Good news appears to be contagious at the moment, particularly with regards to the UK residential property marketplace. Back in July this year the National House Building Council (NHBC) reported that the number of homes being built in the UK has reached its highest in five years.

A total of 67,422 new homes were registered in the first half of this year, the highest figure since 2008. Richard Tamayo, the NHBC's commercial director, said: "While London remains an engine for growth we are seeing overall numbers up across the UK."

The NHBC says its registrations, which reflect builders' housing starts, account for 80% of the UK new build market. Taking the second quarter of 2013 alone, there was a 38% increase seen on a year earlier to 35,683 starts. That is quite a leap forward, albeit from a very low base.

More recently, in mid-October it was confirmed that the positivity was no longer being reserved for London and the South East when Deloitte Real Estate reported in its latest UK Cities Crane Survey that the number of new construction schemes has jumped by 80% year-on-year across Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh and Glasgow.