Archive

The cost and time consuming nature of the house moving process is deterring older owners from downsizing, it’s been alleged. An upfront...

Interesting report this week in Estate Agent Today on an analysis by the Resolution Foundation thinktank which suggests that the UK’s...

The gap between the costs of home ownership and renting has reached its smallest level since 2019, according to the latest...

Single first-time buyers need to save for almost 6.5 years or 76 months to raise a 10% deposit and cover moving...

Much of the focus may have been on the Spring Budget this week but a variety of charities have received support from...

The Government’s proposal to introduce a new 1% deposit mortgage scheme to help young people onto the property ladder is unworkable...

In the current challenging market, housebuilders are increasingly looking for novel and engaging means of marketing to achieve the necessary supply/demand...

The Scottish Government’s Budget has been described as a “missed opportunity.” The update yesterday from Scottish Finance Secretary Shona Robison, outlined a...

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will deliver his Autumn Statement this afternoon amid rumours of Stamp Duty reforms and support for first-time buyers. The...

Propertymark has given its backing to commitments from the Housing Minister on the long-awaited next steps of leasehold reform. Timothy Douglas, head...

All new houses in England and Wales will have to be sold as freehold properties under government plans to phase out...

Home ownership has become a “luxury for the few rather than a privilege for the many”, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer...

More families need a home they can call their own, the Housing Secretary Michael Gove has claimed. Speaking at the Tory Party...

A Labour council has revealed that it’s bought 15 open market homes, beefed up  their energy efficiency and will use them...

As much of the country battened down the hatches for the first storm of the season, there may have been a...

The Government is facing calls to resurrect the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme. The housing support scheme, which provided a Government-backed...

Uncertainty over interest rates continues to dominate the thoughts of many working in the property sector.  Here in his latest column property...

An improvement is defined by the Cambridge dictionary as ‘an occasion when something gets better or when you make it better’. ...

It’s the start of what promises - perhaps ‘threatens’ is a better word - to be a challenging second half of...

So much has changed in the world of property of late that it’s easy to be behind the times - and...

With the Bank of England’s rate rise to five per cent, soaring rents, and the cost-of-living crisis, now is the time...

In an exclusive interview with Estate Agent Today, Simon Coaker, Sales & Marketing Director of Desert Springs Resort, shared captivating insights into...

It’s a tough old road for today’s first-time buyers, with house prices and mortgage interest rates much higher than they were...

A new survey suggests the overwhelming majority of the public are critical of the government’s apparent housing failures. A study of 1,323...

Having just had an appointment popped into my diary by my car as it apparently told the garage it’s due a...

A property consumer group has had its Twitter account suspended and its bid to be reinstated has failed - and it...

Is it really just a year ago that we were nervously wondering whether yet another Christmas would be Covid-affected? Little did we...

Propertymark has called for Stamp Duty incentives and wider funding to make homes more energy efficient. It comes as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt...

How did the housing market transform from incredibly strong - almost too strong - early in the year, to a situation...

Sir Kier Starmer has used his speech at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool to set out plans of getting home...

The latest housing minister has been revealed as the prospect of Stamp Duty reform returns to the property market. New ministerial appointments...

Downsizing could become more attractive to older homeowners as the cost of living crisis intensifies, Savills claims. It comes as analysis by...

We are only a fortnight away from having a new Prime Minister, following a contest in which housing has played a...

Late last week, Leeds Building Society announced that it would no longer lend on second homes to concentrate on first-time buyers...

A quarter of agents have indicated they may prefer Rishi Sunak as the next Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister –...

When it comes to housing policy, the Conservative MPs have given their party a choice between Tweedle Dum and Tweedle DumDum. Rishi...

Long-term 50-year mortgages that can be passed on by parents to their children appear to be the latest idea from the...

New rules on leasehold homes came in this week, banning ground rents on new leases but a property expert warns this...

A group of mortgage advisers has proposed a range of reforms to reduce barriers to home ownership for first time buyers. The...

The government’s Fairer Private Rented Sector White Paper has initially caused some consternation and a strong adverse reaction from some within...

There was an article in Estate Agent Today recently that suggested only four per cent of properties on Rightmove and Zoopla...

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to unveil a flagship policy today to help more people onto the property ladder. It is...

A significant housing announcement has been promised by Prime Minister Boris Johnson as a part of a sweetener that saw him...

House price growth is set to slow but talk of a correction is overstated, Savills claims. The latest house price forecasts from...

A lack of support to help people onto the property ladder has been highlighted as one factor for the Tory party’s...

Propertymark is urging restraint on the part of the Welsh Government as it moves to tackle what it sees as the...

If you want to sex-up the Chancellor’s financial statement scheduled for lunchtime on Wednesday, you’d call it a Budget or a...

An industry trade body wants the government to scrap the three per cent stamp duty surcharge on additional homes - and...

This probably isn’t what wealthy buyers in one of the UK’s most expensive areas expected to hear, but a plea has...

A bid to regulate second home ownership in part of the UK through changes to planning policy will add complexity and...

