Housing minister Jacob Young recently scotched rumours that the property portal proposed in the Renters (Reform) Bill would remove the need...
Archive
High interest rates, slow price growth and more stringent tax rules have eroded Buy-to-Let’s (BTL) charm for a number of landlords,...
18 May 2024
From: Features
The number of properties purchased using a Help to Buy ISA-backed deposit fell to record lows last year, official data shows. Government...
16 May 2024
From: Breaking News
Managing tenant deposits is a crucial part of any letting agent’s responsibilities. Ensuring compliance with regulations and safeguarding both landlord and...
08 May 2024
From: Features
Savills has today upgraded its five-year UK mainstream house price forecast to reflect the stronger than expected start to the year...
07 May 2024
From: Breaking News
Sellers seeking to differentiate their homes from others on the market may consider solar panels - but they should be wary...
07 May 2024
From: Breaking News
You don’t have to be a mind-reader to believe there will be a large majority Labour government by the end of...
04 May 2024
From: Features
April 22nd marked ‘Earth Day’, yet it seemed to pass relatively unnoticed within the mortgage market. While the market was once abuzz...
04 May 2024
From: Features
An influential consumer body is demanding a complete overhaul of Energy Performance Certificates. Which? says that with millions of households across the...
03 May 2024
From: Breaking News
A recent announcement by housing giants Persimmon has been heralded as a welcome boost to the property sector. In a trading update they...
03 May 2024
From: Breaking News
Sky News is reporting that up to 30 Conservative MPs are threatening to rebel against the government’s approach to ground rents...
02 May 2024
From: Breaking News
A survey of homebuyers has found overwhelming support for a legal ban on gazumping. A mortgage lender - MFS - spoke with...
02 May 2024
From: Breaking News
Alto is rolling out free Property Valuation Reports for agents. The tool can be accessed directly from individual property record pages, and...
02 May 2024
From: Breaking News
A coalition of organisations representing consumers, financial institutions and energy suppliers has written to the Department for Energy Security and Net...
01 May 2024
From: Breaking News
A prominent estate agent has started an online petition to reverse stamp duty so it is paid by the vendor, not...
30 April 2024
From: Breaking News
We all know that first-time buyers have had a tough time of it lately. Mad mini-budgets resulting in higher interest rates...
27 April 2024
From: Features
Last weekend a story by The Sunday Times’ Deputy Political Editor indicated that the Government is proposing implementing a £250 cap...
27 April 2024
From: Features
Stamp duty rebates and cash to improve energy efficiency are being demanded by one of the country’s biggest mortgage lenders in...
26 April 2024
From: Breaking News
Thousands of people will be invited to take part in new research to help provide information on why one particularly badly...
26 April 2024
From: Breaking News
The average price of a home in Wales fell to £229,263 in the first quarter of 2024, making this the fifth...
25 April 2024
From: Breaking News
Detached homes in Wales are the slowest property types to sell across the UK and take an average of 92 days...
24 April 2024
From: Breaking News
New data from one of Britain’s largest mortgage lenders shows that nearly one in five first-time buyers are now aged 40...
23 April 2024
From: Breaking News
A report in the Times newspaper says Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is planning a stamp duty cut in the early autumn. The paper...
22 April 2024
From: Breaking News
A veteran PropTech figure with extensive experience of working at leading estate and sales agencies has told the government to act...
22 April 2024
From: Breaking News
There’s been broad support from within the agency and wider property sectors for Labour’s proposal to build on selected parts of...
22 April 2024
From: Breaking News
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...
20 April 2024
From: Features
The new financial year is often an opportunity to get organised for the year ahead. For self-employed property professionals who are...
20 April 2024
From: Features
Keir Starmer set out Labour’s policy for housebuilding this week and targeted ‘ugly’ parts of the Green Belt. It will be a...
20 April 2024
From: Features
The Home Buying and Selling Group (HBSG) has arranged a new pilot scheme for a group of lawyers and conveyancers to...
15 April 2024
From: Breaking News
The plight of the nation’s first-time buyers may be the focus when it comes to government housing initiatives, but our latest...
13 April 2024
From: Features
Dog-owning house buyers who want to live in areas of abundant green space in which to walk their four-legged friends are...
13 April 2024
From: Features
Fraud poses a significant challenge for residential conveyancers, with criminals often attempting to exploit the transaction process for money laundering purposes. The...
13 April 2024
From: Features
Southwark, Barnet, Camden, Croydon and Newham are the top five London boroughs with the highest number of vacant properties amid a...
13 April 2024
From: Features
Propertymark has urged the UK Government to consider other ways of boosting the supply of homes for purchase. The Government has two...
