You have to wonder who is advising Rishi Sunak these days. Months ago, Silverstone must have seemed a terrific venue to hold...
Archive
The latest residential market sentiment survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors suggests confidence in the housing market is beginning...
13 June 2024
From: Breaking News
The Conservative Party’s General Election manifesto has committed to resurrecting the Help to Buy Equity Loan Scheme and temporarily removing Capital...
12 June 2024
From: Breaking News
Stamp Duty reform and first-time buyer support tops the list of what Foxtons would like to see from the next Government. The...
10 June 2024
From: Breaking News
With election day looming, in the first of a series of articles, experts from property services organisation, Leaders Romans Group, offer...
01 June 2024
From: Features
So we’ve been sent the ‘Save The Date’ card - it’s July 4. Now all we need is the invitation to the...
25 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
Help to Buy has been ranked as having the most positive influence on the property market in recent times. Agency comparison website...
08 May 2024
From: Breaking News
The best news for the property sector to come from Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Spring Budget statement came not from any fiscal...
20 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
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
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
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
A lawyer has called for Help to Buy to be resurrected in the Autumn Statement. Paul Sams, head of property at Dutton...
21 November 2023
From: Breaking News
It's emerged that Homes England and HMRC have explored possible fraud within the Help to Buy Equity Loan Scheme. This formed part of...
20 October 2023
From: Breaking News
The “ticking time bomb” of Help to Buy repayments could be set to explode due to the cost of living crisis,...
06 October 2023
From: Breaking News
Mortgage searches on behalf of borrowers using gifted equity or making a concessionary purchase from a family member rose by 75%...
12 September 2023
From: Breaking News
The Government is facing calls to resurrect the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme. The housing support scheme, which provided a Government-backed...
11 September 2023
From: Breaking News
Trading conditions in the housing market have worsened during this summer, Crest Nicholson has warned. A trading update from the housebuilder said...
22 August 2023
From: Breaking News
After months of negative messaging and anti-development sentiment, espoused both nationally by the Government, and locally during recent local election campaigning,...
19 August 2023
From: Features
Alarm bells are ringing in the new build sales sector after figures have been released by a major house builder. Bellway says...
10 August 2023
From: Breaking News
A mortgage expert has expressed concern about the level of borrowers still taking out high loan-to-value government-backed home loans despite falling...
19 July 2023
From: Breaking News
With the Bank of England’s rate rise to five per cent, soaring rents, and the cost-of-living crisis, now is the time...
24 June 2023
From: Features
Housing policy formation must go beyond electoral cycles, academics have warned. A group of Cambridge University alumni has teamed up to urge...
05 May 2023
From: Breaking News
For just over a decade, the Government has operated ‘Help to Buy’ schemes in England. The first of these, ‘NewBuy’, which...
15 April 2023
From: Features
UK estate agents are split when it comes to their opinion on last week’s Budget, with half concerned about a lack...
23 March 2023
From: Breaking News
It was a busy 2022 for the so-called Bank of Mum and Dad and 2023 could be more manic for parents,...
15 March 2023
From: Breaking News
First-time buyers are persisting with Help to Buy purchases as cut-off-point approaches for the housing support scheme. To be eligible for an...
14 March 2023
From: Breaking News
From first-time buyer support to Stamp Duty changes or just doing nothing at all, there is plenty that agents and property...
13 March 2023
From: Breaking News
I’ve found myself in contemplative mode this week, looking forward to the future and remembering times past. In the immediate future –...
11 March 2023
From: Features
Agents are being trained in how to operate in a ‘normal’ sales market, a senior industry executive has revealed. Gareth Samples, chief...
03 March 2023
From: Breaking News
Housing Secretary Michael Gove has signalled that legislation to allow for further leasehold reform will be included in the next parliamentary...
21 February 2023
From: Breaking News
Lucy Frazer became the 13th Housing Minister to leave the role in the past decade yesterday after she was promoted to...
08 February 2023
From: Breaking News
Higher mortgage rates and the end of Help to Buy has had a “sharp impact” on sales rates, Persimmon has warned. A...
13 January 2023
From: Breaking News
An interest rate drop is top of the new year wish list among property professionals, a survey claims. A webinar poll among...
29 December 2022
From: Breaking News
A fifth of potential borrowers have had their mortgage application rejected over the past 12 months – hitting their hopes of...
