Archive

It’s fair to say that UK estate agents don’t have the best of reputations, often featuring in the lists of the...

Now we’re well into the second month of the year, we have reached a crucial point in the ongoing plans to...

Property auctions – online or otherwise – can be hugely helpful to sellers, buyers and estate agents. Online auctions, in particular, are...

A new survey suggests that an overwhelming majority of householders want a legal ban on gazumping. The result is likely to be...

Buyers and sellers changing their minds lie behind almost a third of fall-throughs - the single biggest reason why transactions collapse,...

Reservation Agreements may require bigger financial penalties than the £500 to £1,000 currently envisaged if they are to work. That’s the view...

Gazumping is alive and well in much of the country, despite the slowdown in the property market, according to new research...

Phil Spencer and his advice website IQ have endorsed the concept of legally binding reservation agreements and digital legal packs through...

The modern method of auction is proving to revolutionise the way properties are bought and sold across the UK.  By putting the...

MyBid4It is an online auction platform which has been developed to partner with Estate Agents and revolutionise the way properties are...

A large-scale survey by a consumer group has revealed that over half of home owners regard stamp duty as a growing...

A London estate agent says his system of ‘moral agreements’ between sellers and buyers prevents chains collapsing and means his company has...

The latest research from online estate agency Emoov shows at least one silver lining to the current Brexit-hit housing market -...

New research shows 35 per cent of deals fall through within three weeks of a seller receiving an offer and a...

A new company is claiming to reduce chain collapses during sales by creating a lockout agreement, also known as a reservation agreement. Property...

It seems a lifetime ago but in fact we’re approaching just the first anniversary since the government triggered its Call for...

Gazumping is the biggest irritation in the property market to the general public according to a survey of over 2,000 people.  Respondents...

To demonstrate the lengths some buyers will go to make sure their offer is accepted, NAEA Propertymark has asked its agent...

Stubbornly high house prices and concerns over leasehold-related charges top the list of worries amongst the public about the housing market. That’s...

Estate agent licensing will reduce competition, make buying and selling homes more expensive, and add another layer of red tape to...

As the estate agency business in England moves towards being more robust with professional qualifications and higher standards being introduced, there...

A central London buying agent says she was once offered a bribe by an estate agent to try to persuade a...

The government has announced further measures which will, in its words, “professionalise” house buying and the estate agency business. In yet another Sunday...

A critic of the conveyancing process has accused a law firm’s charge of £95 for “exchange and completion within five working...

“Are we there yet?” In the same way that these words can drive you to distraction (any parent who has endured the...

A law firm says the problems with housing transactions lie not with issues like fall-throughs but with “people’s general lack of...

PropTech companies Gazeal and GetMeMoving have teamed up in a partnership which they claim goes some way to meeting the government’s...

Online agency Settled is introducing a deposit scheme which it claims will assist sellers and buyers reach completion faster - and...

Some 12 per cent of transactions in England and Wales so far this year have been subject to gazumping, being sold...

Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has launched a consultation on proposals to reform the house buying...

The government should take a close look at gazundering as well as gazumping in its review of the house sales process,...

The Conveyancing Association says some of its members are piloting HIPs-style Digital Home Reports in a bid to reduce fall-throughs and...

Conveyancers and the speed of local council searches have come in for criticism as details have emerged of the government’s consultation...

There has been a wide range of views from trade bodies and individual agents on the government’s surprise ‘call for evidence’...

The government has launched a consultation this weekend calling for evidence on how to make the home buying process “cheaper, faster...

The agent behind a new online service covering off-market homes in part of prime central London says his service will expand...

  You’ll see a lot of 10th anniversary stories in the property industry and consumer media in the coming days: early August...

The popularity of property auctions in the UK has increased enormously in recent years, supported by popular TV shows such as...

A ‘disrupter’ estate agent says the English housing market operates in a way that is far less efficient than Scotland’s -...

The guys at Which? are at it again, all over estate agents like a rash for “over valuing” properties so they...

Perhaps unsurprisingly, a new survey suggests the proportion of London buyers who have lost out on a purchase because of gazumping...

No longer just a domain for investors, developers and property traders, the auction room is now the preferred option of buying...

With an anticipated “Call for Evidence” from the Dept of Business Innovation & Skills looking into the home-buying experience ETSOS is...

Nearly three quarters of people who have sold or bought a property deem it more stressful than having a child or...

In this business you get used to dealing with regular customer and third-party feedback, input, and (occasionally) complaints.  Much like the agency market...

The government is staying tight-lipped about it for the moment but there may be a major shake-up in house buying on...

We’re all familiar with 'gazumping' – most us have been 'gazumped' or indeed been the perpetrators of this practice, for it...

The number of buyers being gazumped has fallen by 40% since October 2014, according to online estate agent eMoov. The agency surveyed...

In my recent article, ‘Is Gazeal for Real?’ I reported on the imminent launch of this new product that claimed it...