Archive

In the field of conveyancing, there’s a new dynamic at play. And that dynamic is customer-driven and customer-focused, using digital technology...

HM Land Registry appears to be making painfully slow progress on digitising land charge search data - contrary to its earlier...

Whisper it quietly but the housing market could be significantly stronger in 2020 than in recent years. Two key indicators in the...

A digital platform claims its taken “a massive step” towards speeding up property sales with what it says is the first...

The typical house move in 2019 turned out to be just nine miles - and large numbers of buyers moved within...

A website has slammed the idea that there is a surge of interest in buying homes on Boxing Day, describing the...

A new tie-up between Coadjute, a network for decentralised workflow and data sharing within the property industry, and banks including NatWest...

A new app is being launched which allows agents to gauge possible interest in a property before it is formally put...

A report from Countrywide says the proportion of homes in Great Britain bought with cash fell to a mere 28 per...

It was in this very column, back in July, when I wrote about how the British government was starting to take...

First details have emerged of the information vendors may have to provide up-front In future transactions if government house buying reforms...

A trade body has sharply criticised HM Land Registry for its slow progress on digitising local searches after a promising start...

Data from an agency comparison website reveals that in the current market it takes well over a year for a home...

Property portal OnTheMarket has thrown down the challenge to Rightmove by launching two new features for its listing agents. The first, Market...

It’s Monday so that can mean only one thing - a chance to catch up on the key moves in and...

Although property transactions have, unsurprisingly, recently seen a decline which is almost certainly in part due to the ‘B-word’, this doesn’t...

The price premium paid by purchasers for a freehold property rather than a leasehold is at its highest for eight years. An...

The Federation of Independent Agents, the new trade group set up in May, is holding its first conference this week.  The FIA...

New research shows that three bedroom homes are the quickest selling property type this autumn. After a series of sluggish house price...

The typical estate agency fee paid by a seller has actually fallen one per cent in the past year according to...

Two PropTech advocates have launched a podcast series telling agents how to improve their businesses. One of the couple is Mark Worrall,...

A new analysis of privately owned homes with mortgages outstanding shows repossessions have risen in London - but they’re down in...

A new service which launched in June and pledged to provide estate and letting agents with “game changing” access to property...

They will be the doctors, lawyers, teachers, thinkers, leaders and captains of industry of the not too distant future, but is...

Estate agents have collectively been fiercely criticised for allegedly exaggerating valuations to win instructions, doing a disservice to vendors and not...

One of the earliest property websites, nethouseprices.com, has been acquired by fledgling property portal OneDome.  Nethouseprices was set up in 2004 and...

Agents have put a brave face on official government figures which have shown a shock fall in London house prices and...

A leading London estate agency with US connections says there has been a surge in high net worth American buyers in...

The city of Norwich has become the sixth part of the UK to switch from council Local Land Charges to digital...

An analysis of transactions agreed this spring suggests there will be a surge in prices which will ultimately be reflected later...

A new service which aims to provide estate and letting agents with what it calls “game changing” access to property data...

House prices have remained roughly stagnant according to the latest figures produced by the Office for National Statistics and HM Land...

So far in our contribution to the campaign to replace leasehold with commonhold we have outlined the stories of some of...

Reforms to the house buying process in England and Wales to bring it more into line with Scotland could slash the...

Here at Estate Agent Today, we're always pleased to highlight the lengths the best agents will go to provide outstanding customer...

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

With Easter now upon us (happy Easter, by the way, and hope you’re enjoying the long weekend, the Easter eggs and...

Four high-profile industry figures have sent an open letter urging agents to think about what they call “smarter marketing” in a...

One of the industry’s leading compliance experts is to lead a roundtable discussion in May on the anti-money laundering issue -...

Over the last few years, there have a number of changes to the stamp duty land tax (SDLT) regime, which have...

