Archive

Predictions that landlords are not buying properties to let out because of tougher rental taxes and regulations appear to be short...

The Financial Conduct Authority has issued a shock warning that mortgage borrowers who purchased properties through the Help To Buy scheme...

The Law Society is telling prospective house purchasers to probe flood risks in the light of a new practice note it...

The Law Society has announced that there will be a new TA6 Property Information Form launching next week, on Friday February...

Rightmove and Zoopla have been working with key figures from government and the agency and conveyancing industries on how to reform...

Logbooks about properties must be made available up-front at the point of marketing and not later in the buying process if...

The increasing demand for information on Japanese Knotweed during the house buying process is emphasising the need for householders to pay...

In its latest State of the Property Nation report, which questions over 650 agents and 6,000 consumers, Zoopla says 55 per...

A new analysis from a financial services trade body shows that gross mortgage lending is expected to rise significantly in the...

It’s one of the most crucial aspects of the homebuying and selling process but is too often bogged down by frustrating...

As part of its commitment to promoting and enforcing high standards, RICS has launched its Home Survey Standard, which will become...

It’s been revealed that Countrywide is involved in a pilot exercise to help the creation of a so-called ‘affordability hub’ for...

Countrywide has this morning revealed that its special general meeting of shareholders to agree the sale of its commercial arm will...

Cash-strapped Countrywide has this morning announced that it is selling its commercial business, Lambert Smith Hampton, for £38m. In a surprise statement...

Pressure is building on the Conservative party to honour its previous commitment to reform stamp duty for British buyers and sellers...

love2move, an online network which allows high street agents to offer a white-labelled hybrid service, has teamed up with the Mortgage...

The National Association of Estate Agents and the Association of Residential Letting Agents have issued their manifesto for next month’s General...

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

England rugby fans will have been disappointed to find out that Saturday's planned World Cup group stage clash with France in...

Case study: Connells reaping the time-saving benefits of new sales and communication tool Since adopting mio in September 2018, Josh Lally, Senior...

We know that the tenant fee ban has cost letting agents dearly, with an estimated loss of £300 million paid to...

The reform of the buying process is to take centre stage at a special conference called Bold Legal LIVE! taking place...

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

As an agent, it’s part of your role to protect and advise your clients throughout the buying and selling process. Mortgages are...

Property management service Move with Us has announced a new partnership with chain management service View My Chain. Move with Us, founded...

There's good news for the market in at least one sector - mortgages offered to first time buyers. Latest figures from the...

The Bank of Mum and Dad is now officially one of the 10 biggest mortgage lenders according to data from Legal...

A media report suggests a mystery ‘predator’ is attempting to acquire Countrywide.  The Daily Mail this morning, quoting unnamed “City sources,” says a...

The number of owners' properties being repossessed jumped 15 per cent year on year in the second quarter of 2019. There were...

Countrywide has told Estate Agent Today that it will not be releasing any figures on the branch closure programme it introduced...

In a trading statement this morning, Countrywide says it has “a new covenant package with lenders provides the financial flexibility to...

Data from UK Finance, which represents most of the country’s lenders, shows that gross mortgage lending across the residential market in...

Homes in central parts of London sold for a typical 11.5 per cent below asking price in the first three months...

A conveyancing body is calling on mortgage lenders to standardise their policies in respect of unexpired lease terms in order to...

The Competition and Markets Authority has formally launched an investigation into the sale of leasehold properties - including possible mis-selling. This follows...

While media attention has been on Theresa May, Brexit and the Tories, chatter in the agency industry has been about what...

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

Two PropTech suppliers have this week announced new partnerships and products with the aim of helping estate agents.  Firstly, sales progression and...

As many as one transaction in three is now undertaken by a so-called Last Time Buyer - twice as many as...

The leasehold scandal has received plenty of press coverage, with horror stories of people living in homes that are impossible to...

New figures from the Equity Release Council suggest more growth in this sector, alarming those agents who see this as a...

More than 800 property transactions fall through daily, which can have repercussions both practically and financially, as agents fail to get...

Mortgage prisoners - borrowers unable to switch lenders despite being up-to-date with payments - may have an escape route in sight...

The leasehold system has created many unsellable and unmortgageable homes and should change, MPs say. The all-party Housing, Communities and Local Government...

Two 'challenger portals' have revealed major new services this morning as they fight to take on Rightmove and Zoopla. OneDome, the new...

