New Homes Bonus to boost affordable housing

Grant Shapps has announced a new scheme to encourage councils to build new houses.

The latest property and interiors news

I have been a bit lax at updating this week so here's a quick lowdown on what we've covered so far:

Opinion poll on UK house prices

Guy Ritchie's squatters are evicted

UK house prices increased 3% in February 2011

Homeowners are unprepared for interest rate rises

Results of our celebrity neighbours poll

Halifax offers £500m compensation to mortgage customers

Algarve property prices drop dramatically

Keep checking AboutProperty.co.uk for all the latest housing and home scoops!

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It's always really difficult picking my favourite stories of the week - the property and homes world is so fast-moving that it's often impossible to pick out just a few defining stories - but pick I must, and indeed I just have (always a pleasure on a Friday afternoon...)

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Keira Knightley buys East London property

Things are a bit celeb-tastic on AboutProperty today, what with our Kirstie Allsopp/One Hyde Park story and now this: Keira Knightley has joined the pack of celebs flocking to buy property in East London. Who'da thought!

Kirstie Allsopp slams One Hyde Park

Not that AboutProperty isn't an extremely busy website with far more important things to do than cruise Twitter all day, but we happened to notice a characteristically strong-worded tweet from a certain Ms Kirstie Allsopp the other day... read her wise words here: Kirstie Allsopp on One Hyde Park.

RICS urges government to spend more on property

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has urged the government to allocate more of its budget to building houses. Hear hear!

Freehold v Leasehold - what's the difference and which one's better?

Anthony has just written a brilliant feature explaining what 'freehold' and 'leasehold' mean when it comes to flat ownership. Check it out here: Freehold and Leasehold apartment ownership explained.

Mortgage lending "will turn around in 2011" - hoorah!

A major report released by Chesterton Humberts and the CEBR says that 2011 will see an increase in the number of mortgages being approved in the UK. However, it also urged caution - largely based on the pesky interest rate rise hotly tipped to be coming soon. Check out the full mortgage news story here.

Brussels property surprisingly resilient

Could the Brussels property market be the most resilient in Europe?

Ask the expert: French property inheritance laws

In this week's Ask The Expert, a reader asks for advice on the inheritance laws surrounding French property.

Gorgeous development in Croatia

We're Friday morning daydreaming: check out this gorgeous seaside property development in Dubrovnik...

London property prices rose in January

According to Knight Frank, property prices in London rose in January 2011. Click here for the full story.

Sellers are dropping property asking prices

New data from Zoopla shows that homeowners are having to drop their asking prices in order to sell their property. Click here for more.

What will the London 2012 Olympics mean for property in the capital?

AboutProperty sits in on a seminar discussing the implications of the London 2012 Olympic Games for the property industry. Read our musings here.

Planning permission granted for UK's biggest-ever zero-carbon development

Planning permission for the UK's biggest-ever carbon-neutral housing development has been given the go-ahead. It will see 295 Code Level 6-compliant homes constructed in Peterborough. For more info, click here.