Archive

We all know that first-time buyers have had a tough time of it lately. Mad mini-budgets resulting in higher interest rates...

The average price of a home in Wales fell to £229,263 in the first quarter of 2024, making this the fifth...

A report in the Times newspaper says Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is planning a stamp duty cut in the early autumn. The paper...

The number of new sellers coming to the market is up by 12% compared to this time a year ago, and...

OnTheMarket president Jason Tebb has cautioned buyers against waiting for an interest rate cut and General Election before making a transaction...

The majority of buyers and sellers in the prime housing market will not be deterred by the upcoming General Election, according...

Stress tests are a valuable tool for measuring resilience and the Scottish residential property market was put through a fairly gruelling...

Waiting for a General Election is risky for sellers after the so-called Boris bounce in the property market failed to deliver...

Property market conditions in the new-build sector are likely to remain subdued this year. Persimmon has claimed. An outlook in the house...

Agents are hopeful of support for the property market in today’s Spring Budget. It could be the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s final fiscal...

The Government’s proposal to introduce a new 1% deposit mortgage scheme to help young people onto the property ladder is unworkable...

Rumours of the launch of a 1% mortgage deposit scheme have re-emerged with just weeks to go until the Spring Budget  Chancellor...

Last weekend, Levelling Up and Housing Secretary, Michael Gove wrote in the Sunday Times that the nation’s housing crisis was so...

Housing Secretary Michael Gove has given the strongest hint yet that housing measures could be included in the Spring Budget. Chancellor Jeremy...

A drop in house prices remains likely for 2024 despite recent rises and improving sentiment. The latest Halifax house price index showed...

Housebuilders have indicated that they would prefer a Labour government is formed after the next General Election. The latest Land Index and...

Sir Simon Clarke’s call for Rishi Sunak to be ousted from Downing Street may well express what many of his MP...

Whether a General Election is held in May, November or in January one thing is guaranteed -  we can expect to...

Buyer confidence remained flat – or consistent depending on your view of the property market in December – while seller sentiment...

The Labour Party has proposed introducing 25-year fixed term mortgages should it win the next General Election. Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves suggested...

Happy New Year and welcome to what’s looking like a busy - perhaps even hectic - 2024! I thought it worth running...

After months of negative messaging and anti-development sentiment, espoused both nationally by the Government, and locally during May’s local election campaigning,...

Extra tax and rising costs drove agency acquisitions last year and more are expected in 2024. Agency broker Atomic Consultancy has said...

Agency trade body Propertymark has expressed hope that housing will be a key part of the Spring Budget after the Treasury...

The last thing you want as we rake through the dying embers of 2023 is a journalist’s prediction of what’s going...

As the world marches relentlessly forward to 2024, the government’s flagship legislation for the private rented sector (PRS) remains in limbo. This...

Landowners seeking to sell their land for development will have to adjust their expectations as the market, the planning system and...

A third of Jackson-Stops agents are expecting a “modest decrease” in house prices next year with some offices expecting drops of...

The factor most likely to influence the housing market next year is entirely outside the industry’s control: the General Election. Knight Frank...

The 2023 Autumn Budget, amongst its considerable 110 growth measures, contained an important announcement for the property sphere, with £3 million...

So Christmas is coming – soon. Traditionally a time for reflection on what’s past and prediction on what’s to come. Last week...

It wouldn’t be sensible to jump to a firm conclusion about the prospects of the housing market this side of Christmas,...

The UK’s housing market is past ‘peak pain’ and looks set to bottom out in mid-2024, according to Savills. The agency giant’s...

More than three quarters of Estate Agent Today readers have backed the prospect of a Stamp Duty cut. The Government is rumoured...

A proposed cut in stamp duty by the Westminster government would be a welcome boost to homebuyers and would need to...

Stamp Duty reform was back in the news over the weekend amid reports that the Government plans to reform the controversial...

The Labour Party has committed to introducing the Regulation of Property Agents (ROPA) rules if it wins next year’s General Election. Shadow...

Home ownership has become a “luxury for the few rather than a privilege for the many”, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer...

Talk about a wasted opportunity. The Conservative party conference - just finished, and possibly the last one before a General Election -...

Knight Frank has revised its house price forecasts and now expects a steeper market drop. The agent previously predicted a 5% fall...

Propertymark is extending its political engagement and reach by exhibiting at the party conferences this week. The agency trade body will be...

While some landlords may have breathed a sigh of relief following Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak’s announcement on energy upgrades, I suspect...

The majority of the British public believe the Government is responsible for fixing the country’s housing shortage but few believe that...

Introduced to Parliament in May, the Renters (Reform) Bill seeks to improve the private rental sector for both tenants and landlords....

And suddenly it’s autumn. It’s just six weeks before the clocks change, days are getting shorter and - the real sign...

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has repeated calls for Stamp Duty to be scrapped as politicians prepare for party conference...

It was a genuine pleasure to read this week about Yorkshire estate agent Ian Bradbury who clocked up 40 years selling...

After months of negative messaging and anti-development sentiment, espoused both nationally by the Government, and locally during recent local election campaigning,...

The process from a Local Plan allocation to a digger on site typically stretches beyond the length of a five-year political...

