Archive

In this week’s In Conversation Today, I speak with Anthony Payne, Managing Director and co-founder of LonRes, a data and network...

Much of the agency industry has reacted with delight at the extension of the stamp duty holiday deadline until June. Rightmove estimates...

Transaction totals took a tumble last month for the first time since last summer as HMRC figures suggest the stamp duty...

Being a letting agent today means keeping up to date with the long list of rules and regulations governing how a...

The Chancellor’s rumoured six week extension to the stamp duty holiday has been backed by Rightmove. Over last weekend the Daily Telegraph,...

A huge number of additional transactions completing in the next few weeks due to the stamp duty holiday provides estate agents...

You can always tell when Budget day is approaching. There’s lots of comment from every imaginable quarter about what the Chancellor of...

There’s been a huge focus on both the stamp duty holiday and Help To Buy deadlines at the end of March...

New government figures show that stamp duty transactions in the final quarter of last year were 43 per cent higher than in...

A group that last year floated the concept of a one-off wealth tax - which would include taxing main homes as...

Labour and Conservative MPs have expressed a unanimous view on their desire to see an extension of the stamp duty holiday...

A leading analyst is questioning whether buyers have benefitted from the stamp duty holiday because demand has purshed up prices far...

Estate agencies have been named by HM Revenue & Customs for breaching anti-money laundering regulations. The list of those breaching the rules...

A customer due diligence training webinar is being held for Rightmove members next week. This is the third anti-money laundering training webinar...

MPs want the government to publish the names of estate agencies and other companies claiming furlough funding. The all-party Public Accounts Committee of...

Start-up letting agents looking to enter the market are finding it increasingly difficult to set up in business as banks point...

Around half of all estate agencies selling homes for £5m or more have not even registered for anti-money laundering processes, and/or...

The coronavirus pandemic has somewhat eclipsed Brexit this year – which is no mean feat. Cast your mind back to pre-Covid...

If this year has taught us anything, it's that estate agents need their software provider and specifically their CRM, to help...

HM Revenue and Customs and the Advertising Standards Authority are working together to cut out misleading marketing by promoters of stamp...

You probably don’t have to listen closely to hear estate agents across the country starting to cheer. It’s been a big...

Foxtons has announced that its remuneration policy for senior management is to stay unchanged - and it says a voting problem...

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has extended the furlough scheme until the end of March. It will continue under the current rules, with the...

A leading board member of NAEA Propertymark warns a small number of rogue agents continue to flout anti-money laundering regulations - and...

Knight Frank is in talks with HM Revenue and Customs to return furlough money as a result of relatively strong trading, notwithstanding...

Figures just released from HM Revenue & Customs show just how much stamp duty buyers pay, at least before the current holiday...

The property market, and therefore, estate agents have been accused of being the 'weak link' in the UK’s money laundering defences. This...

When letting agents are preparing to migrate from one piece of client accounting software to another, it can sometimes seem like...

The government has issued new guidance to estate and lettings agencies on their obligations regarding money laundering issues - and online...

I’m sure I speak for most in the property industry when I say that back in March and April I had...

The scale of the market bounce back after lockdown is made clear in new figures from HM Revenue & Customs. It registers...

Letting agents are struggling to open new bank accounts and even large established letting agents with a long history of trading...

If anyone thought the days of Purplebricks bosses making millions were in the past,  think again. The chief executive and chief finance...

A law practice says HM Revenue & Customs is launching a probe into companies that have allegedly abused the Coronavirus furlough...

One of the main points I’ve had reinforced to me from agent after agent over the last year of hosting a...

Agents have almost unanimously been reporting a big surge in business since the reopening of the housing market, but new figures...

Speculation is mounting that Capital Gains Tax could for the first time be applied to gains made when owners sell first...

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

A tax and legal specialist says there’s been a huge rise in stamp duty refund cases between March and June -...

The managing director of a Winkworth branch is threatening to report a senior member of a nearby Countrywide office to the...

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

Zoopla’s head of research says a stamp duty holiday could encourage more home owners to move which in turn could help...

There's widespread expectation that Foxtons’ senior management will face sharp criticism at the company’s Annual General Meeting today. The hottest issue at...