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

An analysis of thousands of transactions shows that homes with ‘street’ in their address produce sale prices which are almost exactly...

The proliferation of big data is paving the way to improving our economy on almost every front as entrepreneurial digital companies...

With the home buying and selling process firmly on the news agenda of late – everything from a possible ban on...

The regional agency MoveSelf, which set up in 2017 as an online estate agent, is shifting emphasis towards For Sale By...

The head of a For Sale By Owner website claims that some agents are making “vast amounts” of up to £7,000...

There’s been a dramatic improvement in the speed of searches being completed and returned by local authorities, the government claims. Housing minister...

HM Land Registry’s ambitious digitisation plans continue apace with news that it is to consider Blockchain in a bid to speed...

Chestertons says its profitability in 2018 doubled compared to the previous year, but appears to have relied heavily on lettings for...

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says the housing market outlook over the next three months is the worst for 20...

Our latest case study come from a recent news item to have hit the industry and national press. A disgruntled tenant is claiming...

The government has moved to crack down on money laundering in the UK with a new campaign focusing on the accountancy,...

A new analysis claims transaction numbers fell in 241 of 374 local authority areas of the UK last year. Analysis of Land...

A new portal called YourMoov and describing itself as “the UK’s first decentralised property listing database” is to launch shortly. In an...

Ilchester Place in London’s Holland Park may be the most expensive residential street in Britain - but it’s cheaper than a year...

Purplebricks’ global chief executive Michael Bruce has taken a swipe at the property and mainstream media for being too London-centric in...

If you thought Christmas Eve meant no more news in terms of industry movers and shakers…well, think again - we’ve one...

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

Another year is nearly done – and what an eventful year it’s been. We’ve had more than our fair share of breaking...

Research by comparison website Netanagent claims the commission paid to estate agents in London could be over £70,000 depending on where...

The number of active conveyancing firms handling property transactions in England and Wales has fallen to an eight year low.  A market...

Every other advert on the TV is featuring Santa Claus, snowmen or reindeer, the tinsel, trees and decorations are out in...

A firm is launching a new Home Owner’s Passport this weekend in a bid to speed up conveyancing.  With characteristics reminiscent of the much-derided Home...

The town of Blackpool has become the fourth part of the UK to switch from council Local Land Charges to digital...

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

Conveyancing regularly adds unnecessary and costly delays to the home buying process and improvement could be far quicker than any efforts...

The ValPal Network, an automated valuation system, has for the first time provided over 100,000 leads to agents in just one...

Conveyancers’ use of data and technology to speed through sales is on the cusp of a ‘big bang’ moment according to...

Few things anger the industry more than the effect of stamp duty and other costs on property transactions (well, maybe Purplebricks...

Almost one in five online sales valuations generated by The ValPal Network over a two-year period resulted in a completion with...

A leading London estate agency is reporting a surge in overseas buyers sealing deals ahead of the government’s new stamp duty...

The cost of new-build leasehold properties has surged 16 times faster than freeholds according to research from property investment platform. The revelation...

It’s time to sort the wheat from the chaff when it comes to overseas buyers of property. If you listen to Theresa...

When Professor Andrew Baum’s PropTech 3.0 report was first published, a small event was held to celebrate the very first academic...

An insurance company is launching a policy which it says will protect consumers with comprehensive cover in the event of a...

New build house prices rose 5.1 per cent in the year to the end of August - substantially more than the...

A competitive pricing analysis undertaken for hybrid estate agency Emoov claims that it sells for an average £6,000 more than rival...

Estate agents say the continuing gentle slowdown reflected in the latest government house price figures will be the story of the...

HM Land Registry says the full roll-out of its Local Land Charges digital register could take up to seven years, with...

The old cliche about statistics may be cruel but the government has perhaps left itself open to its use after announcing...

With the news that Hunters and Fisher German are the latest agencies to offer online auctions to sellers, is this something...

