Chancellor Rishi Sunak says the stamp duty holiday on properties up to £500,000 will be extended from March 31 to June 30; from...
Archive
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Today’s Budget is the most eagerly-anticipated for many years, as it juggles to shore up the economy with the longer-term issue...
03 March 2021
From: Breaking News

The government has given details of two new taxes to provide funds to address the cladding problem on high rise tower blocks...
11 February 2021
From: Breaking News

Agents and a wide range of property experts have demanded yet more government funds to end the cladding crisis that is...
11 February 2021
From: Breaking News

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has announced “an exceptional intervention” promising that leaseholders in high-rise buildings above 18 metres will bear no...
10 February 2021
From: Breaking News

There’s now more choice in the mortgage market than at any time since last March, before the pandemic reached a peak. The...
10 February 2021
From: Breaking News

Smaller independent agencies that took out government Bounce Back loans to help them through the Coronavirus crisis now have more time...
08 February 2021
From: Breaking News

A mortgage lender says it will now accept ‘no-search indemnity insurance’ for residential purchases in a bid to speed up the...
07 January 2021
From: Breaking News

Start-up letting agents looking to enter the market are finding it increasingly difficult to set up in business as banks point...
19 December 2020
From: Features
Described on this site as a ‘powerful disruptor’ in March 2020, few would deny that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on...
16 December 2020
From: Sponsored Content

A mortgage technology platform has released figures suggesting the housing market remains strong, with high numbers of searches by buyers for...
23 November 2020
From: Breaking News

Purplebricks recently launched a meditation service to help buyers and sellers manage stress. You might disagree with the idea, but moving...
04 November 2020
From: Features

Recent figures emanating from the mortgage and housing market suggest that – since lockdown was ended in mid-May – transaction levels...
31 October 2020
From: Features

The National Association of Estate Agents wants the government to initiate a mortgage guarantee scheme to encourage more 95 per cent...
20 October 2020
From: Breaking News

Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he wants to create a ‘Generation Buy’ to help young people purchase homes with low-deposit mortgages. In...
05 October 2020
From: Breaking News

Despite the recent effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is still much opportunity in the market for letting agents to grow...
19 September 2020
From: Features

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

Recent speculation that the so-called Bank of Mum and Dad would be playing a reduced role in the housing market has...
02 September 2020
From: Breaking News

With access to finance being such a hot topic at the moment, more and more estate agents are turning to commercial...
29 August 2020
From: Features

One of the country’s highest-profile mortgage lenders, HSBC, is restricting loans on apartments from today. Only buyers of flats who have a...
17 August 2020
From: Breaking News

Zoopla's Research and Insight Director Richard Donnell writes: Just over a fortnight on since the Chancellor announced the Stamp Duty holiday and...
23 July 2020
From: Breaking News

Britain’s second largest lender is to offer 90 per cent loan to value mortgages once again from next Monday - a...
14 July 2020
From: Breaking News

The outlook for the housing market is still taking shape, but here I take a look at three market indicators to...
30 May 2020
From: Features

All my recent Natters have been focused on one particular topic, the coronavirus crisis, for obvious reasons. But there has been...
23 May 2020
From: Features

A daily monitor of mortgage market activity has reported “significant volumes” of business across the sector, even over the weekend. Mortgage technology...
19 May 2020
From: Breaking News

There has been much speculation about when agents will be allowed back to work, and what the new office working environment...
09 May 2020
From: Features

The demand for mortgages in April was scarcely a quarter of what it was in March - but the figures show...
05 May 2020
From: Breaking News

NAEA Propertymark has today launched a campaign for the government to introduce what it calls a Property Sector Support Package. This would...
01 May 2020
From: Breaking News

If there are agents still uncertain as to whether their company or themselves as individuals are claiming the maximum business support,...
23 April 2020
From: Breaking News

Property and construction are amongst the worst hit sectors for businesses in so-called ‘critical distress’ according to figures taken before the worst...
22 April 2020
From: Breaking News

A leading estate agency says it has observed that some banks previously opposed to accepting remote and desktop valuations have started...
09 April 2020
From: Breaking News

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced new measures to help the self-employed - likely to be welcomed by self-employed estate agents. The Chancellor...
26 March 2020
From: Breaking News

It’s far too early for authoritative figures on how devastating the Coronavirus lockdown has been on estate agents but there is...
25 March 2020
From: Breaking News

