Archive

A report by the influential Public Accounts committee of MPs has been highly sceptical of the effectiveness of Help To Buy. It...

The new housing minister has admitted that her party has tried to “put a lid” on house price rises and has...

If you thought - perhaps hoped - that five weeks of prorogued Parliament meant a break from politics, think again: the...

Who knows how long any housing minister will last, especially with a General Election widely expected in the coming months. So Esther...

It’s been six years since the Help to Buy scheme was launched, with the honourable intentions of helping more people onto...

It’s been quite a week for news so you might have missed this story - there is yet another boost for...

There has been a sceptical response by agents and others in the property industry to the government’s latest headline-grabbing tweaks to...

The Housing Secretary says he wants to make home ownership more affordable for first time buyers - which could mean discounts...

New research has identified those local housing market potentially worst hit by the planned changes to Help To Buy in 2021,...

We now have a new Leader of the Conservative Party and, rather more importantly, a new Prime Minister. That individual is Boris...

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

With this summer marking forty years since Margaret Thatcher came to power, her legacy continues to invoke both celebration and consternation...

The National Audit Office says many users of Help To Buy would have been able to purchase a home anyway, without...

South west regional agency Luscombe Maye has amended an advertisement for a new housing development following a complaint to a watchdog. A...

Demand for shared ownership properties will rise by over 15,000 units a year when Help To Buy comes to an end...

1989 was a significant time for the property industry: it marked the beginning of the end of a period of unprecedented...

In recent weeks our campaign to replace leasehold with commonhold has continued to gather momentum both in the press and across...

Data produced by the government showed that some 211,000 homes have been bought using the Help to Buy: Equity Loan. The scheme...

First time buyers purchasing new homes using the government’s Help to Buy equity loan scheme paid on average 12 per cent...

Estate agents have responded cynically to the small-fry property sector announcements made by Chancellor Phillip Hammond in yesterday’s spring statement mini-Budget. Overshadowed...

Figures released this morning show a surge in first time buyers securing mortgages in recent months, despite the market showing continued signs...

The row over whether Help To Buy benefits house builders’ personal wealth more than it assists the housing market is continuing...

After several days of gloomy market news, here's something more optimistic - there were 370,000 new first time buyer mortgages completed in...

Property consultancy JLL has launched a specialised Help to Buy team in response to what it calls “the increasing demand for...

I often speak of my wish to see property taken out of the hands of politicians. Indeed, this is likely to...

While even agents of the calibre of Savills struggle in today’s market - see the agency’s figures here - it’s a...

One of Britain’s foremost property consultancies has given a relatively upbeat prediction for the UK housing market over the next five...

Developers have continued to sell thousands of new-build houses with leaseholds, despite a government pledge to ban the “unscrupulous” practice a...

An end-of-year analysis from the National Association of Estate Agents shows the state of the industry - and it confirms just...

Figures released by the government over the weekend show that 14,867 Help To Buy equity loans were taken out in the...

A property comparison website has made a defence of the controversial Help To Buy initiative, claiming it “acts as an important...

Shocking figures from the Local Data Company, a consultancy monitoring the health of High Streets, show that 211 estate agency offices...

Rather like doctors, estate agents are present at critical points in our lives – moving in together, bidding farewell to a...

On the face of it, this year’s Budget was not what you could describe as ‘housing heavy’ in terms of the...

Savills has issued its forecast for the housing market for the next five years, and while it highlights some bright spots...

The agency industry has reacted in a broadly downbeat way at the relatively few housing-related proposals that were announced in yesterday’s...

Stamp duty relief for first time buyers of full-priced houses and apartments is to be extended to first time buyers of...

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...

Is Help To Buy going to remain in existence for much longer? Question marks over the scheme’s future are being raised through...

Those of you who receive (and read) my Sunday PropTech Review will know that, by far and away, the most shared...

Speculation is growing that the Help to Buy scheme is set to be discontinued following a review by government ministers. Recent research...

A full 100 per cent of 20 to 24 year olds hope to buy their own home one day -  but...

A downbeat report from property investment specialist London Central Portfolio says “there are very few causes for optimism in the domestic...

Some 31 per cent of first time buyers residing in London ended up moving away from the capital to purchase a...