In our previous 2 blogs we have covered the definitions of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (CPRs) and what the practical...

In 2014 The Properties Misdescriptions Act was repealed and replaced with the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, otherwise known as...

Out and about recently, I got to thinking: how often do I actually have the call for cash anymore? Or, for...

In our previous blog, we looked at the definitions outlined by the CPRs. In our next blog we’ll look at the...

Next week ludlowthompson celebrates its 25th anniversary. Here, I catch up with Stephen Ludlow, co-founder and now executive director of the...

A leading legal firm has given broad approval to proposals from the Law Commission aimed at improving the conveyancing process and...

A report drawn up by Reapit and data consultancy Dataloft suggests that agents in 2017 lost a potential (and jaw-dropping) £4...

The Law Commission has unveiled proposals that it claims could stop property fraudsters in theirb tracks and improve conveyancing at the...

Only 24 hours after the Land registry released data showing a 20 per cent slump in housing transactions, new figures from...

HM Land Registry calculates that 125,000 buyers will benefit from just the first phase of its digitisation programme for Local Land...

Foxtons share price hit a new low yesterday, dropping to only 46p early in the afternoon: it eventually closed narrowly up...

Before I get into the nitty gritty of the government (well, one of its startup accelerator schemes) giving away £20,000, let...

First things first, I have to mention the World Cup. The dream is over, football’s not quite coming home (not until...

Automated search companies have heaped praise on HM Land Registry following the digitisation of local land charge data - the LLC1...

The Money Laundering Regulations 2017 require estate agents to risk assess their business relationships and apply an appropriate level of investigation...

The Money Laundering Regulations 2017 require estate agents to risk assess their business relationships and apply an appropriate level of investigation...

Estate Agent Today is 10 years old this weekend. We hope you’ll agree that’s a cause for celebration and a great...

Transactions across Greater London have plummeted - they were down 7.9 per cent over the past three months and a whopping...

Summer is traditionally the time of the year when the property market slows down, with people going away on their holidays...

A new digital search service is being launched next month by HM Land Registry, marking the latest phase in its attempt...

The proportion of homes sold in London was lower than any other part of England and Wales last year according to...

Last time out I looked at the growing importance of content, social media and design – but these should only form...

A study of house price affordability has revealed that train drivers can afford a greater proportion of homes in the UK's...

Estate Agent Today understands several major national agencies and some smaller operators are involved in a project to understand why transaction...

As the world becomes ever more digital and people increasingly look to technology to provide convenient solutions to sometimes complex problems,...

Leading housing analyst Kate Faulkner says the current low transaction level is “a little scary” because with so few sellers, buyers...

The assessment by an investment consultancy that Purplebricks sells some 76 per cent of the homes it lists may have made...

Purplebricks has returned to the fray after recent controversies with a claim that home owners saved themselves over £140m in commission...

The announcement that MPs will set up a Select Committee to probe the scale of money laundering in the UK property...

The first-ever ‘digital mortgage’ deed has been lodged at HM Land Registry, for a property at Rotherhithe in London.  Coventry Building Society...

House prices started 2018 with a modest 0.3 per cent drop across the UK as a whole, including 0.5 per cent...

Investment consultancy London Central Portfolio has launched a new index which it claims uses “the most comprehensive data available” to assess...

HM Land Registry has taken another step towards its aim to “make conveyancing simpler, faster and cheaper” for the general public. The...

Representatives from estate and lettings agencies as well as professional organisations have formed The Home Buying And Selling Group with a...

Conveyancing volumes shrunk by 12 per cent last year, the first annual drop in workloads since 2011 - and the struggling...

At the start of February, Nationwide suggested that the housing market was picking up. Last week, RICS reported on its continued...

A law firm says the problems with housing transactions lie not with issues like fall-throughs but with “people’s general lack of...

Purplebricks has this morning issued an unusual statement to the Stock Exchange blaming a City report for the sharp fall in the...