A property law firm is the latest to back a call for a stamp duty holiday to help kick-start the housing...

House sales edged down only slightly in March compared with February according to HM revenue & Customs, despite the lockdown in...

Foxtons says it’s furloughed 750 staff and asked high paid staff earning over £40,000 to take a 20 per cent pay...

OnTheMaket has this morning announced a raft of what it calls ‘mitigating measures’ to help it survive the Coronavirus crisis. These include...

The NAEA and ARLA have jointly written to the government asking it to include agents’ commission in its plans to help those financially...

There’s been a significant rise in the number of transactions recorded in January - another sign of an improving housing market...

A legal challenge by HM Revenue and Customs has stopped a bid to secure a stamp duty discount on a property. The...

It’s been reported that two founders of an estate agency at Leigh in Greater Manchester have been banned until 2025 after...

Suddenly Brexit Day is nearly here. It may have taken three and a half years from the Referendum but the UK will,...

Data from HM Revenue & Customs shows tax receipts from stamp duty fell a further 5.2 per cent between 2018 and...

The number of residential transactions rose by 6.2 per cent in December - an unseasonal increase - according to data from...

Estate agents and others in the property industry have much more to do to deter money laundering. That’s the view of a security...

After a year dogged by Brexit deadlock, political turmoil, and slow growth, estate agents’ confidence in the property market hit a...

The number of residential sales rose 1.9 per cent to 102,050  in November compared to the same month last year, the...

It’s one of the most crucial aspects of the homebuying and selling process but is too often bogged down by frustrating...

There’s been a new warning to estate agents to check they are fully compliant with GDPR regulations following a European case...

House prices are forecast to dip as the year ends and stagnate at the start of 2020 according to the latest...

Countrywide’s ever-patient investors appear to have been unfazed by the company’s latest compliance issue, which has led to a £100,000 fine...

A tax expert is urging owners of second homes, as well as property investors and existing landlords, to seek independent financial...

There’s been an encouraging increase in property transaction volumes according to new figures from HM Revenue & Customs. The total number of...

London-focussed business-to-business deal data service LonRes has acquired an anti-money laundering compliance consultancy specialising in residential and commercial property. Financial Crime Services,...

The annual number of property transactions edged down slightly according to the figures released applying to August. However, buyers and sellers email...

HM Revenue & Customs has revealed that the original Emoov online agency has been fined for breaches of money laundering regulations. HMRC...

A business site says an agency’s administration has been extended as insolvency specialists try to find its former owner to claim...

A PropTech firm is marketing anti-money laundering audit checks for agents to help the industry comply with tighter regulation. Identity verification business...

In the run up to his appointment as Prime Minister, Boris Johnson suggested that he might cut Stamp Duty Land Tax...

Residential property transactions totalled 86,630 in July, representing a monthly drop of 8.5 per cent and an annual fall of 12.4...

A record £8.2 billion was paid in Capital Gains Tax in 2017/18 - over £1 billion more than the year before.  The...

A local authority in the Home Counties says it will not be possible to accept search queries for six weeks starting...

Data from UK Finance, which represents most of the country’s lenders, shows that gross mortgage lending across the residential market in...

London and South East England are to see house price falls this year and only “very modest” growth in 2020 -...

Conservative Party leadership contender Boris Johnson has expressed an interest in switching the stamp duty burden from buyers to sellers. Until now Johnson’s comments on...

Theresa May arrived in Downing Street some three years ago - but her premiership has not been a smooth ride. As she...

Recent figures from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) have revealed a rather worrying landscape for small business owners across the...

A member of a legal information and networking organisation says an online estate agency expects him to do some work in...

The number of residential property transactions across the UK fell very slightly last month according to new figures from HM Revenue...

The UK property market can be seen by criminals as an effective vehicle to conceal the proceeds of economic crime. Criminally...

A survey undertaken by the respected Economist Intelligence Unit and a risk solutions company suggests that estate agency may be one...

New figures from HM Revenue and Customs suggest that stamp duty receipts have fallen by no less than £1 billion. The drop...

Residential property transactions rose 1.4 per cent in March, making them a healthy 6.8 per cent higher than in March 2018. Data...

