The stamp duty holiday has backfired and buyers almost everywhere are paying more for homes, rather than less. StripeHomes analysed house price...
Archive

First the good news - estate agents are trusted more than politicians and no less than bankers. Now the bad news:...
31 March 2021
From: Breaking News

The Chancellor’s recent announcement that the stamp duty holiday would be extended for another three months was undoubtedly great news for...
27 March 2021
From: Features

The latest breakdown of the stamp duty holiday extension has given a first estimate of the total number of deals to...
11 March 2021
From: Breaking News

Rarely do Budgets produce positive sentiments from the agency industry but Chancellor Rishi Sunak appears to have won widespread support for...
04 March 2021
From: Breaking News

Much of the agency industry has reacted with delight at the extension of the stamp duty holiday deadline until June. Rightmove estimates...
25 February 2021
From: Breaking News

Chancellor Rishi Sunak will extend the stamp duty holiday deadline until the end of June - a three month extension. The lead...
24 February 2021
From: Breaking News

Affordability across the housing market is at its worst for 10 years according to an analysis by a London agency. Benham and Reeves...
09 February 2021
From: Breaking News

Estate agents have kept up the pressure on the Westminster government to consider some kind of tapered ending to the stamp...
03 February 2021
From: Breaking News

Labour and Conservative MPs have expressed a unanimous view on their desire to see an extension of the stamp duty holiday...
01 February 2021
From: Breaking News

Homeowners staying at home during another lockdown are doing more than sharing memes of groundhog day or doing family quizzes on...
27 January 2021
From: Features

An international property and residency consultancy claims the sold prices of homes in some prime London locations have collapsed by up to 40...
26 January 2021
From: Breaking News

London buyers have been by far the biggest winners from the stamp duty holiday according to new research. The Keller Williams UK...
19 January 2021
From: Breaking News

Two of the most outspoken agents in the industry have criticised those calling for an extension to the stamp duty holiday...
14 January 2021
From: Breaking News

A national newspaper is today launching a campaign for the stamp duty holiday to be extended. The Daily Telegraph says its campaign...
13 January 2021
From: Breaking News

The UK outlet of Warren Buffett's estate agency empire is launching its first TV advert in this country. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Kay &...
08 January 2021
From: Breaking News

A prominent London agency says cash buyers are securing substantial discounts in prime areas of the capital. The biggest cash discount currently...
11 December 2020
From: Breaking News

Stamp duty breaks have historically done little to help the housing market - and it’s the same now. So says David Hannah,...
26 November 2020
From: Breaking News

As regular readers will know, the Natter kickstarted a series last time out zoning in on local independent agents – the...
21 November 2020
From: Features

Searches that are bound by the Search Code, protecting the seller, buyer and lender, are property and not client specific. As...
21 November 2020
From: Features

A law firm wants the government to agree that properties that have exchanged but not yet completed can definitely benefit from the...
13 November 2020
From: Breaking News

The national lockdown beginning on Thursday makes the case for an extension to the stamp duty holiday, according to a tax...
03 November 2020
From: Breaking News

A London agency says it's discovered the five key priorities that buyers want, following a survey of its own database. “Lockdown and...
30 October 2020
From: Breaking News

A new property portal that operates a Tinder-style ‘swipe’ app is offering agents 12 months free listings. MoveStreets operates like the dating...
27 October 2020
From: Breaking News

New figures released this morning give weight to calls for the complete scrapping of stamp duty. The dats shows there have been...
08 October 2020
From: Breaking News

Stamp duty specialist consultancy Cornerstone Tax claims some 120,000 buyers in the UK may be owed SDLT refunds. It says that in...
06 October 2020
From: Breaking News

Mortgage approvals for house purchases have soared to a 13 year high according to Bank of England figures up to the...
30 September 2020
From: Breaking News

A league table drawn up by a quick buy property firm claims that some estate agents' average commission has hit 2.32 per...
30 September 2020
From: Breaking News

A quick buy firm which typically purchases homes from sellers at below market levels has accused estate agents and the private...
28 September 2020
From: Breaking News

A quick buy firm boasting it has ‘sold’ a home within six days also says it now takes 140 days on...
21 September 2020
From: Breaking News

The scale of the problems facing many prospective buyers has been set out in a survey showing as many as one-third...
15 September 2020
From: Breaking News

One of the most prominent companies involved in identifying and treating Japanese Knotweed has recruited a new member of the team...
19 August 2020
From: Breaking News

A PropTech firm that regularly claims London homes are mis-measured in property descriptions has taken a swipe at Purplebricks. Pupil, a spatial...
05 August 2020
From: Breaking News

Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s stamp duty holiday means prime property in the UK now enjoys lower tax rates than most European countries. Buyers...
30 July 2020
From: Breaking News

We recently issued our Zoopla House Price Index, which analyses the latest real-time trends from the sales market. In our analysis, we...
04 July 2020
From: Features

Mortgage product choices for buyers have increased to the highest level in three months according to new data. PropTech platform Mortgage Brain...
29 June 2020
From: Breaking News

Zoopla predicts that the price strength that has been seen since the reopening of the housing market is likely to continue...
24 June 2020
From: Breaking News

A tax and legal specialist says there’s been a huge rise in stamp duty refund cases between March and June -...
19 June 2020
From: Breaking News

It’s official – the property market is back open for business. Estate agents have started to unfurlough staff and many are...
10 June 2020
From: Features

Restrictions introduced a decade ago after the financial crisis are holding back many first time buyers from purchasing a home. That’s the...
01 June 2020
From: Breaking News

Zoopla’s head of research says a stamp duty holiday could encourage more home owners to move which in turn could help...
28 May 2020
From: Breaking News

The government is jeopardising the success of the housing market relaunch through the inflexibility of the furlough scheme, claims a group...
27 May 2020
From: Breaking News

It’s been revealed that the home moving advice service set up by Phil Spencer is entering a collaboration with awards and...
19 May 2020
From: Breaking News

The government has been called upon by one of the industry’s most respected bodies to announce a stamp duty holiday to...
09 April 2020
From: Breaking News

A trade group wants councils and search companies to co-operate more closely during the virus to minimise delays to the remaining...
18 March 2020
From: Breaking News

The ESTAS today reveals its shortlist for the 2020 Awards which includes the Zoopla Xcellence Award - a special category that celebrates...
04 March 2020
From: Breaking News

The government has - once again - announced the introduction of a New Homes Ombudsman. The news came yesterday when Housing Secretary...
25 February 2020
From: Breaking News

Yes, believe it or not, we’ve nearly reached the end of a whole decade. And what an eventful decade it’s been. We’ve...
14 December 2019
From: Features

As part of its commitment to promoting and enforcing high standards, RICS has launched its Home Survey Standard, which will become...
14 December 2019
From: Features

Recent Zoopla reports stating that first-time buyers are deciding against purchasing one-bedroom flats came as no surprise to me, or I’m...
23 November 2019
From: Features

Housing Minister Esther McVey has launched an expert advisory council that the government says is “dedicated to the digital transformation of...
06 November 2019
From: Breaking News

Young homebuyers want tech-savvy, astute and attentive estate agents who are able to handle their complex requirements via a range of...
23 October 2019
From: Breaking News

Housing minister Esther McVey says Compulsory Purchase Orders and brownfield land registers are to be made digitally transparent. This will allow CPO...
22 October 2019
From: Breaking News

Zoopla has unveiled new functionality that it claims will make searching for new homes easier for consumers - and resumes the...
21 October 2019
From: Breaking News

A trade body has sharply criticised HM Land Registry for its slow progress on digitising local searches after a promising start...
17 October 2019
From: Breaking News

The price premium paid by purchasers for a freehold property rather than a leasehold is at its highest for eight years. An...
26 September 2019
From: Breaking News

New research shows that three bedroom homes are the quickest selling property type this autumn. After a series of sluggish house price...
17 September 2019
From: Breaking News

The typical estate agency fee paid by a seller has actually fallen one per cent in the past year according to...
13 September 2019
From: Breaking News

A new analysis of privately owned homes with mortgages outstanding shows repossessions have risen in London - but they’re down in...
29 August 2019
From: Breaking News

I feel I am in a fortunate position. I have been central to the PropTech movement for a number of years,...
24 July 2019
From: Breaking News

A leading agent has suggested that some parts of the UK would face “a property exodus” if Boris Johnson’s proposals for...
15 July 2019
From: Breaking News

With this summer marking forty years since Margaret Thatcher came to power, her legacy continues to invoke both celebration and consternation...
06 July 2019
From: Features

A PropTech firm has repeated claims it first made in March about allegedly inaccurate floorpan measurement and says a new initiative...
11 June 2019
From: Breaking News

An analysis of transactions agreed this spring suggests there will be a surge in prices which will ultimately be reflected later...
11 June 2019
From: Breaking News

The National Association of Estate Agents has welcomed the commitment by the Competition and Markets Authority to investigate the mis-selling of...
17 May 2019
From: Breaking News

The leasehold scandal has received plenty of press coverage, with horror stories of people living in homes that are impossible to...
06 April 2019
From: Features

Foxtons has revealed that its six branch closures announced towards the end of last year will save the company £3m in...
29 March 2019
From: Breaking News