PropTech companies Gazeal and GetMeMoving have teamed up in a partnership which they claim goes some way to meeting the government’s...

Homes for sale in some parts of inner London are seeing price discounts of up to 10 per cent says Hometrack...

The government has given its support to Land Registry proposals to increase the digitalisation of its services, with changes coming into...

If you were under any misconceptions about how pivotal a role HM Land Registry is going to play in the future...

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

The Society of Licensed Conveyancers says it is worried that HM Land Registry’s decision to publish details of apparent errors in...

HM Land Registry says it’s consulting with the legal industry on a proposal to publish a league table of conveyancers who...

The last of the leading agency analysts and business consultancies have now given their predictions for the UK housing market in...

This week, news broke of the ‘first bitcoin homes’ being sold in the UK by Go Move, an estate agency in...

HM Land Registry has revealed how major house price indices are compiled - showing the huge variation in transactions behind the headline figures. The critique,...

The HM Land Registry has revealed more details of long-term plans to improve and speed up conveyancing processes in a five...

The London residential market is at last improving - but faces a make or break situation with next week’s Budget according...

A search company called Big Property Data says it is working with 15 major institutions to provide automated property reports aimed...

A new website which completely by-passes all kinds of estate agents and allows vendors to upload details of their own properties...

Conveyancers and the speed of local council searches have come in for criticism as details have emerged of the government’s consultation...

A breakdown of data from over 4,100 agents has revealed that it takes on average 201 days to move home, from...

More than 50 per cent of homes complete their formal transfers of ownership on Fridays according to a survey by a...

In his PropTech 3.0 report, Andrew Baum dedicated an entire section to blockchain; it was titled: ‘Blockchain is coming – get...

The vast majority of sellers surveyed by a consumer group say rapport with branch staff in a locally-based office is important...

Government figures suggest house prices are still rising by 5.1 per cent a year, with the average property value in the...

Two years of stagnation fuelled by Brexit uncertainty and stamp duty increases may be coming to an end in prime central...

UK house prices grew by 4.9 per cent in the year to the end of June according to the government’s official...

The Advertising Standards Authority has stepped in after receiving a complaint about two ads for properties listed on Rightmove. The homes were...

Being a leading world-class city comes at a price – they are the most expensive for occupiers and the most lucrative...

Gently rising house values in the mainstream market and problems facing the prime market in the capital mean that over half...

Sales in prime central London in the year to the end of March are a huge 41 per cent below the...

The UK PropTech Association (UKPA), of which I am a member of the steering committee, is an organisation with a purpose...

National average house price growth bounced back in April after a slow March, according to official figures. The latest UK House Price...

The introduction of a 3% stamp duty surcharge on the purchase of additional properties has 'shattered' the property market, according to...

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

A consumer group which has consistently promoted online agencies says they achieve closer to sellers’ original asking price than the national...

Official figures from the latest UK House Price Index show that average house prices fell by 0.6% between February and March. The...

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

Not only did Theresa May stun everyone with her decision to call a ‘snap election’ but with the campaign now underway...

A London estate agency’s analysis of the latest Land Registry data suggests transactions in the capital are the lowest ever recorded.  Land...

The first meeting of fledgling trade group CIELA has ended with a pledge to expose what it calls ‘fake agents’ which...

This actually happened - the names of the guilty have been withheld to protect the innocent. I live in Spain, Marbella actually,...

Land Registry data shows that homes across the UK have risen in price by an average 5.8 per cent in the...

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

There are more first-time buyers (FTBs) finding a way on to the property ladder than at any time since the Financial...

A City consultancy has noted every property advertised on Rightmove in recent months and will track them throughout 2017 in a...

After a year of turbulence thanks to Brexit and the consequences of stamp duty changes, prime central London’s housing market appears...

New analysis shows what appears to be the correlation between rising house prices and falling burglary rates across the country.  The research,...

