More than 10% of shops on the UK’s high streets are now vacant or available to lease according to the latest Retail Availability survey from real estate adviser Cushman & Wakefield.

The figure of 10.7% at 1 February is a marginal increase of 0.4% over the previous three months when availability fell for the first time in 2009 by 2.3%. That figure was boosted by temporary lettings in the run up to Christmas. The new figure however is almost 2% below the peak recorded in August 2009 of 12.6%.

At 1.5% of the total number of shops surveyed, availability as a result of retailer administrations has fallen by a marginal 0.3% despite some reasonably high profile casualties including Diamonds & Pearls, Ethel Austin and Threshers.

Landlords are assuming the role of surrogate mothers as new research shows tenants are making their renting decision based on the ability to offer a friendly shoulder to cry on, rather than price.

Women are more interested in traditional landlord skills such as DIY (47% versus 35% for men), but it’s men who are looking for a good listener (30% versus 20% for women), according to a survey of more than 1000 tenants carried out by the National Landlords Association (NLA).

The fall in house prices and mortgage rates has resulted in UK housing affordability reaching its highest level since 2003.

New research from property website Zoopla.co.uk reveals that the fall in house prices and mortgage rates over the past couple of years has resulted in UK housing affordability now at its highest level since 2003.

The current boost in recruitment in the banking sector is pushing up rental demand in and around the City, highlighting the shortage of rental property. However, this will not lead to a steep rise in rents in the Capital, according to property consultants Cluttons.

Latest figures from recruiter Michael Page show that financial institutions are back on the hiring trail, with the number of vacancies now double compared to a year ago.

Office occupiers in several markets across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) are still well-placed to negotiate favourable terms with landlords, according to latest office and market research from CB Richard Ellis (CBRE).

Despite the fact that rents are stabilising in several major cities across the region, landlords in many markets are still offering sizeable incentive packages in order to secure tenants. With landlords reluctant to lose tenants and risk voids, large occupiers who represent significant parts of a landlord’s portfolio are in a particularly strong position to negotiate.

The country's housing shortage is fast approaching one million homes, yet we are building less now than at any point since the Second World War.

The stark statistic is revealed in the Home Builders Federation (HBF's) election manifesto and is a warning to MPs that they desperately need to wake up to the mounting housing crisis.

Housing issues are now affecting every UK constituency and the social and economic impacts of an acute housing shortage become ever more apparent:

The balance between supply and demand shifted toward the supply side as the new instructions net balance outpaced buyer interest for the second consecutive month, according to RICS latest UK Housing Market survey.

New instruction and new buyer inquiries rebounded in February following a weather-skewed dip in January with both net balances turning positive. For the second consecutive month the new instructions net balance outpaced the new buyer inquiries net balance - the first sustained shift towards supply for two years.

Beyond the political and economic fallout of the Greek debt crisis and turmoil in the government bond markets in Europe, real estate investors are pondering the implications for the property sector.

A new report by CB Richard Ellis – which considers whether increases in government bond yields in a number of European countries will negatively impact property market recovery – suggests that the measures taken to restore public finances have the most potential to impact the real estate sector in the short to medium term, but that these impacts are more remote than might be expected and most likely to affect secondary property rather than prime.

An insect is to be released in the UK to stop the spread of the non-native invasive plant Japanese Knotweed which can destroy property and costs the economy more than £150million a year to control and clear.

Japanese Knotweed is listed by the World Conservation Union as one of the world's 100 worst invasive species. It grows vigorously at a rate of up to a metre a month, including through concrete and drains, causing damage to roads and buildings and costing millions of pounds to remove each year.

Use of a new approach to tenant involvement and performance management - which gives tenants the power to challenge their housing organisation and drive up performance - is examined in a report commissioned by the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) and written by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH).

The report claims that this new approach - resident-led self-regulation - has the potential to change social housing for the better and give real power to a group of customers who have little consumer choice. It could also cut down on the need for external intervention.