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House price growth in the South East is set to grow faster than in London in the coming years as buyers spread their search outside the capital, according to property website, Rightmove, who predicts that Southampton, Luton and Brighton will b thee "country's best property bets" for those house hunters who have been priced out of London.

Its latest data found that sellers' asking prices across England and Wales edged up by 2.6% month-on-month in October to reach £271,669 on average, which is the lowest monthly rise seen at this time of year for six years.

Rightmove said buyers are becoming

Lady Gaga has made the move from tenant to homeowner, with the purchase of this lavish mansion.

The 28-year-old singer - who grew up in New York City - has reportedly purchased her first home in California. A real estate source told gossip website TMZ.com that the 'Bad Romance' hitmaker bought a huge compound in Malibu from the founder of Warner Bros Worldwide Consumer Products Division, Dan Romanelli.

The magnificent property, which has a secret entranceway, sits on 6 acres and boasts five bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, an elevator, pool, gym, wine cellar, two-lane bowling alley, bocce ball court

The UK's most prestigious prize for new buildings, the Riba Stirling Prize, will be awarded TODAY and the London Bridge Tower (The Shard), designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop is one of the frontrunners on the shortlist of six iconic buildings in the UK.

At 72 storeys, The Shard, or London Bridge Tower as it is also known, is the UK's tallest building and the second highest in Europe. It is a vertical town made up of restaurants, offices, a health clinic and apartments.

Eight "shards" of transparent, reflective glass make up the exterior and are dinted and angled to reflect the movement

Britain’s biggest property website has rebuffed claims that the housing market is heading for a slowdown, with a forecast that prices will soar by 30% over the next five years to average £318,000 in England and Wales and more than £715,000 in London.

But for the first time in more than a decade, it will be markets outside the capital that lead the way in price rises, Rightmove said. It predicts that Southampton will see the fastest house price increases in the country, with values expected to jump 43% by 2019 – adding nearly £100,000 to local prices – while Luton, Brighton and Swindon will not

Homebuyers in Scotland will pay no tax on properties costing less than £135,000, Finance Secretary John Swinney has announced.

And a 12% marginal rate for houses costing more than £1m will come into force next April, when stamp duty is replaced north of the border.

Mr Swinney's plan came in his budget proposal for the year ahead.

Opposition politicians said the finance secretary had failed to live up to his promise of protecting health spending.

Under the government's new Land and Building Transactions Tax, a marginal tax of 2% would apply to the proportion of a transaction between £135,000

After marrying in Venice last month, Clooney and his new wife, the London-based human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin, appear to have settled for their marital home in Sonning, Berkshire - a £10million Grade II listed manor house on the River Thames.

The nine-bed roomed house has its own library, gym, spa and steam room, along with a cellar and a boathouse and separate cottage for guests or staff.

Set in four acres and surrounded by dense trees and expansive gardens it offer all the seclusion required of an A-list couple.

Clooney is understood to have been drawn to the area after visiting the

The Guardian this week reported that Britain’s housing market has reached a turning point with price growth expected to turn negative next year – but the market will avoid a crash, according to the latest forecasts.

Average house prices across the UK will dip by 0.8% in 2015, after growing by an estimated 7.8% this year, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) predicted on Monday.

Inquiries from new buyers are already declining and properties are staying on the market for longer before they sell, leading to price declines in some parts of the UK. Affordability has become a real

Three quarters of London properties which would fall into the so-called “mansion tax” bracket are flats or terraced houses, according to Knight Frank figures.

The property consultants analysed sales data to see what type of “mansions” would fall into the £2m plus category Labour leader Ed Miliband would target if his party came to power.

Knight Frank said London – and in particular the prime areas of Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea – would be hit harder than other parts of the country by the tax. The two boroughs alone account for 46 per cent of the £2m-plus properties in England and

Property agents CPBigwood have for the second year running been shortlisted for Residential Auction House of The Year in The Negotiator Awards.

Winners will be announced at a glittering prize giving ceremony on Tuesday, November 4, at the London Hilton on Park Lane and hosted by Alexander Armstrong, comedian, actor and presenter of TV's Pointless programme.

CPBigwood has one of the largest property auction houses outside London and is firmly established in the top ten national auction houses in the UK.

Last year the cumulative figure for 2013 came in at £51,082,200, with 604 lots offered

The annual rate of house price growth slowed in September to 9.4% from 11% the month before, the Nationwide says.

On a monthly basis, prices were down by 0.2% - the first time that figure has fallen since April 2013. It said strong regional variations remained, with London and the South continuing to lead the market.

Prices in London are 31% above those reached at the last peak of the market in 2007. Elsewhere, prices are just 1% above pre-crisis levels, with average house prices across the UK shown to have fallen to £188,374. The average price of a house in London is £401,072.

The data comes