09 April 2024
From: Breaking News
The term ‘time bomb’ is sometimes overly used in the housing market, and while it has been linked to many things...
06 April 2024
From: Features
The majority of buyers and sellers in the prime housing market will not be deterred by the upcoming General Election, according...
05 April 2024
From: Breaking News
A variety of charities have received support from the property industry this week. If there are charitable endeavours you think the rest...
05 April 2024
From: Breaking News
House prices dipped on a monthly basis during March but annual growth improved, Nationwide data shows. The latest Nationwide House Price Index...
03 April 2024
From: Breaking News
A senior agency industry figure has criticised the lack of homebuilding targets after the latest Government data showed a drop in...
02 April 2024
From: Breaking News
Interesting report this week in Estate Agent Today on an analysis by the Resolution Foundation thinktank which suggests that the UK’s...
30 March 2024
From: Features
A game changer? Yorkshire Building Society launches 99% loan-to-value mortgage for first-time buyers
The Government may have backtracked on plans for 100% loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages but Yorkshire Building Society has come up with its...
28 March 2024
From: Breaking News
MPs have launched an inquiry on improving the home buying and selling process in England. The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC)...
27 March 2024
From: Breaking News
Further estate agency regulation won’t be too expensive for the industry, Lord Best has said. Lord Best, who led the Regulation of...
25 March 2024
From: Breaking News
Plans to set ground rents at a ‘peppercorn rate’ are reported to have been dropped amid opposition from freehold campaigners and...
25 March 2024
From: Breaking News
If you want to hear of a tale for our industry’s times - featuring housing shortages, planning disputes, rampant inflation and...
23 March 2024
From: Features
In the first of a short series of articles, David Beaumont, managing director of Compliance Matters, casts a professional eye over...
23 March 2024
From: Features
Both 'beauty' and ‘gentle density’ are central themes of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).. The notes which accompany the NPPF state...
23 March 2024
From: Features
The architect of the Regulation of Property Agents (ROPA) reforms has expressed frustration that the recommendations have failed to materialise as...
22 March 2024
From: Breaking News
Annual house price declines slowed in January and values returned to growth on a monthly basis, Land Registry data shows. The latest...
21 March 2024
From: Breaking News
The UK Government should make better use of property taxes to deter foreign buyers, boost property supply and raise tax revenue,...
20 March 2024
From: Breaking News
The Government has taken the unusual step of intervening in the London Plan to boost housebuilding in the capital. Housing Secretary Michael...
19 March 2024
From: Breaking News
The Spring Budget last Wednesday rounded out to be mostly a disappointment for the property industry, but it was also perhaps...
16 March 2024
From: Features
Today, I am reflecting on the Chancellor’s surprise Spring budget decision to abolish multiple dwellings relief for Stamp Duty Land Tax...
16 March 2024
From: Features
Last week the Government published new housing data which has largely gone unreported. The vacuum was probably linked to the Budget, and...
15 March 2024
From: Breaking News
The Government has given local authorities powers to double the council tax charged on long-term empty homes after 12 months. The time...
13 March 2024
From: Breaking News
The property market is awash with data. A quick Google search and any prospective buyer can find property prices, listing history,...
13 March 2024
From: Features
Following the disappointment of his Autmn statement, many property professionals were hoping for a kick-start to property sales in Jeremy Hunt’s...
09 March 2024
From: Features
When the Chancellor stood up to deliver the Spring Budget on Wednesday, those of us in the property business could be...
08 March 2024
From: Breaking News
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has almost halved its house price forecasts after another relatively quiet fiscal update for the...
07 March 2024
From: Breaking News
Agents are hopeful of support for the property market in today’s Spring Budget. It could be the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s final fiscal...
06 March 2024
From: Breaking News
Property professionals have called for the Government to allocate its promised £3m towards improving the home buying and selling process to...
04 March 2024
From: Breaking News
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is reported to be considering scrapping non-dom status in the latest rumour ahead of this week’s Budget. It comes...
04 March 2024
From: Breaking News
As the Budget approaches and the housing crisis intensifies, it is important to consider what the Chancellor could – and should...
02 March 2024
From: Features
The complexities of the government’s leasehold reform proposals affecting millions of homeowners came under the spotlight at a seminar organised by...
02 March 2024
From: Features
Mortgage approvals increased for the fourth consecutive month in a row during January but that hasn’t fed into official sales yet, data...
01 March 2024
From: Breaking News
There are often very grim snapshots of the current property crisis. But one of the most shocking I’ve read in a long...