Figures released this morning show a surge in first time buyers securing mortgages in recent months, despite the market showing continued signs...

Maverick Cornish estate agent Chris Wood has quit the industry with a stinging attack on those who have “taken their toll”...

More details are emerging of the first-ever ESTAS conference for conveyancers - the Bold Legal Conference - taking place on the...

The latest Rightmove price index suggests that homes are at their most affordable level for some years thanks to wage growth...

Mortgage lenders are relaxing age limits so that house buyers can still be paying off their home loan well into their...

The monthly index of house price changes in Britain’s major cities, for many years operated under the Hometrack banner, has been...

A review of the housing market at present, particularly when it comes to purchase transactions, might not necessarily feel overly positive.  The...

One of Britain’s foremost property consultancies has given a relatively upbeat prediction for the UK housing market over the next five...

There’s been a warm welcome from the property and consumer sectors for a suggestion that the Financial Conduct Authority may be...

A slew of property experts and commentators have put the blame on Brexit for a surprise drop in house price growth...

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

Zoopla claims a new Property Valuation Report being trialled in nine areas will win more leads for agents.  The PVR will use...

The chief executive of online agency HouseSimple says “sellers need to be prepared and willing to lower their expectations” in the current...

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

To say legendary ZPG founder and CEO Alex Chesterman left big boots to fill when he stepped back from day-to-day operations...

A no-deal Brexit The biggest impact of a no-deal Brexit in relation to housing is a potential fall in house prices -...

Shock figures out this morning show that a staggering £15.4 billion of annual interest is being paid by mortgage borrowers sitting...

Hard-pressed buyers who try to minimise house moving costs by doing their own conveyancing have been warned of the disastrous consequences...

A house in Mayfair that was sold for £19.175m in 2014 and put on the market this year at £25m has...

Figures from the mortgage lenders’ umbrella group, UK Finance, suggest the government desire to see more first time buyers and fewer...

Is Help To Buy going to remain in existence for much longer? Question marks over the scheme’s future are being raised through...

Even the cheapest local homes are out of reach for at least 40 per cent of young adults according to a...

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

A call has gone out for conveyancers to have all monies - including mortgage funds - in place the day before...

A warning to people selling their homes to beware of internet-based scams offering cut-price surveys has been sounded by a leading...

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

Rightmove says the housing market is now into a ‘summer sale’ as newly-marketed property shows an average asking price fall of...

Rumours abound over the future of Countrywide, which lost further share value on Friday, closing very slightly down on the day...

When you are starting up a new business, it is unlikely that you will already have enough capital to invest. Taking...

Outspoken property commentator and buying agent Henry Pryor has made a scathing attack on some of the main house price indices. In...

Most estate agents have tried to dismiss the impact of the Bank of England’s base rate rise, which came following a...

The Financial Times this morning says that Countrywide suffered a failed bond issue earlier this year, forcing it to rely on...

The mortgage industry may be throwing agents and the housing market something of a lifeline - it’s been revealed that 40...

The debate over alleged ‘down-valuing’ by mortgage lenders has flared again with one leading agent claiming that surveyors are just “covering...

It’s being reported this morning that Countrywide will seek new investment of over £100m, probably in the next few days.  The Sunday...

You will notice that there is a new author for this regular column for Estate Agent Today. Last month I was...

One of the country’s leading experts on the housing market says first time buyers are still hampered from purchasing homes despite...

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,...

Who are you and what does it say on your business card? Ben Robinson, Director of Agency Services at Landmark What is Landmark...

Fewer mortgages were approved for home buyers last month than in the same month a year ago according to figures from...

A new survey suggests that despite many lenders increasing their rates, most mainstream mortgages are down compared to the start of...

Property purchases for buyers requiring mortgages reached 50,000 in February, the highest level for the month since 2007.  The data, from mortgage...

The Conveyancing Association has backed the government’s calls for extensive reform of the buying and selling process, announced at the weekend. The...

Countrywide is not quite finished with online experimentation yet, for today sees the launch of an online mortgage service, backed by...

Gross mortgage lending is set to reach its highest level since 2007 despite Brexit, says the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association. But its...

A magazine claims its investigations into the sales tactics of Countrywide and Connells suggest the two agency are “harming consumers, stopping them from...

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

When it comes to property, ‘Japanese knotweed’ are the two words most homeowners and prospective buyers do not want to hear.  With...