HM Revenue & Customs is set to pocket £60m less from one of its property taxes than it forecast. An analysis of...

It’s being suggest that a recent tax tribunal verdict might just open the way to challenges to the three per cent...

Over the last few years, there have a number of changes to the stamp duty land tax (SDLT) regime, which have...

There’s good news from the market - property transactions increased by 1.7 per cent between the start of this year and February,...

I don’t believe it’s unfair to state that our government, indeed, the entire political establishment is in some turmoil at the...

Estate agent anti-money laundering (AML) compliance is under scrutiny again following the publication of figures detailing the fines levied for AML...

The Money Laundering Regulations require estate agents to risk assess their business relationships and apply an appropriate level of investigation to...

The influential Treasury Select Committee says estate agents should be more closely monitored to ensure they abide by anti-money laundering regulations. In...

The huge £215,000 fine levied on Countrywide for failing to abide by anti-money laundering procedures is a demonstration that estate agents...

HM Revenue & Customs has issued more details of its bid to encourage estate agents to combat money laundering in the...

It’s been revealed that Countrywide has been hit with a £215,000 fine as part of a swoop by HMRC cracking down...

The Money Laundering Regulations require estate agents to risk assess their business relationships and apply an appropriate level of investigation to...

The first set of figures for the year from HMRC show that there were 0.8 per cent more residential property transactions...

The Money Laundering Regulations require estate agents to risk assess their business relationships and apply an appropriate level of investigation to...

A husband and wife pair of directors at a property valuation and surveying company have been ordered by the courts to...

If former Chancellor George Osborne thought his 2014 stamp duty reform would produce more income for the government, it appears he...

A review of the housing market at present, particularly when it comes to purchase transactions, might not necessarily feel overly positive.  The...

There were 102,330 residential property transactions in December - that’s up 3.6 per cent on the same month last year on...

The government has moved to crack down on money laundering in the UK with a new campaign focusing on the accountancy,...

An agent has started an online petition demanding negotiators and others in the agency industry be paid the legal minimum wage...

As 2018 draws to a close, it is fair to say that stretched affordability and uncertainty over the Brexit negotiations has...

The holiday home market may still be struggling in the wake of the three per cent additional homes stamp duty surcharge...

A consumer group which has already expressed alarm at some aspects of the so-called ‘Modern Method of Auction’ says it has...

Perhaps it’s been our pre-occupation with Brexit, or on the other hand maybe we’re bored with politics, but this year’s Budget...

Data from HM Revenue & Customs shows some 98,400 homes were sold across the UK in September - that’s slightly lower...

Few things anger the industry more than the effect of stamp duty and other costs on property transactions (well, maybe Purplebricks...

Figures released by HMRC over the weekend show another huge rise in stamp duty going to the Treasury - and that’s...

The estate agent behind the troubled high end Sanderson Young company is reported to be appearing in court this week as...

Estate agents have been warned that underestimating their legal obligations when it comes to anti-money laundering (AML) could see an increase...

Data from the buying agency Black Brick reveals just how big an impact has been made by the additional homes stamp...

The number of property transactions in July fell 3.2 per cent on the same month last year according to seasonally adjusted...

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) - which replaces the Data Protection Act 1998 - has now become effective and is...

The former Chancellor George Osborne - architect of drastic stamp duty reform - has come out fighting to defend the tax...

An analysis of HMRC stamp duty statistics for the second quarter of this year suggest that receipts are down 13.8 per...

Connells Group - which now says it’s the country’s largest estate agency by market share and numbers of homes sold -...

Does your company apply adequate customer due diligence measures when carrying out estate agency work?  Does it establish and maintain appropriate policies...

The Money Laundering Regulations 2017 require estate agents to risk assess their business relationships and apply an appropriate level of investigation...

The Money Laundering Regulations 2017 require estate agents to risk assess their business relationships and apply an appropriate level of investigation...

The Money Laundering Regulations 2017 require estate agents to risk assess their business relationships and apply an appropriate level of investigation...

National estate agency Jackson-Stops claims that the 3% stamp duty surcharge on additional homes is still confusing buyers, despite being in...

Figures from the Treasury suggest that the annual revenue from stamp duty for the year to the end of March is...