Over the last few years, there have a number of changes to the stamp duty land tax (SDLT) regime, which have...
23 March 2019
From: Features

Zoopla says the number of its leads delivered to member agents in the period March 2018 to February 2019 was 36...
20 March 2019
From: Breaking News

The proliferation of big data is paving the way to improving our economy on almost every front as entrepreneurial digital companies...
09 March 2019
From: Features

Winkworth has set up a dedicated land and new homes division. The franchise agency, which has most of its offices in and...
07 February 2019
From: Breaking News

At the end of January the Asian PropTech company PropertyGuru announced the imminent launch of beta-phase testing of its cutting-edge new product, PropertyGuru Lens. This...
06 February 2019
From: Breaking News

A new website is offering to contact owners of homes that are not for sale, on behalf of people who would...
19 December 2018
From: Breaking News

The global chief executive of Purplebricks, Michael Bruce, has warned mortgage lenders against offering so-called ‘super-sized’ home loans to borrowers. Bruce is...
28 November 2018
From: Breaking News

Given that online property portals, dominated by a handful of websites, are by far the most popular home search method, it...
17 November 2018
From: Features

Estate agents are missing around half of the conveyancing referral opportunities they could take, according to a new report. PropTech firm OneDome...
16 November 2018
From: Breaking News

Hard-pressed buyers who try to minimise house moving costs by doing their own conveyancing have been warned of the disastrous consequences...
15 November 2018
From: Breaking News

Strutt & Parker is bucking the trend on High Street offices by opening a new one - and in this case,...
29 October 2018
From: Breaking News

The government has unveiled a new body which, it claims, will raise agency standards. There is a long-standing commitment from the government...
12 October 2018
From: Breaking News

Strutt & Parker is offering free Virtual Viewings to 1,000 new clients, and says it's the first national agency to offer such...
09 October 2018
From: Breaking News

The government, which only recently said there would be one Ombudsman covering the entire housing sector, has announced that there is...
02 October 2018
From: Breaking News

In a surprise weekend announcement the government has almost doubled funding for the National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team - the...
01 September 2018
From: Breaking News

The government says its funding schemes such as Help To Buy will no longer be applied to what it calls “unjustified...
03 July 2018
From: Breaking News

A property portal that describes itself as free-to-list has launched today, taking the industry by surprise - however, at least one...
06 June 2018
From: Breaking News

A magazine claims its investigations into the sales tactics of Countrywide and Connells suggest the two agency are “harming consumers, stopping them from...
21 March 2018
From: Breaking News

HM Land Registry has taken another step towards its aim to “make conveyancing simpler, faster and cheaper” for the general public. The...
05 March 2018
From: Breaking News

A new ‘quick buy’ property company claims it will make an offer on any home within 24 hours of the vendor...
01 February 2018
From: Breaking News

A specialist leasehold enfranchisement firm has branded government leasehold reforms as "incredibly weak". In an announcement lost in the noise following Damian Green’s sacking,...
22 December 2017
From: Breaking News

Property has always been an industry built on a foundation of personal relationships. Deals made, promotions gained, clients won, portfolios grown;...
06 December 2017
From: Breaking News

The housing industry has set out a list of demands in advance of the government’s hotly anticipated Autumn Budget on Wednesday. Despite...
18 November 2017
From: Features

The largest mutual life pension and insurance company in the UK has added its voice to growing calls for stamp duty...
08 November 2017
From: Breaking News

The fact is that most house hunters simply do not have the time, let alone the inclination, to trawl around properties...
28 October 2017
From: Features

What does your role involve? As team manager for the property team, I make sure PAs and clients are happy and...
21 September 2017
From: Sponsored Content

For the second successive week the Advertising Standards Authority has banned an online estate agency’s advertisement. Last week it was HouseSimple and...
23 August 2017
From: Breaking News

As the mainstream mortgage market braces itself for yet another clampdown on buy-to-let lending, a growing number of property investors are...
04 August 2017
From: Features

Being a leading world-class city comes at a price – they are the most expensive for occupiers and the most lucrative...
14 July 2017
From: Features

This week, the obvious thing to write about would be easyProperty's merger with GPEA. It's such a huge and potentially influential...
14 June 2017
From: Breaking News

New research has identified homebuyers' top 20 'must-have' features that would encourage them to purchase a seller's property. According to the survey...
16 May 2017
From: Breaking News

Mortgage rates continue to fall with the average new lending rate at a record low of 2.2 per cent: as a...
27 April 2017
From: Breaking News

This week, it would be very easy for me to focus on the startling figures that easyProperty logged with Companies House...
05 April 2017
From: Breaking News

Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered his first Budget this week pledging extra funding for the NHS, transport in the Midlands and the...
11 March 2017
From: Features