23 December 2022
From: Breaking News
Housing Secretary Michael Gove has committed to look into issues with the Building Safety Act after MPs claimed leaseholders and Help to...
22 November 2022
From: Breaking News
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will have a go at balancing the nation’s books today and the main thing agents seem to want...
17 November 2022
From: Breaking News
Representatives from homebuilder Barratt and Rightmove are to share tips on how first-time buyers can get on the property ladder in...
14 November 2022
From: Breaking News
The end of the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme coupled with rising mortgage rates and affordability requirements will mean fewer...
11 November 2022
From: Breaking News
The number of homebuyers putting a Help to Buy Isa towards their property purchase looks set to hit a five-year low. The...
11 November 2022
From: Breaking News
In this guest feature, Ben Bailey, CCO at Even, a mortgage lender for first-time buyers launched this year, provides commentary on the end...
05 November 2022
From: Features
Buyers have until 31 October to reserve a new-build and apply for Government-backed finance before the government’s Help to Buy Equity...
26 October 2022
From: Breaking News
With UK interest rates on the rise, following the mini-Budget announcement (now since almost entirely reversed), and several lenders pulling mortgage...
22 October 2022
From: Features
If recent headlines are anything to go by, estate agents and the wider property industry are not just feeling the heavy...
15 October 2022
From: Features
The fallout from Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-Budget, which has spooked the markets and caused the pound to fall to record lows,...
28 September 2022
From: Breaking News
A senior new-build property professional has warned that the Help to Buy scheme will be “sorely missed” by first-time buyers once...
12 September 2022
From: Breaking News
Home hunters are increasingly searching for eco-friendly homes amid concerns about rising energy bills, figures suggest. New data from Legal & General...
07 September 2022
From: Breaking News
From housebuilding to planning laws and stamp duty reform, agents and property professionals were ready with plenty of suggestions for Liz...
06 September 2022
From: Breaking News
Many first-time buyers and homeowners are becoming more cautious of the property market. The cost of living crisis, combined with rising...
03 September 2022
From: Features
Research over recent years has regularly pointed to the Bank of Mum & Dad being one of the UK’s biggest lenders,...
04 August 2022
From: Breaking News
Online agent Griffin Property Co has become the latest brand to partner with Help to Buy-style equity loan provider Proportunity. The partnership...
13 July 2022
From: Breaking News
Independent agent Barrows and Forrester has called for the appointment of a housing tsar for a fixed term as yet another...
07 July 2022
From: Breaking News
A group of mortgage advisers has proposed a range of reforms to reduce barriers to home ownership for first time buyers. The...
20 June 2022
From: Breaking News
Rising house prices have rendered the government’s Help to Buy ISA scheme useless, an analyst claims. The Help to Buy ISA saving...
12 May 2022
From: Breaking News
A third of first-time buyers have had to reduce their budgets as a result of recent interest rate hikes and the...
03 May 2022
From: Breaking News
A developer has converted a 1979s office block into flats which are now being sold as £180,000 to £215,000 work from...
10 March 2022
From: Breaking News
As this is the first Natter back since the Christmas break, I should like to first wish all our readers a...
15 January 2022
From: Features
A company linked to the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower is being excluded from the government’s Help to Buy scheme, pending the outcome...
20 December 2021
From: Breaking News
A housebuilding-led mortgage indemnity scheme called Deposit Unlock has now been launched nationally with 17 major developers taking part. Nationwide is the...
26 November 2021
From: Breaking News
Data released by Zoopla suggests that demand for new builds outside London remains above the five year average, but has failed...
25 November 2021
From: Breaking News
Affordability has always been a hot topic when it comes to the property market, and this is doubly true for first-time...
22 September 2021
From: Features
Warwick Estates has revealed the most in-demand features for new-build buyers. The firm has analysed Rightmove data and found that those buying...
14 September 2021
From: Breaking News
Few political policies have such a ring of the past as rent controls - they were last seen in this country...
04 September 2021
From: Features
Zoopla-owned Proptech platform Yourkeys has launched what it calls a first-of-its-kind sales progression service for new-build shared ownership properties. It works like...
26 August 2021
From: Breaking News
Over 55,000 households bought homes through the government’s Help to Buy equity loan scheme in the past financial year - a...
16 August 2021
From: Breaking News
Two prominent estate agencies are amongst those piloting a new financial product that allows aspiring buyers to purchase property with just...
