between now and 2030. Philip Hobley at Knight Frank commented, \u201cLondon\u2019s business sector\u2019s growth urgently requires new supply to be unlocked in all of its key submarkets in order to meet structural demand over the next five years.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Occupier demand \u2013 broken down by sector<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Availability \u2013 broken down by sector<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The (in)efficiency of commercial buildings<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Analysis by the British Property Federation (BPF) shows that 81% of commercial buildings in major UK cities have an EPC rating below B.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The research analysed commercial buildings across all asset classes in London, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle. It found that only 3% of buildings have an EPC rating of A, while 16% are rated B. Manchester has the most energy-efficient buildings, with 22% of commercial properties rated A or B. London follows closely at 21%.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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In 2021, the government launched a consultation into minimum energy efficiency standards for non-domestic buildings. It proposed a target of EPC C by 2027 and EPC B by 2030, however these measures are yet to be officially implemented. Rob Wall, Assistant Director at BPF, urged the government to take action, saying \u201cClarity on future standards is critical to increasing demand, attracting investment and building green skills and supply chains.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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All details are correct at the time of writing (18 February 2026)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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It is important to take professional advice before making any decision relating to your personal finances. Information within this document is based on our current understanding and can be subject to change without notice and the accuracy and completeness of the information cannot be guaranteed. It does not provide individual tailored investment advice and is for guidance only. Some rules may vary in different parts of the UK.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

High demand for office space – research shows office space is currently the most in-demand commercial property asset class The government\u2019s Warm Homes Plan was launched in January with a \u00a315bn investment Leading housebuilders have met with ministers to discuss planning reforms and the housing market The best month to sell your home February is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[36],"tags":[],"hd_content_source":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/quilter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8383"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/quilter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/quilter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/quilter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/quilter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8383"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/quilter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8383\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8406,"href":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/quilter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8383\/revisions\/8406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/quilter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/quilter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/quilter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8383"},{"taxonomy":"hd_content_source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/quilter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hd_content_source?post=8383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}