2.1% growth nobody mentioned, Chris Watkin's week 40 numbers, $110 oil and a quiet Budget run-up. The UK economy grew 2.1% over the last year and almost nobody mentioned it. Recorded nine days before John Healey's first Budget, this week asks what that means for UK property, mortgage rates and rents. Jim O'Neill told the Treasury Committee that the most important thing about this Budget is that it doesn't screw anything up. Adam agrees, and gives the government credit for keeping the kite-flying down this time. The stories so far are small beer: income tax rather than CGT on redeemable shares passed to the next generation, the small business rates relief threshold rising from £12,000 to £18,000, and CGT talk that would only feel fair with indexation or taper relief back. Rightmove's average new asking price is £371k, yet 38% of London listings have cut their price. Chris Watkin's week 40 numbers show net sales 6.3% behind 2025 and running at roughly 92% of normal, with a pricing gap of 17.8%. Struggling, yes. Crashing, no. (Find Chris on YouTube at @ChrisWatkin.) Trump watch takes in $110 Brent, attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, a Fed decision on Budget day and a sharp AI-driven tech sell-off. The macro-scope asks why the forecasters keep getting UK growth wrong, and whether the 3% inflation world is now nearer a 2.5% one. Then rent versus buy. Both take about 30% of gross income, but the average private renting household earns around £35k against about £60k for first-time buyers. Rightmove puts gross yields at 6.6% across Great Britain and 8.3% in the North East, and Solihull tops the rent hotspots, up 26% on the year. With swaps around 4.65%, Adam still sees limited company mortgages costing 6.5% to 6.75% in six months' time. It closes with the cost of building a home, up £76,000 since before the pandemic according to the Prosper UK Housing Commission, the new high loan-to-income mortgage rules that start on Budget day, and, as ever, KCCO. In this episode: (00:00) The 2.1% nobody talks about (12:00) Rightmove asking prices and the London squeeze (17:00) Budget kite-flying: family firms, business rates and CGT (32:00) Markets, LinkedIn round-up and the week ahead (40:00) Trump watch: $110 oil, the Fed and the AI sell-off (55:00) Chris Watkin's real-time numbers: struggling, not crashing (1:07:00) The macro-scope: 2.1% growth and the forecasters (1:18:00) Rent vs buy, yields and the rent hotspots (1:31:00) Gilts, swaps and the 6.5% to 6.75% outlook (1:33:00) PBW13 Birmingham: the next workshop (1:34:00) A quiet Budget run-up and the cost of building homes (1:37:00) High loan-to-income mortgages and KCCO sign-off ▶ Next workshop: Property Business Workshop 13, Birmingham, Thursday 7th January 2027 Adam and Rod Turner spend a full day on strategic planning, productivity, systems and processes, and financial management and reporting, with whatever the Budget changes built in. Super early bird tickets are still more than 20% off face value, and the VIP dinner is where the best chat happens. Book here: www.tinyurl.com/AdamRod27 * * * Subscribe to the Sunday Supplement: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/propenomix-sunday-supplement-7164384154992771072/ Follow Adam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamglawrence/ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@propenomixwithadamlawrence More from Propenomix: https://propenomix.com/