More than 420,000 people have now used the government’s Help to Buy schemes to get themselves on to the housing ladder...

If agents want to get into what looks like a guaranteed growth sector, retirement properties might just be the one if...

The government says its funding schemes such as Help To Buy will no longer be applied to what it calls “unjustified...

To say this is a turbulent time for UK politics would be something of an understatement. As I write, the Brexit...

Consumer body Which? is warning that those who used the Help To Buy equity loan to purchase their homes could face...

A service that tracks different types of mortgage demand reveals that remortgaging is on the rise while borrowing for new purchases...

Given the level of resource and energy being put behind upping the number of first-time buyers in the UK, you might...

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

The proportion of first time buyers in the market is still 11 per cent below the level seen before the 2008...

Barclays is next week launching a so-called ‘green mortgage’ which links the loan to the Energy Performance Certificate rating of the...

A partner at Carter Jonas says that the next 12 months could see stagnation in the market and as a result...

Last week’s news that the lettings fee ban is unlikely to materialise before next spring was perhaps to be expected. Ever since...

New analysis by credit and comparison service Totally Money has revealed the districts where the controversial Help To Buy initiative is...

The business editor of right-wing political weekly The Spectator has made an attempt to defend the controversial £109m bonus paid to...

The housing industry has set out a list of demands in advance of the government’s hotly anticipated Autumn Budget on Wednesday.  Despite...

Savills has given a pessimistic outlook for the mainstream housing market for the next five years.  It says average house prices across...

The residential research associate director of Cushman & Wakefield says there is now evidence that the Help to Buy equity loan...

With the Budget just over a month away, the steady stream of ‘leaks’ continues to grow as journalists and the industry...

And so concludes another party conference season.  We’ve followed the great and the good (both terms are debatable) around Torbay, Bournemouth,...

The Conservative party, in a press statement released to clarify comments made by Theresa May, says the government’s proposed extra £2...

Figures in the property industry have sharply criticised the announcement made at the Conservative party conference to pump an estimated £10...

Online petitions appear to be the flavour of the week - the latest is calling for the government’s Help to Buy...

An online platform has been launched with the aim of allowing first time buyers to seek crowdfunding to raise enough cash...

It appears activity in the housing market in 2017 will be around 15% down on 2016. The number of housing transactions...

Even so close to the event, I don’t think anyone will be deeming 2017 as the ‘summer of love’.  The summer of...

The government has poured cold water over industry speculation that Help To Buy could be phased out or significantly modified between...

The government is thought to be reviewing Help To Buy which, it is claimed, could end with the scheme being scrapped...

A housebuilder has changed the price listed on Rightmove to the full marketing price after an intervention by the Advertising Standards...

There has been general support from the industry for the government’s apparent intention to ban new homes in England being sold...

Government schemes like Help To Buy, supposedly assisting more people get on the ladder, have little impact on improving social mobility...

New research suggests the Bank of Mum and Dad is now helping so-called ‘second steppers’ - existing owners moving up the...

Figures released by the government suggest that over 285,000 people, including 240,000 first time buyers, have used one or more of...

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

First time buyers who were supposed to be helped by the high-profile Help To Buy ISA have in fact found it...

The Liberal Democrats have set a building target of 300,000 new homes a year, have pledged to scrap housing association Right...

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has informally resolved a complaint made against Connells. The case focused on a Connells Rightmove listing which...

Cash is becoming an increasingly large proportion of the funding used to buy homes according to a new analysis of transactions...

Savills is warning that while low interest rates will probably keep house prices relatively static, transaction volumes are likely to remain...

Now I’m not one to lose sleep over politicians, but it strikes me that Communities Secretary Sajid Javid and Housing Minister...

House prices will stall in 2017 and there won’t by any significant improvement in affordability for many hard-pressed buyers - but...

Moneyfacts, the independent financial products monitoring service, says first time buyer have a lot to thank Help To Buy for -...

In case you missed it yesterday, here’s a summary of everything relating to property that was in Chancellor Phillip Hammond’s Autumn...

The huge consequences of the EU referendum, and the impending Brexit negotiations, have drawn into sharp light the consequences for a...