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

The housing market has not been short of a White Paper over the last few months, and while you might just...

Housing minister Gavin Barwell says the government will provide “substantial investment” to ensure more transparency in leasehold tenure. “We are determined to...

Sales in Prime Central London were down 21 per cent in the year to December according to investment consultancy London Central...

The East of England, which takes in areas from Hertfordshire to Norfolk, has recorded the biggest hike in property prices over...

A conveyancing portal has announced the release of new functionality which allows estate agents to create chains in its system. The 'Estate...

The average fee paid by sellers to high street estate agents in the past year is £4,055 claims Purplebricks - an...

New data revealed by investment consultancy Central London Portfolio claims that transactions in prime central areas of the capital have dropped 24...

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

Over 50,000 have signed up to the Land Registry’s property fraud alert service following a series of high-profile stories on the...

An estate agent spotted her father’s house advertised on Rightmove just three days before it was due to be auctioned -...

Figures released by the government show sales during July - the first month after the EU referendum - tumbling by well over...

Data just released from the Land Registry shows that the average price of a property in the UK is now £218,964...

In the first half of this year, vendors in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, could have saved over £1.87 billion in...

An agency that has opened a new office in the controversial Nine Elms area of London has published research claiming that...

Data from the Land Registry suggests that - perhaps contrary to most agents’ expectations - there are some places in the...

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

It’s been a heartening few weeks for those of us who thought that protest was dead – or, more precisely, that...

The government is reported to have yet again delayed a decision on whether to privatise the Land Registry. The Financial Times says...

The Land Registry is no longer accepting any applications or correspondence relating to applications if they are marked ‘Private and Confidential’...

The Guild of Professional Estate Agents has launched a new tool to analyse members’ own performance by analysing data from the...

Average house prices across the UK rose 8.7 per cent in the year to the end of June - so including...

Knight Frank is warning that it will “take time” for the three per cent stamp duty surcharge to be absorbed into...

Square foot prices at one of central London’s most controversial new developments - Nine Elms - are down eight per cent...

With ever increasing obligations, estate agents know that compliance matters now more than ever.  However, being able to obtain access to the...

The Residential Property Surveyors Association is the latest of many trade bodies to come out against government proposals to privatise the...

The Conveyancing Association has set out recommendations to end what it claims are significant delays and overcharging taking place within the...

MP Bernard Jenkin, the chairman of the public administration committee, is the latest to raise concerns at the possible privatisation of...

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

A conveyancing portal claims it allows estate agents and other parties access to a property transaction to see conveyancing progress across...

Nearly three quarters of people who have sold or bought a property deem it more stressful than having a child or...

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

The Land Registry’s monthly ‘price paid data’ has revealed that there were 75,937 land and property sales in England and Wales...

The Competition and Markets Authority has reiterated controversial remarks about the government’s proposed privatisation of the Land Registry. Last month it surprised...

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

The first new ‘official’ UK House Price Index, released yesterday, has received mixed reviews from the industry. On the one hand there...

The first new ‘official’ UK House Price Index, released this morning, shows an annual price increase of 8.2 per cent which takes...

The government is launching the new official UK House Price Index - to be known in short-form as the UK HPI...

Average house prices increased by 0.2% between April and May, according to the latest figures from Nationwide. The bank's House Price Index...

The government's consultation on the proposed privatisation of the Land Registry closes today. Interested parties have had since March 24 to give...

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has challenged the government over its renewed attempt to privatise the Land Registry. Last week's Queen's...

Conveyancing transactions hit a post-recession high during the first quarter of 2016, according to new figures. Search provider Search Acumen's analysis of...

House prices across the UK increased by 9.0 per cent in the year to March, showing a significant rise from the 7.6...

An online petition against the privatisation of the Land Registry now has around 225,000 signatures with just over a week to...

Land Registry house price data has shown a 0.5 per cent drop in March, taking annual house price inflation to 6.7...