It may be all change - again - at the Department of Levelling Up, Communities and Local Government if media speculation...

There’s a warning today that confusion over plans to transition rural properties to greener heating systems may be deterring buyers. Trade association...

So much has changed in the world of property of late that it’s easy to be behind the times - and...

The Labour Party has pledged to introduce legislation within its first 100 days of Government to abolish leasehold if it wins...

The London property market has started the year better than expected, with sales instructions and buyer demand both rising, according to...

Is it really just a year ago that we were nervously wondering whether yet another Christmas would be Covid-affected? Little did we...

And…breathe. For a while back there, the only certainty for the housing market was uncertainty. That isn’t to say the election of Rishi...

Recent political changes – and there have been quite a few in recent weeks – have brought about something of a...

I can’t really write about anything else this week, can I? Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you will have...

Liz Truss became the shortest serving UK Prime Minister yesterday, resigning after just 45 days and prompting a new Conservative Party...

Simon Clarke is set for his first grilling by MPs as Levelling Up and Housing Secretary. Clarke will be questioned by the...

How did the housing market transform from incredibly strong - almost too strong - early in the year, to a situation...

Agents and property professionals have backed the creation of Investment Zones to help boost housebuilding but have called for more clarity...

There has been an understandable focus on things other than Government since the death of Queen Elizabeth was announced, but Prime...

Savills has released a revised five-year forecast for the UK’s prime housing markets, to reflect the strong levels of activity in...

When it comes to housing policy, the Conservative MPs have given their party a choice between Tweedle Dum and Tweedle DumDum. Rishi...

The Tory leadership candidates have been urged to not forget about housing as the race to be the new Prime Minister...

The Prime Minister has tonight won a confidence vote in his leadership and hung on to his premiership. After a dramatic day at...

It’s easy to overestimate the importance of something in one’s own industry or work, but there seems good reason for believing...

At least 18 MPs have come out in favour of a new annual Proportional Property Tax which would be levied on...

Will he stay or will he go? You don’t need me to say who ‘he’ is - it’s the only story...

Data out today from Rightmove shows the predictable seasonal effect of around 0.7 per cent knocked off the typical asking price. The...

We all know what did happen in 2021 - Covid and more Covid, the stamp duty holiday frenzy, a soaring rental...

There were 13 new buyers for every property listed for sale in the UK in September according to Knight Frank.  Over the...

There’s good news and bad news from the shake-up in government ministers and ministries that was presented to the nation last...

My neighbour had been seeking to move home for some time. Suggestions that he wanted to get away from his neighbours...

Prices in prime central London grew by 0.3 per cent in the year to May - tiny rise but a significant...

Local elections rarely set the pulse racing and this year’s poll on Thursday faces a similar problem. But this time, it’s a...

Pressure is building for widespread property tax reform beyond short term issues regarding stamp duty. Many MPs in this week’s 65-minute special...

Homeowners staying at home during another lockdown are doing more than sharing memes of groundhog day or doing family quizzes on...

Zoopla's latest figures suggest 70,000 transactions are likely to miss the stamp duty holiday deadline of March 31.  And the portal says: “The...

The Northern Research Group, which has the backing of over 50 Conservative MPs in the north of England, wants the Chancellor...

The latest Rightmove analysis shows it now takes 126 days from the time an offer is accepted until legal completion -...

Well, what a year it has been for everyone, including the property market. I don’t think there’s anyone out there who...

First off, hello and welcome to this new series – appearing in Estate Agent Today’s Breaking News section each month –...

The secure Conservative victory in the 2019 General Election meant the property market in the sunlit uplands was set for a...

It’s not a big rise, but price growth has returned to the Prime Central London sales market for the first time...

The Times has revealed new allegations concerning the behaviour of Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick. The Cabinet member has been under the spotlight...

Unnamed government sources quoted in many newspapers today suggest stamp duty reforms may be announced later this year. Chancellor Rishi Sunak is to...

Buyer demand for new-build property has bounced back 66 per cent in the six weeks since the resumption of the housing...

Government figures show the 218,975 properties within Greater London have Chinese owners - and two agents say there will be more...

The post-lockdown surge in housing market activity has continued into its sixth week, as at least one agency’s indicators hit record...

The property market is used to change, and I’m confident it will bounce back from any lockdown effects. Despite being acutely aware...

Back in the day, party politics and the private rental sector used to be straightforward. Conservatives were pro-landlord, Labour were pro-tenant, while...

UK house prices fell by 1.7 per cent in May, after taking account of seasonal effects – this is the largest...

A respected estate agency has revised downwards its price forecast for the housing market for the second time since the start...

The housing market is likely to rebound relatively strongly after the Coronavirus lockdown eases, according to the Nationwide. House prices grew at...

Over the last two weeks we’ve seen the country come to a standstill and the property market effectively put on ice...

Although all bets are off as to what the housing market will be like after the Coronavirus subsides, there is now...

Savills is the latest agency to warn about the possible threat of Coronavirus to its business activities and success this year. In...

There will be a two per cent stamp duty surcharge on the purchase of UK investment properties by non-resident overseas buyers...