Archive

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

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

Westcountry estate agency Wilkinson Grant is standing  by its opposition to a ‘joke’ about dead bodies made by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson...

England faces a growing gulf between new build completions and new households being added to the population according to a new...

A Conservative council in London says it is to be the first local authority in the UK to levy a voluntary...

One of the more puzzling questions in London's estate agency industry has been resolved - how a company which appears to...

Labour’s shadow housing minister John Healey is reported to be one of a number of prominent front bench opposition spokespeople being...

In this week’s Natter I’m going to get all political. Don’t worry, I won’t be giving my opinions on Brexit, Trump...

The average price of a home in the UK is now £211,6712 - up slightly on last month but with growth...

It’s not just the evenings drawing in that marks the approach of autumn - it’s also the return to work of...

The two main political parties have squared up to each other over the issue of increasing council tax on second homes...

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

With several agent partner programmes available across the country, estate agents can often increase business by offering sales by auction, with...

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

The housing industry has responded with shock, joy, and jitters, after Theresa May’s snap general election went catastrophically wrong, leaving her...

British homeowners have the most confidence in the Conservative Party to run the nation's housing market. A survey of almost 4,500 homeowners,...

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

In years to come, students of political history might come to look at the 2017 General Election campaign with some interest....

The Conservative and Labour party manifestos do not go far enough to tackle problems with the leasehold system. That’s the view of...

Conveyancers have backed a call by the Conservatives for reform of the house buying process - and says more up-front information...

The Conservative Party says it wants greater competition and more digitisation to cut the costs and reduce the amount of time...

In November 2016 when the Autumn Statement was delivered by Chancellor Philip Hammond, the announcement was made to ban letting agent...

The Conservatives now say they are not resuscitating Home Information Packs, despite a suggestion by a prominent former minister that they "had...

Speculation has grown that the Conservatives may make a manifesto pledge to remove some family homes’ long-established exemption from Capital Gains...

Yesterday’s decision by MPs to agree to Theresa May’s snap General Election on June 8 means that the current government -...

My apologies if this causes you to break your Easter egg with a little too much aggression, but I reckon the...

In this Natter we have an exclusive interview with David Cox, CEO of ARLA Propertymark and one of the best-known figures...

We’re almost nine months on from the EU Referendum and yet the issue remains the big divide across the nation: an...

A trade publication claims the UK’s statistics watchdog is to hold talks with a Whitehall department about the government’s much-vaunted 'one...

If you work in lettings, I’ll already have a pretty good idea on how you feel about the current Conservative Government.  The...

The chronic shortage of housing supply in the UK relative to demand has been a national issue for decades. The Government...

A row has broken out over council tax funds being used to pay 18 estate agencies to find homes for a...

The government appears to have slipped back on two deadlines concerning measures key to the property industry. Firstly the consultation on the...

Confusion surrounds the timing of the government’s eagerly-anticipated White Paper on housing. Respected property industry weekly magazine Estates Gazette has tweeted that...

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

The chief executive of one of Britain’s top house builders is warning that the industry must do more to prevent an...

This is the final Estate Agent Today until Tuesday January 3 2017, so everyone at Angels Media sends all good wishes for...

Housing minister Gavin Barwell says the government will put forward proposals in the new year to stop abuses of the leasehold...

The Nationwide is the latest major industry forecaster to predict a sluggish average house price rise of two per cent in...

Forecasts are so last year: who anticipated Bowie, Brexit or Balls for example? Quotes, on the other hand, really ARE last year...

The Daily Mail has calculated which of the 13 housing ministers in office before this autumn has been the most successful,...

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

Forecasts are a tricky business. And as I wrote in a recent Industry Views opinion piece, any prediction in the current...

London agency Stirling Ackroyd is the latest to call for reforms to stamp duty, with a claim that prices for the most expensive...

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...

The latest forecast for the housing market in 2017 and beyond includes a warning that Brexit uncertainty will create a slowdown...

It's enough to make the typical Islington resident splutter over their breakfast muesli, or perhaps feel too nervous to drive their...

One of Britain’s most respected veteran estate agents, Hugh Dunsmore-Hardy, is urging new recruits to the industry to join what he...

London’s Labour mayor Sadiq Khan says some 270,000 homes in London have been granted planning permission but have not yet been...