A proposal by HMRC to speed up HMRC Capital Gains Tax payments for residential property sales could create a “compliance nightmare.” The...

A 15-month research project says HMRC should do more to engage estate agents in recognising the importance of complying with anti-money...

HM Revenue and Customs has won a key ruling concerning a tax avoidance scheme promoter which claimed to be able to...

A compliance specialist company is warning that as it believes relatively few estate agents fully understand their anti-money laundering obligations, firms...

A forecast suggests HM Revenue & Customs will rake in no less than £8.8 billion in Capital Gains Tax in 2018...

Agents have welcomed more data suggesting the 2018 market is enjoying a robust start. Last week Rightmove reported a record number of...

Between October and December 2017, some £822 million worth of UK residential property was sold at auction, according to the Essential...

The number of transactions last year dropped to 1.22m - a minor 0.8 per cent drop on the year before and...

Estate agents have been hit with six- and seven-figure fines under new anti-money laundering and anti-tax evasion regulations according to the...

What a year it’s been! Back in 2016 we had Brexit, a new prime minister, Donald Trump’s election, and so when...

A new EU crackdown on money laundering requires estate agency businesses to adopt a collaborative approach if they are to avoid...

HMRC has refunded £185m to some 15,000 house buyers since the introduction of the stamp duty surcharge in April of last...

The largest mutual life pension and insurance company in the UK has added its voice to growing calls for stamp duty...

Pressure is continuing to build on the government to reform stamp duty in next month’s Budget. Firstly a group of senior financial...

If the government slashed stamp duty for the country’s most expensive properties the entire housing market would benefit, an estate agency...

Whenever any research is released, part of me can’t help thinking of that old adage, ‘lies, damn lies and statistics’ especially...

Analysis by the Nationwide suggests that the proportion of UK-wide stamp duty payments paid by purchasers in the south east of...

It’s not just the evenings drawing in that marks the approach of autumn - it’s also the return to work of...

The number of existing home owners moving house fell two per cent in the first six months of 2017 compared with...

An analysis of data from HM Revenue and Customs reveals that inheritance tax paid by UK families has topped £5 billion...

A Hampshire property investor who failed to declare Capital Gains Tax from the sale of properties evading £157,725, has been jailed...

The number of transactions in the housing market has fallen for the third successive month - and for the first time...

Theresa May’s call for a snap general election on June 8 took many by surprise. But estate agents have been broadly...

HMRC says there has been a five per cent drop on the number of transactions attracting stamp duty in the first...

Property transactions rose marginally in March this year, up 0.5 per cent on February’s total according to figures from HM Revenue...

It seems prop-tech is exploding at a scary rate, and the latest brands are all trying to grab our attention by...

HMRC and the National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team have agreed new procedures to “enhance and ease the current flow of...

Annoying isn’t it. You take on a stunning property, agree a compelling asking price and your Vendor is desperate to get the...

The latest HM Revenue and Customs figures show that there were 1.23 million property transactions in 2016, the highest figure recorded...

Data from HM Revenue & Customs shows that the sale of residential properties rose a marginal 0.8 per cent last month...

The government has announced that its next Budget will be on March 8 next year. Until recently, Budgets and their ‘mini-me’ Autumn...

Following a strong start to 2016, particularly in the lower to middle range of the UK housing market, that lasted up...

Becky Fatemi of central London estate agency Rokstone says prime areas of the capital are to suffer a “prolonged phase of...

Recent stamp duty changes have resulted in a substantial decline in transaction numbers and HM Revenue & Customs missing its revenue...

Despite dire warnings from some estate agents that stamp duty receipts for the government would plummet in London, it now appears...

Provisional figures from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs show there were 109,630 residential property transactions in the UK during August.  The figure is...

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is to expel an estate agent for breaking several of its membership rules.  Dion Beard,...

The key lies in improving your customer experience through technology For Agents, the tremendous growth in online estate agents highlights a strong...

With ever increasing obligations, estate agents know that compliance matters now more than ever.  However, being able to obtain access to the...

The Society of Licensed Conveyancers has become the latest body to call for the scrapping of stamp duty to give the...

After all the recent Whitehall upheaval we can perhaps get back to business; and first item on the agenda seems to...