The Advertising Standards Authority has stepped in following a complaint about a TV ad for a Quick Sale company, National Homebuyers. The...
08 February 2017
From: Breaking News

The government has set out 29 key points in its Housing White Paper. Introducing it in the Commons this afternoon, Communities Secretery Sajid...
07 February 2017
From: Breaking News

The Property Ombudsman’s office has defended a change to its code of practice which, according to a national newspaper, means agents...
06 February 2017
From: Breaking News

Lots of people buy new-build due to the perceived lack of hassle with maintenance, as they are built to the latest...
28 January 2017
From: Features

A PropTech firm is to launch a 'printed augmented reality' service that allows buyers to point their smartphone and get additional information...
11 November 2016
From: Breaking News

Fears raised over the UK housing market in the wake of the Brexit vote have so far proved to be ‘wide...
30 September 2016
From: Features

The National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team has followed up the recent announcement by The Property Ombudsman to counteract portal juggling by...
29 September 2016
From: Breaking News

Who are you? Nick Dyoss, Group Business Development Director, SearchFlow, property intelligence specialists You have a high profile within the conveyancing search industry,...
26 September 2016
From: 60 Second Interview

With the number of new homes being built across the UK still significantly below the level needed to meet demand, housebuilders...
16 September 2016
From: Features

The huge rush to acquire buy-to-let property in the first quarter of the year ahead of the stamp duty change deadline...
09 September 2016
From: Features

A property analytics company has devised a method of calculating the ‘best’ locations in which to work as an estate agent,...
05 September 2016
From: Breaking News

A campaign has been launched to make Bristol the colour capital of the UK by ensuring that more homes are painted...
02 September 2016
From: Features

In the capital, people will pay a premium to live near great transport links, and as we’ve seen from Crossrail and...
02 September 2016
From: Features

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says the controversial findings of an insurance firm’s research shows that millions of homeowners may...
11 August 2016
From: Breaking News

No fewer than 555,000 would-be first time purchasers have opened Help To Buy Individual Savings Accounts - HTB Isas - since...
01 July 2016
From: Breaking News

Home loans activity has fallen to a 12 month low as market torpor sets in ahead of the EU referendum. According to...
09 June 2016
From: Breaking News

Who are you? Carole Marsden What does it say on your business card? UK Sales Director What attracted you to join SearchFlow? SearchFlow has...
07 June 2016
From: 60 Second Interview

Almost three in 10 buyers have seen their house purchase fall through after making an offer - typically leaving them almost...
06 June 2016
From: Breaking News

Fraudsters attacking the conveyancing sector, successfully stealing large sums of money from homebuyers, are making national headlines at a depressing rate....
27 May 2016
From: Sponsored Content

New figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors backs up the theory that the market is slowing down significantly ahead...
13 May 2016
From: Breaking News

It's a high quality RICS approved report, carried out by one of our RICS accredited local surveyors. The RICS HomeBuyer Survey is...
27 April 2016
From: Sponsored Content

SearchFlow, property intelligence specialists, has partnered with Decision First to offer an unrivalled service to protect conveyancers and homebuyers from the...
26 April 2016
From: Sponsored Content

The summer term – rounders, cricket and hayfever. It's also the last dash before the housing market supposedly closes down for...
23 April 2016
From: Features

The influential Home Owners’ Alliance pressure group says Britain pulling out of the EU would probably depress house prices. The HOA - a...
22 March 2016
From: Breaking News

With the scale of devastation from flooding witnessed recently, anxiety about purchasing a property in a flood risk area is heightened....
16 February 2016
From: Sponsored Content

Over the past six months I’ve noticed a number of key themes emerge from the conversations I’ve had with agents –...
08 January 2016
From: Features

This week, Storm Desmond has left devastation in its wake. Once again, the nation’s attention is drawn to the threat flooding...
11 December 2015
From: Features

Who are you? Colin Breavington What does it say on your business card? Operations Director We hear SearchFlow is expanding next year, can you give...
16 November 2015
From: 60 Second Interview

A body called the UK Housing Market Observatory - consisting of economists at Lancaster University Management School - is giving a...
04 November 2015
From: Breaking News

We’re all familiar with 'gazumping' – most us have been 'gazumped' or indeed been the perpetrators of this practice, for it...
11 September 2015
From: Features

The Chancellor, George Osborne, has announced a series of measures impacting on the property industry, including: Mortgage interest relief for buy-to-let homebuyers...
08 July 2015
From: Breaking News

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says it is working on a revised HomeBuyer Report which will not include the ‘historic’...
24 June 2015
From: Breaking News

This week RICS reported a further drop in the number of people putting their homes up for sale; new instructions fell...