Straightforward money laundering customer due diligence (CDD) is a worry for agents, but then also having to identify beneficial owners and...

A new survey suggests that it is the other fees associated with moving house - not estate agents’ charges - that...

The government's Office for National Statitsics has confirmed that a new single, official house price index is to be launched in...

The Land Registry says average house prices in England and Wales rose 6.1 per cent in the year to the end of ...

The government - which controversially launched consultation on its stamp duty surcharge between Christmas and New Year - has now used...

The arrival of a single official house price index comes one step closer later this month with a so-called ‘user event’...

Agents have reacted cautiously to a surprisingly-high 2.5 per cent increase in house prices - in just one month - announced...

A property statistician says portals may be inaccurately reflecting prices in some areas because of possible double-counting of properties listed with...

The Land Registry has thrown more light on the case in which veteran war reporter Max Hastings was the subject of...

SearchFlow’s rebrand and positioning as the specialist in ‘property intelligence’ is a response to new technological advancements and the changing market...

This week, SearchFlow launches it new brand. Group Marketing and Communications Director, Maud Rousseau discusses the ethos behind the new brand...

The average property value in England and Wales at the start of 2016 is £186,325 according to the Land Registry.  Its data...

A single definitive ‘official’ government house price index is to be launched by June. During the summer the Office for National Statistics...

A survey of over 1,000 adults by respected polling company Survation shows little public appetite for the privatisation of the Land...

Newspapers and other journalists’ outlets are reporting that rooms in care homes are being offered to purchase as buy to let...

The possibility of the Land Registry being amongst £4.6 billion of public assets earmarked for privatisation has provoked protests across the...

A report from anti-corruption campaign group Transparency International says British estate agents reported only 179 suspicions of money laundering in a...

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

Humberts says property values across the south east of England have seen robust growth of almost eight per cent over the...

The Land Registry says the average house price in England and Wales now costs £186,553, an annual increase of 5.3 per...

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

The future estate agency model is going to be neither the traditional High Street office nor the online-only alternative - instead...

The number of homes sold over the spring and early summer this year was down on 2014 while house price rises...

The internet has changed the way that most businesses operate. In many cases, the opportunities opened up by the emergence of...

The latest data released by the agents’ favourite house price source, the Land Registry, shows that prices in England and Wales...

Conveyancing activity broke records between April and June 2015, according to analysis of Land Registry data by search provider Search Acumen.  Total...

Agents across the country, hopefully refreshed by a nice holiday somewhere warm, will be gearing up for the phones to start...

An analysis of homes on sale six months after the scrapping of the ‘slab’ system of stamp duty has revealed a...

A property company claims that more than £31m has been paid out by the Land Registry in the past three years...

Data for June from the Land Registry shows that the annual price increase of 5.4 per cent takes the average property...

A pressure group is calling for estate agents to conduct additional checks to ensure the legal provenance of buyers’ funds, and...

An MP has tabled an Early Day Motion calling on the Land Registry to require greater transparency for overseas company purchases...

The Land Registry says the average price of homes across England and Wales remain below the pre-downturn peak recorded in November...

The number of conveyancing transactions fell 16% between the final quarter of 2014 and the first quarter of 2015. Search Acumen’s Conveyancing...

Annual property price growth slowed in May, according to the latest Nationwide data.  The figure for annual growth moderated to 4.6 per...

The average property price in England and Wales reached £179,817 in April, according to the Land Registry. The latest data shows that...

So spring has sprung and the Hare is on the loose. After a very long gestation period, the Veyo leveret has...

Average house prices in the UK’s seaside towns have increased by a third over the past decade.  The average property price in...

House prices dipped by 0.8 per cent in March according to the Land Registry - a marked contrast to figures produced by Nationwide...

The Society of Licensed Conveyancers and Bold Legal Group have announced details of this year’s spring road shows. The events in Leeds,...