One of the country’s leading agencies says the recent and expected interest rate rises, and the surging inflation, will not blow...

Only 6.8m homes in England now have mortgages, just 28 per cent of the overall market and about two per cent...

The majority of homeowners and homebuyers believe Stamp Duty Land Tax is outdated and needs reform. The mortgage lender Butterfield commissioned an...

The latest house price data from the Halifax shows another absolute record but with a sharply reduced monthly rise indicating a...

If agents wonder why more older home owners don’t sell and downsize, it may be because they’re taking equity out of...

A new survey suggests two thirds of current or potential home owners would accept the idea of a mortgage interest rate...

A company linked to the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower is being excluded from the government’s Help to Buy scheme, pending the outcome...

A new guide to help avoid property title fraud, where home ownership can be stolen, has been released by the Fraud...

A new report wants the government to consider slapping Capital Gains Tax on profits made from appreciating house values for all...

The last 18 months have been full of ups and downs, but the property market has coped remarkably well during the...

A pilot scheme has been announced to test ways of limiting second home ownership and reducing the impact additional properties have...

It appears almost certain that there will be limits imposed on the number and location of second homes in Wales, following...

Increasing house prices has encouraged HM Revenue and Customs to launch huge numbers of probes into Inheritance Tax payments. According to law...

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has given a ringing endorsement to home ownership as a central part of the government’s levelling up...

An interesting demand has been made of Chancellor Rishi Sunak - to consider reforming stamp duty with thresholds revised to reflect...

By the time I next write this column, we’ll be just days before the next Budget and Autumn Statement. So I’ll...

Labour is to reveal a raft of new housing policies at its party conference this weekend - and it claims it’s...

The government has been warned that its much-talked about levelling up agenda is ‘doomed to fail’ without major reform of the...

A survey conducted by a bank suggests that over half of the self-employed sector of the economy believes its financial position...

Media reports over the weekend suggest the government is preparing a triple whammy - three measures which may reduce the number...

A broker claims the high profile return of the 95 per cent mortgage has actually made little impact on the housing...

The Guardian has sharply criticised Chancellor Rishi Sunak for introducing and then extending the stamp duty holiday - because helping estate...

A company says it’s gathering £500m in funding to purchase properties for a “gradual home ownership” scheme - a variation on...

Over 55,000 households bought homes through the government’s Help to Buy equity loan scheme in the past financial year - a...

A prominent property consultancy is urging the government to ensure that holiday home owners pay more tax.  Colliers claims local authorities are...

The stamp duty holiday came and went with much fanfare. For many buyers it represented a rare opportunity to make some...

There’s gathering momentum to do ‘something’ about the unfairness of council tax and stamp duty. This isn’t new in principle. Agents have...

A group of MPs has suggested the government consider a “proportional property tax” to replace the current council tax, in a...

Our long-awaited ‘Freedom Day’ approaches. From Monday all of the restrictions, introduced since the Covid-19 pandemic made an impact across the...

The end of a largely-forgotten mortgage initiative connected with the pandemic could end up derailing the current strong housing market, agents...

The Covid-19 crisis has been marked by so-called high-wealth households amassing savings and benefitting from rising house prices far more than...

At first sight it’s a tough ask to defend holiday homes when there’s evidence that many who want to buy can’t,...

A north London new homes agency is to rebrand as Connells-owned Hamptons. Lanes New Homes has been owned by Hamptons for some...

Labour says the stamp duty holiday is an example of the government’s “failed approach” to home ownership and housing affordability. Labour’s Shadow...

The distribution of home ownership across different generations has been a cause of strife according to a think-tank. The Resolution Foundation’s latest...

Right now it seems that another day means another house price record, an all-time high for transactions, and a conveyancing log-jam...

Zoopla says just over half of current home owners say they are stuck in a property that’s unsuitable for their needs...

Banks and building societies want the government to offer more help to the housing market through additional assistance to home owners...

Propertymark has thrown its weight behind the government’s First Homes initiative, describing it as “creative” and saying it’s a sign of...

The apparent plight of first time buyers hits the headlines frequently but new research shows that second steppers face a wide...

The Planning Bill, which will introduce changes to the planning system in England, was announced last week in the Queen’s Speech....

A think tank wants the government to scrap stamp duty and replace it with an annual property tax based on capital...

The government has set up a committee to push forward ideas on the collective form of homeownership known as commonhold. Housing Secretary...

A league table of the most important issues facing vendors places the scale of estate agents’ charges at the bottom - and this...

Government leaks ahead of today’s Queen’s Speech suggest a major planning shake-up is set to stop NIMBY objectors to new homes. News...

Property owners who play it cool when it comes to marketing their home find their frustration soon becomes overheated. The constant we...

The last 12 months have heralded significant change across the property market and indeed we could argue across all markets in...

Zoopla today begins a new marketing drive - the latest move in the fierce battle between Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket and Boomin. Zoopla is...

For many, the funeral of HRH Prince Philip will be a solemn affair, while for some it will also be a...

The Conservatives have promised that first time buyers would not pay tax when buying a home in Wales if the party wins...