Archive

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

Last weekend a story by The Sunday Times’ Deputy Political Editor indicated that the Government is proposing implementing a £250 cap...

Stamp duty rebates and cash to improve energy efficiency are being demanded by one of the country’s biggest mortgage lenders in...

Thousands of people will be invited to take part in new research to help provide information on why one particularly badly...

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

Detached homes in Wales are the slowest property types to sell across the UK and take an average of 92 days...

New data from one of Britain’s largest mortgage lenders shows that nearly one in five first-time buyers are now aged 40...

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

A veteran PropTech figure with extensive experience of working at leading estate and sales agencies has told the government to act...

There’s been broad support from within the agency and wider property sectors for Labour’s proposal to build on selected parts of...

It’s tempting to think that Michael Gove’s proposed clampdown on Airbnb-style short lets is a uniquely British form of small-mindedness, part...

The new financial year is often an opportunity to get organised for the year ahead. For self-employed property professionals who are...

Keir Starmer set out Labour’s policy for housebuilding this week and targeted ‘ugly’ parts of the Green Belt. It will be a...

The Home Buying and Selling Group (HBSG) has arranged a new pilot scheme for a group of lawyers and conveyancers to...

The plight of the nation’s first-time buyers may be the focus when it comes to government housing initiatives, but our latest...

Dog-owning house buyers who want to live in areas of abundant green space in which to walk their four-legged friends are...

Fraud poses a significant challenge for residential conveyancers, with criminals often attempting to exploit the transaction process for money laundering purposes. The...

Southwark, Barnet, Camden, Croydon and Newham are the top five London boroughs with the highest number of vacant properties amid a...

Propertymark has urged the UK Government to consider other ways of boosting the supply of homes for purchase.  The Government has two...

The term ‘time bomb’ is sometimes overly used in the housing market, and while it has been linked to many things...

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

A variety of charities have received support from the property industry this week. If there are charitable endeavours you think the rest...

House prices dipped on a monthly basis during March but annual growth improved, Nationwide data shows. The latest Nationwide House Price Index...

A senior agency industry figure has criticised the lack of homebuilding targets after the latest Government data showed a drop in...

Interesting report this week in Estate Agent Today on an analysis by the Resolution Foundation thinktank which suggests that the UK’s...

The Government may have backtracked on plans for 100% loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages but Yorkshire Building Society has come up with its...

MPs have launched an inquiry on improving the home buying and selling process in England. The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC)...

Further estate agency regulation won’t be too expensive for the industry, Lord Best has said. Lord Best, who led the Regulation of...

Plans to set ground rents at a ‘peppercorn rate’ are reported to have been dropped amid opposition from freehold campaigners and...

If you want to hear of a tale for our industry’s times - featuring housing shortages, planning disputes, rampant  inflation and...

In the first of a short series of articles, David Beaumont, managing director of Compliance Matters, casts a professional eye over...

Both 'beauty' and ‘gentle density’ are central themes of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).. The notes which accompany the NPPF state...

The architect of the Regulation of Property Agents (ROPA) reforms has expressed frustration that the recommendations have failed to materialise as...

Annual house price declines slowed in January and values returned to growth on a monthly basis, Land Registry data shows. The latest...

The UK Government should make better use of property taxes to deter foreign buyers, boost property supply and raise tax revenue,...

The Government has taken the unusual step of intervening in the London Plan to boost housebuilding in the capital.   Housing Secretary Michael...

The Spring Budget last Wednesday rounded out to be mostly a disappointment for the property industry, but it was also perhaps...

Today, I am reflecting on the Chancellor’s surprise Spring budget decision to abolish multiple dwellings relief for Stamp Duty Land Tax...

Last week the Government published new housing data which has largely gone unreported.  The vacuum was probably linked to the Budget, and...

The Government has given local authorities powers to double the council tax charged on long-term empty homes after 12 months. The time...

The property market is awash with data. A quick Google search and any prospective buyer can find property prices, listing history,...

Following the disappointment of his Autmn statement, many property professionals were hoping for a kick-start to property sales in Jeremy Hunt’s...

When the Chancellor stood up to deliver the Spring Budget on Wednesday, those of us in the property business could be...

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has almost halved its house price forecasts after another relatively quiet fiscal update for the...

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

Property professionals have called for the Government to allocate its promised £3m towards improving the home buying and selling process to...

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is reported to be considering scrapping non-dom status in the latest rumour ahead of this week’s Budget. It comes...

As the Budget approaches and the housing crisis intensifies, it is important to consider what the Chancellor could – and should...