13 August 2021
From: Breaking News
Annual house price growth remains above 10 per cent despite a small monthly dip in July according to the Nationwide. A 0.5...
29 July 2021
From: Breaking News
New research from Zoopla appears to show that buyers typically move further away for larger homes rather than smaller or same-size...
23 July 2021
From: Breaking News
At first sight it’s a tough ask to defend holiday homes when there’s evidence that many who want to buy can’t,...
10 July 2021
From: Features
A new analysis claims Help To Buy has improved building volumes and has not been a drain on taxpayers. The scheme which...
30 June 2021
From: Breaking News
Nationwide Building Society is to become the largest mortgage provider to reintroduce 95 per cent Loan-to-Value home loans without government support. These...
19 May 2021
From: Breaking News
Over 300,000 new-builds in England have been purchased using the government's Help to Buy Equity Loan since its launch in 2013. Of the...
19 May 2021
From: Breaking News
The land and new homes division of Sequence has signed a deal to offer fully-funded part exchange and home buying services...
23 April 2021
From: Breaking News
For many, the funeral of HRH Prince Philip will be a solemn affair, while for some it will also be a...
17 April 2021
From: Features
Annual house price growth remains strong but it has slowed significantly according to the Nationwide. Prices dropped 0.2 per cent on average...
01 April 2021
From: Breaking News
The deadline to complete the purchase of a home under the current Help to Buy scheme in England has been extended...
16 February 2021
From: Breaking News
The Chancellor is considering extending the stamp duty holiday for a short period according to a newspaper report this morning. The Daily...
13 February 2021
From: Breaking News
Agents and a wide range of property experts have demanded yet more government funds to end the cladding crisis that is...
11 February 2021
From: Breaking News
There’s been a huge focus on both the stamp duty holiday and Help To Buy deadlines at the end of March...
08 February 2021
From: Breaking News
A 10-point ’must have’ list of demands for Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget on March 3 has been issued by NAEA Propertymark. It’s...
04 February 2021
From: Breaking News
The government needs to step in to rescue two valuable property incentives before they expire at the end of March, a...
03 February 2021
From: Breaking News
The stamp duty holiday should be extended to include properties that have exchanged but have yet to complete, a leading accountancy...
26 January 2021
From: Breaking News
There’s no doubt that the property market underwent a tumultuous year in 2020, where efficiency was required more than ever. Since the...
09 January 2021
From: Features
The government has revealed new regional price caps for its revamped Help To Buy Equity Loan scheme, set to operate between...
19 November 2020
From: Breaking News
Zoopla is the first UK property company to launch advertising on Pinterest, the lifestyle picture-centric social media platform. A statement from Zoopla...
16 November 2020
From: Breaking News
The first monthly market monitor to show activity in the housing market tailing off has appeared - and it says momentum...
11 November 2020
From: Breaking News
Recent figures emanating from the mortgage and housing market suggest that – since lockdown was ended in mid-May – transaction levels...
31 October 2020
From: Features
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been told to avoid a stamp duty holiday cliff-edge next March at any price - because it...
29 October 2020
From: Breaking News
The only certainty at the moment is ongoing uncertainty. It’s something we’ve got used to in 2020, but it’s still not...
10 October 2020
From: Features
Government leaks to mainstream and building trade media suggest the controversial Help To Buy scheme will be extended beyond its end-of-2020 deadline. An...
30 July 2020
From: Breaking News
Hello and welcome to another week. We’re more than aware that it’s a challenging time for our industry as for most...
20 July 2020
From: Breaking News
An industry analyst is challenging the long-established agents’ view that reducing or temporarily scrapping stamp duty would help the market. On the...
08 July 2020
From: Breaking News
A prominent tax specialist has suggested that stamp duty cuts would not help improve the housing market, despite many agents suggesting...
02 July 2020
From: Breaking News
Buyer demand for new-build property has bounced back 66 per cent in the six weeks since the resumption of the housing...
01 July 2020
From: Breaking News
There’s been a big rise in demand for new-builds since the lockdown according to figures from Knight Frank - but the...
23 June 2020
From: Breaking News
Online sector veterans Russell Quirk and Kenny Bruce have used social media to call for a temporary scrapping of all stamp...
16 June 2020
From: Breaking News
The outlook for the housing market is still taking shape, but here I take a look at three market indicators to...
30 May 2020
From: Features
Rightmove and Knight Frank are today both calling for a series of government incentives to kick-start the market after the Coronavirus...