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

Over the last few weeks, mortgage lenders have started to adjust their pricing in anticipation of a further interest rate rise...

Countrywide has made a brief announcement to shareholders about amending its credit facility with lenders to help it turn the business...

ZPG says it anticipates a strong 2018 according to a trading statement ahead of the company’s annual general meeting today. The firm...

While there is a distinct market for flats held on particularly short leases, there is a middle ground where flat owners...

New analysis by the Nationwide has revealed just how big an obstacle a 20 per cent deposit can be for buyers...

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

Bitcoin has smashed into the headlines again recently with major news outlets describing the ever increasing worth of this wildly volatile...

A housing market expert says agents should be more pro-active and explain to the public that contrary to popular belief, some...

The Bank of England has raised the base rate from 0.25 per cent to 0.5 per cent. The Bank’s monetary policy committee was...

Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has launched a consultation on proposals to reform the house buying...

The government should take a close look at gazundering as well as gazumping in its review of the house sales process,...

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

There has been a wide range of views from trade bodies and individual agents on the government’s surprise ‘call for evidence’...

The government has launched a consultation this weekend calling for evidence on how to make the home buying process “cheaper, faster...

Analysts believe a rise in the Bank of England base rate is on the cards next month as a result of the...

Last week was MIPIM PropTech Summit 2017 in New York, and it was the most oversubscribed to date - proof of the...

Mortgage lending reached £24.2 billion in August according to latest estimates by UK Finance. There were some 41,807 house purchase approvals, with...

It appears activity in the housing market in 2017 will be around 15% down on 2016. The number of housing transactions...

Customer service is a definitive priority for prospective borrowers when choosing a mortgage lender.  This is according to a study of over...

Jackson-Stops & Staff, a critic of the stamp duty system since its reform in 2014, now says the government should slash...

Independent financial service Moneyfacts says first time buyers who opt for a fixed rate deal might be better off if they chose...

New data from UK Finance - previously the Council of Mortgage Lenders - paints a relatively optimistic assessment of the UK-wide...

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

Without wishing to blow our own trumpet at this time, we did say at the start of the year that 2017...

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’s buy to let forecast for 2017 and 2018 has been revised down from previous expectations at...

Today we’re publishing what we think is our longest-ever list of charitable activities being conducted by agents and their supporters -...

A prominent agent admits to being “disappointed” at what appears to be slowing mortgage figures at a time of year when...

Home buyers borrowed £11.2 billion in March - down on the ‘stamp duty bonanza‘ period at the same time last year...

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

Cash is becoming an increasingly large proportion of the funding used to buy homes according to a new analysis of transactions...

There are more mortgage products available to buyers now than at any time since 2008 according to respected finance monitor service...

More than one in three first time buyers have missed out on potential home deals because their deposit was too small...

Mortgage rates continue to fall with the average new lending rate at a record low of 2.2 per cent: as a...

The Financial Conduct Authority says it is to review lenders offering solely interest-only mortgages to home owners. In its business plan for...

News was released this week of a new PropTech partnership: banking disrupter Revolut has joined up with mortgage brokerage, Trussle, to offer...

One of the biggest stories post-Brexit is how the housing market has proven to be more resilient than anyone could have...

A building society claims that in the past three years alone no fewer than 1.2m buyers have given up on house...

In recent years the mortgage industry has gone through some testing times. Recession and regulation have led to more stringent lending...

Mortgage brokers say they are encountering fewer difficulties sourcing products now than at any time for three years.  Research from the Intermediary...

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

The Conveyancing Association wants the creation of a ‘log book’ and ‘Home Reports’ for each home on sale - reminiscent in...

Data from the Council for Mortgage Lenders show that loans taken out by buyers have hit a near two-year low.   Home buyers...

Recent stats from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show that last year 360,000 people moved homes, meaning the number has stayed...

There has been some really interesting talk recently of the relationship between FinTech (Finance Technology) and PropTech (Property Technology). A few...

Over the past two decades, investing in buy-to-let has been a relatively easy way to make money, which is why so...

The number of home buyers in London dropped to a four-year low in 2016 while the number of loans taken out...

The rapid growth in popularity of buy-to-let in recent years, fuelled in part by the failings of the pensions industry, has...

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

The number of properties taken into possession last year declined by almost 25 per cent and has hit the lowest level in 35...

The first week of February has seen some extraordinary goings on in the property sector, from which two stories particularly stand out...

