Archive

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...

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...

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...

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

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

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The majority of homeowners and homebuyers believe Stamp Duty Land Tax is outdated and needs reform.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...

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...

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...

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...

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

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...

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

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

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...

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....

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

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...

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

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...

Labour has accused the government of promoting “sky high mortgages” instead of providing stable accommodation for younger households. A new mortgage guarantee...

One of the most respected figures in the industry, trainer and consultant Richard Rawlings, is suggesting that stamp duty should be...

Millions of leaseholders will be given the right to extend their lease by a maximum term of 990 years at zero...

Tenants, landlords, agents, and house buyers all breathed a sigh of relief on Halloween when the government announced that home moves...

With a new President elected and the old one reluctant to move out, this is a good time to see how...

A new survey reveals the uphill struggle first time buyers appear to be having in securing a mortgage. A study of 1,000...

A new paper from a think tank warns that many low income owner occupiers risk losing their homes when the mortgage...

Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he wants to create a ‘Generation Buy’ to help young people purchase homes with low-deposit mortgages. In...

Ed Mead has joined a growing chorus demanding government action on the cladding crisis. He is one of the industry’s leading figures from...

There’s good news from the think-tank the Resolution Foundation, which says the threat of negative equity because of the Coronavirus crisis...

As we adjust to a life post-Covid-19, letting agents, landlords, and tenants are thinking - ways to speed up the process...

New research of the buying habits of first-time buyers in the UK we’ve undertaken here at reallymoving.com shows that Shared Ownership...

The government has announced its First Homes scheme - a policy under which it says some new homes will see their...

The proportion of 25 to 34 year olds who own their own home in England has risen for the first time...

There are reasons to be optimistic that a majority government will improve the housing market, simply by ending political and economic...

A former residential chairman of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has posed key questions for the government to answer over...

With Brexit still unresolved, the domestic agenda has been pushed from the headlines by the seemingly overwhelming public and political discord...

[Estate Agent Today was ‘off air’ for some of Wednesday and most of Thursday thanks to technical problems - we apologise...

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

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

It is now over two months since the introduction of the ban on fees charged to tenants, leaving letting agents with...

If you’d asked me at the start of the year how I thought the political landscape might look now, I wouldn’t...

A report by Santander says stamp duty cuts should be used as incentives for older home owners to downsize and allow...

Housing experts have expressed their concerns that speculation about a radical stamp duty reduction to be introduced by Boris Johnson’s government...

A leading agent has suggested that some parts of the UK would face “a property exodus” if Boris Johnson’s proposals for...

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...

A leasehold reform campaigner says government proposals risk creating a two-tier market and do nothing to assist leaseholders already hit by...

The latest report commissioned by the Labour party to resolve the UK’s housing problems would crash the housing market rather than...

Britain lives in fundamentalist black-and-white times - all the more surprising when the country's most divisive point of contention sits on...

Some 10 per cent of Britons now own a second home, a buy to let or an overseas property according to...

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

Tributes are being paid to David Hall, a senior partner at an agency in the Midlands where he worked for a...

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

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

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

Agents have suggested that the latest price figures from the Halifax may be masking increased activity in the market in recent...

Purchasing a property. It’s a key life goal that so many Millennials aspire to - yet one that has become frustratingly...

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

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

House price rises are now the slowest they have been for six years according to the Halifax. Across the UK, property values...

Young people whose parents have property wealth are now almost three times as likely to be homeowners by the age of...

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

How will things be done in the future? There’s no knowing, of course, given the many variables at play, but it’s...

Millennials aged 18 to 34 are putting plans for romance, children and even hobbies on ice as they make huge sacrifices...

An open rental market, where neither landlord nor tenant is in a dominant position, enables rents to rise and fall, which...

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...

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

Home ownership among the young has fallen across all income groups according to a large scale research project looking at adults...