The complexities of the government’s leasehold reform proposals affecting millions of homeowners came under the spotlight at a seminar organised by...

Mortgage approvals increased for the fourth consecutive month in a row during January but that hasn’t fed into official sales yet, data...

There are often very grim snapshots of the current property crisis.  But one of the most shocking I’ve read in a long...

Attempts to get the long-awaited Regulation of Property Agents (ROPA) rules introduced into the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill have failed. The...

Propertymark has added its name to calls for Stamp Duty reform and has also urged lenders to develop more affordable mortgage...

Rightmove has joined growing calls for Stamp Duty reform ahead of the Spring Budget next week. The property portal has outlined three...

Almost 2m aspiring homeowners do not think they will be able to follow in the footsteps of their parents by owning...

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...

Every year the media writes a lot about house price crashes, and often pose the question whether this is the year...

A senior estate agent has described the Government’s pledge to compel councils to cut red tape in favour of development as...

More than a third of property professionals view the Spring Budget as an opportunity to boost new build and the first-time...

A variety of charities have received support from the property industry over the past week. If there are charitable endeavours you think...

Building on brownfield sites may not be the silver bullet it is made out to be, the government has been warned. Housing...

From medieval castles to Elizabethan manor houses, Georgian townhouses and Victorian terraces, the UK’s historic buildings are central to our country’s...

Land is our greatest resource: one that has considerable potential to address society’s challenges. So, determining how land is used is...

The times, they are indeed a-changin’. But what Dylan may not have appreciated, however, was how fast that change would be...

UK property professionals should look to Norway when assessing how to improve the home buying process, a housing minister has claimed. Speaking...

Property sales fell for the fourth consecutive month in December and ended the year at 1.02m, HMRC data suggests. The latest property...

The Labour Party has committed to working on ways to offer longer-term fixed rate mortgages to support first-time buyers. Outlining its plan...

It usually takes a scandal or a reshuffle to remove a Government minister so it came as a bit of a...

The emergence of the Digital property market represents the most profound shift for the industry itself since the advent of the...

Building more homes is a better solution than mortgage schemes to support first-time buyers, a Zoopla executive has claimed. Richard Donnell, executive...

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...

While our own Government continues to tentatively encourage homeowners to carry out energy-efficient measures, they will no doubt be eagerly watching...

London based presenter and property expert Elizabeth Warburton has partnered with Fine & Country as one of the hosts of the...

Propertymark has welcomed a move by the Government to lift restrictions on development along the abandoned HS2 route. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak...

The Government’s latest attempt to bolster the property appears to be 1% deposit mortgages. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is reported to be considering...

Yulia Barnes is founder and managing partner of Barnes Law   2024 is set to be another significant year for the property...

Estate agency regulations and minimum standards may finally see the light of day after Labour put forward amendments to the Government’s...

House prices fell at their fastest rate since 2011 during November 2023, the Land Registry has revealed. The latest Land Registry House...

Parliamentary news may have been dominated by the fallout from the Rwanda Bill yesterday but another important piece of legislation also...

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,...

As Conveyancers we operate in such a volatile market, where government economic policy can and has repeatedly made our professional lives...

Only a tenth of first-time buyers have managed to get on the property ladder without additional support, a survey has revealed. Comparison...

NAVA Propertymark members are predicting another challenging year for the hospital sector. Chris Platts, NAVA advisory panel member, said 2023 was a...

The news in September that Birmingham City Council (‘Europe’s largest local authority’) had been forced to issue a Section 114 notice...

Chris Hemmings, Parter in Carter Jonas’ Planning & Development team We’re confident of a better start to 2024 than 2023. The news that...

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

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

We’re now just 2 days away from the end of 2023 and what a year it’s been for the property industry....

The debate over the Green Belt, and the newly branded ‘grey belt’, has made the headlines a lot recently and will...

The Government recently consulted upon a revised approach to local plans. Throughout the consultation document, frequent use is made of the...

What will happen to house prices? Should I rent or buy? Will a Labour or Tory Government be better for homeowners....

The Government has published long-awaited reforms to its National Planning Policy Framework, confirming that local housebuilding targets will be advisory rather...

The Scottish Government’s Budget has been described as a “missed opportunity.” The update yesterday from Scottish Finance Secretary Shona Robison, outlined a...

The supply of new homes could reach the lowest level since 2014, builders have warned. It comes as the Government is due...

The recent cyber attack on CTS left around 80 conveyancing firms across the country commercially paralysed as the harm to their...

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLHUC) has hit back at media claims about its housebuilding targets. The Times newspaper...

Agents are hoping for further support for the housing market north of the border as the Scottish Government prepares to set...