Speculation was rife over the weekend that the government would today announce major changes to housing policy - possibly shifting the...

Fears raised over the UK housing market in the wake of the Brexit vote have so far proved to be ‘wide...

The government says its latest release of figures from its various Help to Buy schemes show that over 185,000 people have...

With the number of new homes being built across the UK still significantly below the level needed to meet demand, housebuilders...

The credit crunch may have been the economic backdrop against which much of the housing market performance of the past 10...

More criticism has come of the government’s multi-faceted Help To Buy initiative, this time from campaigning housing charity Shelter. The charity claims...

An influential backbench Conservative MP is the latest to speak out, urging the government to resolve the growing argument over the...

The number of 95 per cent loan to value mortgages available for first time buyers has dwindled 16 per cent in...

The National Association of Estate Agents has waded into the row created by the revelation that the government’s Help To Buy...

The Daily Telegraph appears to have exposed the government’s much-vaunted Buy To Let ISA scheme - billed as helping first time...

Wales has confirmed that it is to scrap the former flagship Thatcherite policy of Right To Buy. Since 1980, 138,423 homes have been...

A housing body says that, rather than presiding over a worsening housing crisis as many suggest, David Cameron has actually left...

I’m indebted to one of the most enthusiastic estate agents I’ve had the pleasure of meeting for suggesting the subject of...

What a month it has been. By the time you read this, we'll have a new Prime Minister, a new Cabinet,...

As I sit and write this piece, even with the FTSE 100 back up and sterling having recovered some of its...

No fewer than 555,000 would-be first time purchasers have opened Help To Buy Individual Savings Accounts - HTB Isas - since...

So what is it with young people failing to stand up for themselves and not making the most of their money...

Connells Survey and Valuation says the total number of valuations conducted in March showed a 21 per cent increase over the...

Government figures claim almost 50,000 households in council and other forms of social housing have taken up their Right To Buy...

Property has long been a safe investment. Before the downturn in 2008, sellers were able to gain a healthy capital return.  Post-economic...

When it comes to Budgets and Property, you have to hope that the old adage that ‘things happen in threes’ turns...

As we know, the property market in London is notorious for sitting a long way outside the conventions of the wider UK...

A detailed analysis by Hometrack reveals that new-build transactions - running at roughly 10 per cent of all house sales for...

The government claims 43 per cent of new homes built since the introduction of the Help to Buy equity loan scheme...

In January readers of Estate Agent Today and Letting Agent Today were given the opportunity to give their views on proposed...

The director of two major agencies says George Osborne’s stamp duty surcharge and stock at an “historically low level” will force...

Estate agency Keller Williams has set up a specialist team to help military personnel with mortgages and property investment.   "The needs of...

There’s been shock and anger from agents - especially those in London - at the surprise news of an additional three...

- From April 2016 buy to let landlords and people buying second or holiday homes will have to pay an additional...

George Osborne has announced a shock additional 3.0 per cent stamp duty on second homes and buy to let properties. Details are...

It is anticipated that the government will reveal more details of how it proposes to simplify mortgage fees and make mortgage...

Property journalists, and more than a few estate agents, are beginning their annual autumn ritual – forecasting what’s going to happen...

An estate agency analyst has queried whether the £2 billion spent on the equity loan Help To Buy scheme in England...

Campaigning charity Shelter claims the government's flagship housing incentive, Help To Buy, has added £8,250 to the price of a home...

So housing made itself top of the list of questions by the new Leader of the Opposition’s first PMQs on Wednesday...

Help to Buy’s equity loan and mortgage guarantee schemes have helped nearly 120,000 people buy a home, according to government figures.  Since...

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 government says it will publish an action plan this week to explain how it is going to implement some of...

The Financial Times says London Mayor and new Conservative MP Boris Johnson is lobbying the government in a bid to persuade...

The majority of agents do not see the supply and demand of homes levelling out over the next five years, according...

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

The new chair of trade body Homes for Scotland wants the Scottish Government to ‘evolve’ its Help to Buy shared equity...

Margaret Thatcher may have given the country Right To Buy and David Cameron has created Help To Buy but when it...

London house prices rose year-on-year at a figure of more than 18% in 2014, with the Metropolitan area experiencing similarly huge...