A Labour MP says a deal is now on the cards for an estate to be purchased after months of controversy,...

Some of this week’s headlines - ‘Firms must list foreign workers’ and ‘NHS to no longer rely on foreign doctors’ -...

The government has signalled that it is going to publish a housing White Paper later this year with “significant measures” to...

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

A former Lancashire councillor has been banned from entering a local estate agency. Noel O'Brien, who has served as a Labour and...

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

The importance of overseas buyers in underpinning increasing elements of the capital’s housing market and won support from an unlikely quarter...

Average house prices across the UK increased by 0.6 per cent in August, taking the annual rate of growth to 5.6...

The National Association of Estate Agents says a huge shortage of bricks and the possible consequences of Brexit are two reasons...

This week, 25 years ago the world's first website went live to those of us who were around then.  Amazingly, despite the...

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

The morning after the EU referendum, and Westminster, Britain, Europe and the world were left in shock at the news that...

The Centre for Economics and Business Research says that house prices across the UK are set to increase by 5.7 per...

Older readers may recall a terrific movie called Network where a character, disillusioned by life, shouts from a window: “I’m as...

London house prices rose by 251 and 209 per cent respectively during Thatcher’s and Blair’s time at Number 10 - but...

The National Association of Estate Agents and the Association of Residential Letting Agents have asked new housing minister Gavin Barwell to...

It has been revealed that the new housing minister, Gavin Barwell, appears to be campaigning to oppose a new housing scheme...

Housing appears to have a disappointingly low priority in the new Theresa May-led Cabinet - at least judging from the time...

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,...

House owners and buyers with mortgages in today’s market should budget to ensure they can “have enough headroom” for a rise...

An online petition to scrap Energy Performance Certificates has received only modest support so far. The petition has been put forward by eMoov...

With the new Formula One season now well underway, we delve into the fast lane to take you on a whirlwind...

In case you were wondering, it appears that the Labour party has still to find someone to replace John Healey as...

The controversy over whether the Land Registry should be sold off will now not be resolved until a new Prime Minister...

It’s over. A win is a win, whichever side you backed. It’s true that everyone seems a lot less happy than...

Never in my lifetime have I seen so much enthusiasm and passion for politics. Brexit awoke the sleeping dog in almost...

The chief economist who compiles Nationwide’s monthly house price index says it is too early yet to see the impact of...

The haemorrhage of Labour spokespeople now includes the party’s respected shadow housing minister John Healey. His letter to party leader Jeremy Corbyn...

The timing of Labour’s housing review, which has until now been closely associated with John Healey, appears uncertain following the shadow housing...

Property software supplier VTUK is the latest to warn that a Brexit could have a damaging effect on the supply of...

Housing minister Brandon Lewis has joined many others across the country in paying tribute to Jo Cox, the Labour MP murdered last...

The sense of gathering momentum for the Leave campaign ahead of the upcoming EU referendum is causing high levels of uncertainty...

Access to labour is a continuing problem for the construction industry and may worsen if Britain leaves the European Union, according...

Tomorrow, June 8, is the closing date for submissions to the Labour Party’s latest consultation on housing policy: it is seeking...

Running a business is not easy, but sometimes it becomes harder because we are expected to modify our behaviour due to...

The National Association of Estate Agents and Association of Residential Letting Agents say that although there are no conclusive ‘leave’ or...

The race to replace London Mayor Boris Johnson has entered its final few days, and like never before, housing is the...

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the free market Centre for Policy Studies think tank says the proposals put forward by Labour’s London Mayor candidate...

House prices in the three months to March were 10.1 per cent higher than in the same quarter a year earlier...

Agents' boards get a lot of stick. Many see them as stains on the landscape, some see them as useless in...

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

A high-end estate agent who was one of the founding directors of Agents' Mutual says a British exit from the EU may not...

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

A suggestion that up to 50 per cent of new homes built in London should be affordable has come in for...

Housing market appreciation continued at 4.4 per cent in the year to late January, continuing an eight month run of price...

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

Edinburgh city council is seeking the permission of the Scottish Government to introduce a local mansion tax through new bands of...

There’s bad news today for Labour members living in homes valued at £1m or more - one of their own MPs...

There’s been plenty of forecasting in recent weeks - banks, consultancies and high-end estate agents have predicted house prices in the...