A government announcement this morning claims 121,500 first time buyers have taken advantage of the stamp duty cut introduced at the...

With the continued indecision surrounding Brexit and the final divorce settlement still months away, it seems property buyers are choosing to...

It may not be a good idea for a journalist to be personal about a politician, so I write about our...

100 years ago, 90% of the UK population rented a home. Today, that figure has flipped, and over two thirds are...

New data from Haart estate agency suggests that despite many homes sticking on the market, apparently would be buyers are locked...

An estate agent and former chairman of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says the government’s latest drive to build new...

Three councils are encouraging local residents to sign a new register which aims to bring more quality homes for sale to...

This week I carry out a question and answer session with one of the most high-profile names in property. Isobel Thomson has...

The latest release of data from the English Housing Survey reveals that the number of under-45s owning their own homes has...

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

House price growth will come to a halt next year as the number of transactions reduces, according to the RICS forecast...

Chris Philp, a Conservative MP and Parliamentary Private Secretary to Chancellor Phillip Hammond, says 50 per cent of new homes in...

The investment service arm of international ratings agency Moody's is warning that affordability issues are likely to lead to a slowdown...

It’s not breaking new ground to say that younger people have what many regard as the raw end of the deal...

Countrywide chief executive Alison Platt says she welcomes the government’s scrapping of stamp duty for first time buyers purchasing homes under...

As we hurtle towards the end of 2017, it’s time to reflect on the year that’s just been.   Even better, this property-based...

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

Stamp duty reform lies at the heart of the submission by the National Association of Estate Agents ahead of next month’s...

Like many of Labour’s recent policy proposals, its call for rent controls leaves more questions than answers.  There has been widespread criticism...

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

I’ve written before about the impact of headlines on the property industry. Interest rate speculation.   Market booms and busts. Demand...

A think tank says the penalties now levied against second home owners - such as the stamp duty surcharge and phasing...

The price of houses in the UK will remain high because a “structural decline” means fewer homes are being sold and...

Stamp duty has become the latest weapon in the ongoing war of words between different wings of the Conservative party, as...

Property has been changing hands for centuries, but when did estate agents as we know them today – with their branches,...

Historically, short-term rentals have been an unattractive business for the majority of estate agents and property managers. Scarcity of demand from tenants...

First time buyers have finances stretched beyond their means, buy to let is attracting fewer investors because of taxes, and affordability...

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

When it comes to provoking anger in property professionals, taxation takes some beating. Press releases are still arriving berating the December...

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...

Home ownership has halved for young families across some parts of the UK according to a charity.  The Resolution Foundation says its...

The boss of the UK's largest independent agency has called on the government to be 'radical' and consider a range of...

Since the seventies, housing starts and completions across England and Wales have been on a downward trajectory. The long run average...

Peter Robinson, CEO of AIPP – Association of International Property Professionals – shines a light onto the international property market. Some UK...

A leading housing market analyst has made a stout defence of the growing trend of young buyers relying on their parents...

The proportion of first time buyers relying on inherited wealth or loans from the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ has reached...

Former Conservative minister Michael Portillo has made an outspoken attack on his former party over its switch of housing policy emphasis from...

Estate agents are angry that Chancellor Phillip Hammond made no attempt in his first Spring Budget to reform stamp duty -...

Looking ahead to the Spring Budget this week, the Chancellor Philip Hammond will be obliged to face up to the implications...

We’re used to stories on how the buying and renting of ‘formal’ accommodation - flats and houses - has become increasingly...

A series of leaks to national newspapers and a flurry of broadcast interviews by housing minister Gavin Barwell means we already know...

Instant gratification is nothing new. It’s been around for millennia. It’s an in-built survival instinct for humans – that want, that...

There is no doubt that 2016 managed to catch the world by surprise on more than one occassion.  But will 2017 be...

The government’s blizzard of New Year announcements about new homes has received a distinctly frosty welcome from many within the property...