Zoopla Property Group’s £120m purchase of Hometrack, announced yesterday evening, is part of its aim to create “the UK’s most valuable...

Zoopla Property Group is buying Hometrack, one of the country’s leading property market business consultancies. Established in 1999, Hometrack is one of...

Gross mortgage lending reached a remarkable £246 billion in 2016 - that’s 12 per cent higher than the previous year and...

There were an estimated 354,000 homemovers in 2016, a fall of 4% compared to the 367,000 recorded the previous year. Analysis by...

Digital mortgage broker habito has announced that it has raised £5.5 million in investment funding.  The firm says it will use the...

A new report from the NatWest Bank nips in the bud any speculation that rising inflation may end the current cheap...

The rental market has had to face a raft of changes over the past year, including the introduction of the 3% stamp...

Brexit and wider economic uncertainties worsened by changes to property taxation have forced the Council of Mortgage Lenders to cut its...

I recently came across a consumer comment expressing frustration at the length and complexity of UK conveyancing and raising the question...

New figures from the Council for Mortgage Lenders add weight to the argument that the housing market is gently slowing.  Home-owners borrowed £10.5...

The Financial Conduct Authority is to investigate mortgage competition, including the introduction of clients to lenders by estate agents.    It’s part of...

House prices will rise 2.0 per cent in 2017, below the rate of inflation and just under half the rise predicted...

Moneyfacts, the independent financial products monitoring service, says first time buyer have a lot to thank Help To Buy for -...

The number of fee-free deals on fixed rate mortgages has more than doubled in the past year according to research by...

There’s good news for London’s troubled market - a report from the CML shows that buyers in the capital took out 12...

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

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...

It’s all been kicking off in recent weeks, hasn’t it? Marmite wars, the endless Trump v Clinton debate, Samsung phones blowing...

A business publication says figures from a PropTech peer-to-peer lending firm which markets its products through Zoopla show a 95 per cent...

The Financial Conduct Authority is consulting on new guidance to lenders on how to measure and treat the repayment of arrears...

Fears raised over the UK housing market in the wake of the Brexit vote have so far proved to be ‘wide...

The Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority has confirmed that tighter regulations will apply to lenders providing mortgages for buy to...

Those working within the UK housing market would have felt considerable worry about the immediate impact of the vote to leave...

A mortgage lender has called on the government to reform stamp duty so that it is paid by property sellers instead...

The huge rush to acquire buy-to-let property in the first quarter of the year ahead of the stamp duty change deadline...

The number of mortgage products available is now over 23,000 - a figure last seen during the heady days just before...

There has been a spur in activity in the mortgage market since the Bank of England base rate dropped to 0.25...

The number of mortgages in arrears is now at its lowest level since records began more than 20 years ago.  Data from...

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says the controversial findings of an insurance firm’s research shows that millions of homeowners may...

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

  The Bank of England has, as expected, cut its base rate to 0.25 per cent after a record seven years at...

Respected financial comparison website Moneyfacts says the average buyer requiring a mortgage and securing a deal now will be £240 a...

As promised, this week’s Natter is dedicated to a question and answer session with Peter Brodnicki, the man who has been...

As I sit and write this piece, even with the FTSE 100 back up and sterling having recovered some of its...

The Council of Mortgage Lenders says the Brexit vote will hit transactions as buyers and sellers wait for the dust to...

A few of our Industry Views pieces this week focus on the upcoming EU referendum. I don’t think I can add...

Home-owners borrowed £8.1 billion for house purchases in April, which was four per cent down on the same month a year ago. There...

A new e-conveyancing platform has been launched in Edinburgh ahead of a roll-out across all of Scotland. This system, Altis, is the...

Sales skills, and the ability to negotiate in particular, have always been a core ingredient for any estate agent – and...

While buy-to-let lenders brace themselves for further interventions as part of proposals currently being drawn up by the Prudential Regulation Authority...

Fraudsters attacking the conveyancing sector, successfully stealing large sums of money from homebuyers, are making national headlines at a depressing rate....

The Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates that gross mortgage lending reached £18.5 billion last month - the highest April figure since...

There has been a 58 per cent rise in the past year for mortgages for house purchase purposes, according to the...

The Financial Conduct Authority is to encourage lenders to give would-be buyers more choice in the mortgages available. In the Responsible Lending...