01 March 2024
From: Breaking News
Attempts to get the long-awaited Regulation of Property Agents (ROPA) rules introduced into the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill have failed. The...
29 February 2024
From: Breaking News
Propertymark has added its name to calls for Stamp Duty reform and has also urged lenders to develop more affordable mortgage...
29 February 2024
From: Breaking News
Rightmove has joined growing calls for Stamp Duty reform ahead of the Spring Budget next week. The property portal has outlined three...
28 February 2024
From: Breaking News
Almost 2m aspiring homeowners do not think they will be able to follow in the footsteps of their parents by owning...
26 February 2024
From: Breaking News
The Government’s proposal to introduce a new 1% deposit mortgage scheme to help young people onto the property ladder is unworkable...
24 February 2024
From: Features
Rumours of the launch of a 1% mortgage deposit scheme have re-emerged with just weeks to go until the Spring Budget Chancellor...
23 February 2024
From: Breaking News
Every year the media writes a lot about house price crashes, and often pose the question whether this is the year...
23 February 2024
From: Breaking News
A senior estate agent has described the Government’s pledge to compel councils to cut red tape in favour of development as...
20 February 2024
From: Breaking News
More than a third of property professionals view the Spring Budget as an opportunity to boost new build and the first-time...
20 February 2024
From: Breaking News
A variety of charities have received support from the property industry over the past week. If there are charitable endeavours you think...
16 February 2024
From: Breaking News
Building on brownfield sites may not be the silver bullet it is made out to be, the government has been warned. Housing...
14 February 2024
From: Breaking News
From medieval castles to Elizabethan manor houses, Georgian townhouses and Victorian terraces, the UK’s historic buildings are central to our country’s...
10 February 2024
From: Features
Land is our greatest resource: one that has considerable potential to address society’s challenges. So, determining how land is used is...
10 February 2024
From: Features
The times, they are indeed a-changin’. But what Dylan may not have appreciated, however, was how fast that change would be...
08 February 2024
From: Breaking News
UK property professionals should look to Norway when assessing how to improve the home buying process, a housing minister has claimed. Speaking...
07 February 2024
From: Breaking News
Property sales fell for the fourth consecutive month in December and ended the year at 1.02m, HMRC data suggests. The latest property...
01 February 2024
From: Breaking News
The Labour Party has committed to working on ways to offer longer-term fixed rate mortgages to support first-time buyers. Outlining its plan...
01 February 2024
From: Breaking News
It usually takes a scandal or a reshuffle to remove a Government minister so it came as a bit of a...
31 January 2024
From: Breaking News
The emergence of the Digital property market represents the most profound shift for the industry itself since the advent of the...
31 January 2024
From: Features
Building more homes is a better solution than mortgage schemes to support first-time buyers, a Zoopla executive has claimed. Richard Donnell, executive...
30 January 2024
From: Breaking News
Housebuilders have indicated that they would prefer a Labour government is formed after the next General Election. The latest Land Index and...
30 January 2024
From: Breaking News
Sir Simon Clarke’s call for Rishi Sunak to be ousted from Downing Street may well express what many of his MP...
27 January 2024
From: Features
While our own Government continues to tentatively encourage homeowners to carry out energy-efficient measures, they will no doubt be eagerly watching...
27 January 2024
From: Features
London based presenter and property expert Elizabeth Warburton has partnered with Fine & Country as one of the hosts of the...
24 January 2024
From: Breaking News
Propertymark has welcomed a move by the Government to lift restrictions on development along the abandoned HS2 route. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak...
23 January 2024
From: Breaking News
The Government’s latest attempt to bolster the property appears to be 1% deposit mortgages. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is reported to be considering...
22 January 2024
From: Breaking News
Yulia Barnes is founder and managing partner of Barnes Law 2024 is set to be another significant year for the property...
20 January 2024
From: Features
Estate agency regulations and minimum standards may finally see the light of day after Labour put forward amendments to the Government’s...
19 January 2024
From: Breaking News
House prices fell at their fastest rate since 2011 during November 2023, the Land Registry has revealed. The latest Land Registry House...
18 January 2024
From: Breaking News
Parliamentary news may have been dominated by the fallout from the Rwanda Bill yesterday but another important piece of legislation also...
17 January 2024
From: Breaking News
Happy New Year and welcome to what’s looking like a busy - perhaps even hectic - 2024! I thought it worth running...
15 January 2024
From: Breaking News
After months of negative messaging and anti-development sentiment, espoused both nationally by the Government, and locally during May’s local election campaigning,...
13 January 2024
From: Features
As Conveyancers we operate in such a volatile market, where government economic policy can and has repeatedly made our professional lives...