Countrywide says it is too early to say whether the stamp duty surcharge introduced in the spring has had any significant...

The latest figures from the HMRC show the scale of sales market drop-off following the surge in purchases by buy to...

A fair amount of scaremongering has been going on when it comes to money laundering checks, with the eye-watering fines issued...

London transaction data company LonRes and law firm Eversheads are launching an agent-to-agent anti money laundering compliance service for LonRes subscribers.  The...

The jobs of 32 estate agents working at a high-end chain have been saved after the firm and its assets were sold...

The head of one of the country's largest estate agency chains has urged sellers to be more realistic with the asking...

The Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates that gross mortgage lending reached £18.5 billion last month - the highest April figure since...

A modest 0.4 per cent rise in average asking prices over the past month conceals a nasty surprise for first time...

House prices dipped by 0.8 per cent in April, the first month of the stamp duty surcharge and the period when...

Conducting Customer Due Diligence on clients and beneficial owners is a requirement for all estate agents.   The articles in this series...

Estate agency Connells says the buoyant start to 2016 created by investors trying to beat the April stamp duty deadline may...

Buy to let investors and second home owners were behind three in five property purchases made in prime London during the...

Straightforward money laundering customer due diligence (CDD) is a worry for agents, but then also having to identify beneficial owners and...

There was an extraordinary 70 per cent leap in residential transaction volumes in March this year compared to the same month...

Online agent House Network has accused unspecified numbers of traditional estate agents of hiding their VAT fees.  A statement from the agency...

Inheritance tax receipts taken by HM Revenue and Customs jumped to a record high of £4.6 billion in 2015-2016 according to...

There is a substantial amount of misunderstanding over this question, which needs clarifying.   In general terms, the Money Laundering Regulations require...

The firm which this week announced it had won a landmark money laundering appeal case says it's not all doom and...

Money laundering compliance is the hot topic at the moment, with various organisations making statements about the need to change and...

The Society of Licensed Conveyancers is calling on the government to reconsider the three per cent stamp duty surcharge being introduced...

Let Mid West Displays get your window in shape! Never underestimate the power of high street presence. Image is everything, and what...

The prospect of quarterly tax returns being imposed on some businesses - including small estate agencies and other small firms servicing...

HMRC is staging its next anti-money laundering webinar for estate agents next Wednesday. Entitled ‘Customer Due Diligence for Estate Agency Businesses’ it...

There are fears that a little-publicised proposal could mean some of the country's smallest estate agencies would have to file tax returns...

“Estate Agents have been highlighted by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) as under reporting relative to their vulnerability to money...

A conveyancer who swindled his clients and HM Revenue and Customs out of almost £352,500 in stamp duty land tax, has...

News from the Halifax this week that the combined values of the residential properties in London amounts to £1.13 trillion, virtually...

The National Association of Estate Agents admits that “take up has been low” in its bid to persuade each member agent to...

It was interesting to see the report on Estate Agent Today about the meeting between London estate agents, NAEA, and HMRC. No,...

HMRC says that more homes were sold in the UK in August than in any month since February last year. The Revenue...

With the industry still awaiting the outcome of two investigations into allegations surrounding London property money-laundering, one estate agency is now...

A London mortgage broker who lied about his company profits to evade almost £115,000 in corporation tax has been found guilty...

The head of research at lettings portal Lettingweb.com says the National Crime Agency’s claims about hundreds of billions of pounds of...

Watch the latest weekly video round-up of news from Estate Agent Today and Letting Agent Today, featuring stories on contradicting figures...

Watch the latest weekly video round-up of news from Estate Agent Today and Letting Agent Today, featuring stories on contradicting figures...

The Chancellor, George Osborne, has announced a series of measures impacting on the property industry, including:   Mortgage interest relief for buy-to-let homebuyers...

The latest transaction figures from HM Revenue & Customs show that 98,540 homes were sold in the UK during May -...

The National Association of Estate Agents says HMRC have been making unscheduled visits to individual agency offices to check on their...

"Stop right there. Hands above your head. Don't move. Mavis, dial 999." Mr D Smith (MARLA, NFoPP) removes his Glock 19...

The true impact of the election on the housing market has been revealed as the latest government figures on house transactions...