In this business you get used to dealing with regular customer and third-party feedback, input, and (occasionally) complaints.  Much like the agency market...

It’s the news that has got everyone talking: Barclays are bringing back the 100% mortgage.  The market has taken a bit of...

The Council of Mortgage Lenders says the number of repossessions in the first quarter of 2016 was 2,100 - the lowest...

A mortgage servicing company is forecasting that the number of UK houses repossessed this year will represent only 0.09 per cent...

On Tuesday we managed hail, snow, rain, sun and a chilly wind all in one day. Whatever you want to say...

First time buyers with small deposits are among those likely to suffer as a result of new regulations on credit risk...

SearchFlow, property intelligence specialists, has partnered with Decision First to offer an unrivalled service to protect conveyancers and homebuyers from the...

It’s almost impossible to write about the conveyancing market and not reflect on the activity levels of the past month or...

We’re all talking about second home stamp duty, changes to tax relief and the Prudential Regulation Authority’s suggestion that banks should...

An academic study claims that increasing the supply of new-build properties - widely thought to be the favoured solution to the...

New proposals to curtail mortgage borrowing in the buy to let sector have been branded as “a classic case of slamming...

A key Bank of England body has revealed its proposals for tougher borrowing standards to prevent buy to let lending overheating the wider...

Data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders shows that gross mortgage lending reached £17.6 billion last month - that's the highest...

As we know, the property market in London is notorious for sitting a long way outside the conventions of the wider UK...

There has been a warm welcome given to figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders showing that lending to first time...

In December 2015 first time buyers borrowed £4.5 billion for house purchases - that’s up seven per cent on November and...

Increased competition amongst mortgage lenders and the rush to buy investment properties before the April 1 stamp duty surcharge deadline have...

Predicting ho­­w the housing market might play out over the next few months is incredibly difficult. There are a significant number...

Mortgage lending for home buyers dipped by nine per cent in November according to new data - but it is up...

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

You might recall a collective sigh of relief emitted by stakeholders in the housing market and private rental sector back in...

It is anticipated that the government will reveal more details of how it proposes to simplify mortgage fees and make mortgage...

When it comes to the regulation of the conveyancing industry, this question is a topic of open and ongoing debate. Licensed conveyancers...

Two more agents have been expelled by TPO because they failed to pay awards when ordered to pay compensation, and because...

The number of house purchase mortgage approvals has risen by 19.8 per cent over the last 12 months.  Data from eSurv suggests...

First came a Bank of England prediction that the market will strengthen in the autumn; then lenders reported a surge in...

In a new sign that the housing market is strengthening, mortgage lending increased in August by the largest amount since 2008. Data...

This month it was announced that Landbay mortgage lenders will release a new rental Index, alongside Zoopla and data-modelling experts MIAC.  The...

The residential director at Mullucks Wells in West Essex and East Hertfordshire, William Wells, has contacted Estate Agent Today to highlight...

An unusual story of hard-to-sell homes has emerged from Northumberland where a kind of new town, established in the 1960s, is...

A new website has been launched to fight back against the attack George Osborne made in the Summer Budget on the...

Estate agents have received a substantial thumbs up from a large survey of 1,990 people. On top of that, the survey was...

The repossession rate has fallen again in the second quarter of 2015, and is at the lowest rate since records began. The...

Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show that lending to first time buyers bounced back in the second quarter of...

THE UK housing market is reported to be picking up according to figures this month from the Council of Mortgage Lenders...

Competition is hot among home buyers in my part of southern England to take ownership of properties that come onto the...

When Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, recently announced that interest rates would have to start to rise sooner...

A number of my member firms (Bold Legal Group) have reported that, compared to three years ago, the time to get...

Connells says its sales figures for June show a 27.5 per cent rise on the same month last year.  The agency has...

Lending for house buying is still down compared to this time last year but there are signs that the market is...

Agents have expressed their disappointment at the decision by the government to restrict mortgage interest relief for Buy To let investors...

The not-for-profit Residential Property Surveyors Association wants estate agents to tell clients they should commission 'real' surveys and not settle for automated valuations.  Recently...

The Conveyancing Association (CA) has embarked on a mission to engage with the lender community with a view to initiating a...

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

The Aston Mead estate agency says “unnecessarily restrictive mortgage criteria" have caused the number of home loans to drop sharply in...

The number of legal actions against estate agents and chartered surveyors has significantly fallen according to figures from a City legal...

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