Home ownership rates among 25-year-olds have plummeted by more than half in 20 years, council leaders have warned.  New analysis for the...

Just a couple of weeks ago, we waited with anticipation to see what the new Chancellor, Philip Hammond, would say in...

A housebuilder that has in the past profited from its concentration on high-end London schemes says demand for its units is...

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

It may still be too early to start compiling a Christmas wish list, but it is the right time to provide...

The long-awaited Redfern Review has recommended that improved access to mortgage finance and improved income levels for first time buyers are...

Labour’s long-awaited Redfern Review, set up a year ago after the party’s defeat in the general election, finally reports tomorrow. Although it...

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

The Labour Party claims there has been a strikingly large reduction in the number of under-45s who own a home -...

The highest number of second homes in UK local authority areas exist not in the south west, the Lake District or...

If you want an indicator that the United Kingdom isn’t so united any more, have a look at Right To Buy. The...

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

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

So we now have a new 'official' index of house prices, and much good may it do us. For the chattering classes...

An estate agency chief operating in an area where there are high levels of holiday home ownership has stood up for...

Use of the term ‘generation rent’ has grown beyond all measure in recent years, but it’s not always quoted in the...

When, during his budget speech, George Osborne announced Capital Gains Tax (CGT) was going down to 20%, I experienced a mix...

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

We're all wise to the fact that spring is typically the busiest time of year for the property market. The financial...

A respected housing market analyst says “it's a bit cheeky” of housing minister Brandon Lewis to claim credit for figures suggesting...

Shelter has been tirelessly campaigning for longer tenancies for the last few years.  The charity has led the case for change and...

The goverrnment says new figures show that after a year-after-year decline in the number of people owning their home, starting in...

As we all know, Peter Redfern is critical to the future of the British housing market and.... What? Wait? You don’t know...

A consumer group which supports the principle of a stamp duty surcharge on second homes and buy to let properties has...

Prime Minister David Cameron has dismissed out of hand appeals and comments from Estate Agent Today readers to reconsider the recent...

House prices will soar by 50 per cent in the next 10 years according to research commissioned by the NAEA and conducted...

In many respects 2015 has been a good year. Despite global challenges, we have seen a marked improvement in the UK...

I’m sure I’m not the only estate agent confused by the Government’s approach to residential property ownership. Many of the current ministerial...

So this weekend some of us will see our first snow of the season. Harsh weather, Christmas adverts and winter generally...

Over the next five years at least 70,000 new households a year in England alone will be unable to afford to...

I make no apologies for returning to Build To Rent, the institutional investment in building and managing blocks of flats to...

Homes in the South East, South West and London change hands much more frequently than those in other parts of England.  Analysis...

We have reached an interesting point in what has been a most unusual year for the property sector.  The latest figures from...

Start increasing stock levels today using Ravensworth's Marketing Toolkit. We understand that stock can be hard to come by in today’s competitive...

The newly-appointed shadow housing minister says his first priority is to arrest the long-term fall in home ownership in Britain. John Healey...

If there’s one thing that looks like a good move right now, it’s becoming a letting agent.  Whereas some years ago we...

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

Communities Secretary Greg Clark will be sacked if there is no improvement in the number of homes built in the next...

Owner occupation in Britain will plummet from its current level of about 68 per cent of homes to around 60 per...

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

Estate and letting agents and other figures in the property industry have been making their last-minute calls on Chancellor George Osborne...

The government claims that over 36,000 new home owners have been created through Right to Buy since 2012. Figures released by the...

A north of England firm that claims to offer a more affordable route into home ownership than available with a conventional...

Given that I wrote my last article on the day of the General Election but well before the result was known,...

The  new government has announced its legislative plans for housing in the coming year.  In the first all-Conservative Queen’s Speech since 1996,...

With pension reform, council licensing changes and a General Election on the horizon, many are anticipating a boom in the buy-to-let...