Take-up of central London offices fell 27% to 10.7 m sq ft in 2011, but a coinciding fall in supply and doubling of demand from the technology sector provides reason to have confidence in the long-term outlook, according to Knight Frank.

Take-up of central London offices from IT and telecoms firms was 1.3m sq ft in 2011, compared to 640,000 sq ft in 2010 – despite a slowdown in demand from other industries, particularly finance.

Increased buying and selling activity was recorded in the Private Rented Sector in 2011 but may not continue in 2012, according to the latest landlord survey.

Research from the Association of Residential Letting Agents shows the number of landlords that sold a property in the last 12 months increased from 6% to 8% in Q4 2011.

Equity rich homeowners in Central London who have benefited from strong price growth and low interest rates over the last four years, are moving on up the ladder without the need to sell their existing home.

This is worsening the already short supply of property in Prime Central London, reports property consultants Cluttons.

Zero-Carbon Homes are a step closer after new proposals were announced to cut carbon emissions in new and existing buildings by Communities Minister Andrew Stunell.

Mr. Stunell said changes to the country's building regulations would make new homes, shops and offices warmer and cheaper to run, support growth and take England a step closer to meeting its bold low carbon commitments.

Despite average mortgage payments falling to 2003 levels, it is now more difficult for first-time buyers to get a foot on the housing ladder than during the 2009 recession.

That is the finding of a new Ability to Buy Index from RBS which paints a mixed picture for first-time buyers in Britain.

Hundreds of thousands of homes could soon face huge problems with insurance when a protection agreement with the Government comes to an end.

That is the warning from the Association of British Insurers.

The latest Young Index report of Private Rented Sector (PRS) sentiment shows that 19.1% of landlords added additional residential property assets to their portfolios during 2011.

The activity was driven by strong positive expectations for both capital growth and income returns for the year ahead.

The December data from Land Registry's flagship House Price Index shows an annual price decrease of 1.3 per cent which takes the average property value in England and Wales to £160,384.

There is no monthly change from November to December.

Average prices of country houses outside Edinburgh fell by 1.3% in the final three months of the year, a more modest decline than the 1.5% decline in the third quarter.

Average prices are down 3.2% year on year, but this masks some regional variations.

Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles praised councils that have already signalled they intend to help hard pressed families cope with the cost of living by signing up to the Government's council tax freeze offer.

With over a month to go until final budget decisions are taken, press reports have shown that 152 councils in England are preparing to freeze or reduce council tax next year.