There has been scepticism across the industry as to the motives behind an unspecified number of lay-offs and permanent branch closures...
23 March 2020
From: Breaking News

While controversy swirls around the approach and motives of the sackings and branch closures at Spicerhaart, other agents are showing how...
23 March 2020
From: Breaking News

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced a sweeping range of financial measures to try to minimise the impact of Coronavirus...
20 March 2020
From: Breaking News

Rightmove’s growth rate is at an all-time low, despite what some consider to be an unbeatable lead amongst portals in the...
10 March 2020
From: Breaking News

Mortgage lenders approved the highest number of loans for house purchase in nearly four years in January, according to Bank of...
03 March 2020
From: Breaking News

We are facing a new world in the lettings industry, with the proportion of households in the private rented sector (PRS)...
08 January 2020
From: Features

Multi-national financial institution UBS says there could be a cut in the Bank of England base rate as early as May...
07 January 2020
From: Breaking News

Analysts are putting a surprise surge in mortgage approvals from banks down to a spike in applications ahead of the General...
02 January 2020
From: Breaking News

With Brexit still unresolved, the domestic agenda has been pushed from the headlines by the seemingly overwhelming public and political discord...
07 December 2019
From: Features

[Estate Agent Today was ‘off air’ for some of Wednesday and most of Thursday thanks to technical problems - we apologise...
06 December 2019
From: Breaking News

A new survey suggests that an overwhelming majority of householders want a legal ban on gazumping. The result is likely to be...
21 November 2019
From: Breaking News

A Labour proposal to dramatically improve energy efficiency in almost every British home would cost an estimated £60 billion. The upgrades would...
04 November 2019
From: Breaking News

It’s on - although judging by the early lack of enthusiasm amongst the British public, you might be forgiven for thinking...
01 November 2019
From: Breaking News

The number of new mortgages approved by banks fell to a six-month low in September - but the annual figure shows...
25 October 2019
From: Breaking News

As an agent, it’s part of your role to protect and advise your clients throughout the buying and selling process. Mortgages are...
26 September 2019
From: Sponsored Content

There’s been a five per cent rise in the cases of mortgage fraud as increasing numbers of house buyers appear to...
25 September 2019
From: Breaking News

It’s been quite a week for news so you might have missed this story - there is yet another boost for...
31 August 2019
From: Features

New research has identified those local housing market potentially worst hit by the planned changes to Help To Buy in 2021,...
02 August 2019
From: Breaking News

The Bank of England’s monetary policy committee - which meets monthly to set the base rate on which the costs of...
02 August 2019
From: Breaking News

Data from UK Finance, which represents most of the country’s lenders, shows that gross mortgage lending across the residential market in...
25 July 2019
From: Breaking News

An estate agent who ruthlessly used his position as a prominent figure in the community to win the trust of vulnerable...
22 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

Retired homeowners are increasingly using property wealth to clear unsecured debts and mortgages to strengthen their later life finances, a new...
24 May 2019
From: Breaking News

So far in our contribution to the campaign to replace leasehold with commonhold we have outlined the stories of some of...
18 May 2019
From: Features

Data produced by the government showed that some 211,000 homes have been bought using the Help to Buy: Equity Loan. The scheme...
01 May 2019
From: Breaking News

On the same day as one of the most optimistic Rightmove market snapshots of recent months, the latest mortgage monitor from...
16 April 2019
From: Breaking News

Mortgage prisoners - borrowers unable to switch lenders despite being up-to-date with payments - may have an escape route in sight...
27 March 2019
From: Breaking News

The row over whether Help To Buy benefits house builders’ personal wealth more than it assists the housing market is continuing...
27 February 2019
From: Breaking News

There are many misconceptions about the franchising world but, whether we’re talking about estate agency franchises or fast food franchises, it’s...
09 February 2019
From: Features

A review of the housing market at present, particularly when it comes to purchase transactions, might not necessarily feel overly positive. The...
26 January 2019
From: Features

Former Emoov chief executive Russell Quirk has made his first on-the-record comments about the factors behind the dramatic collapse of his...
14 January 2019
From: Breaking News

There’s been a warm welcome from the property and consumer sectors for a suggestion that the Financial Conduct Authority may be...
14 January 2019
From: Breaking News

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

House prices are flatlining with the rate of annual growth having fallen continually since August according to LSL Property Services, which...
20 December 2018
From: Breaking News

Figures released by the government over the weekend show that 14,867 Help To Buy equity loans were taken out in the...
03 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

Newspapers are reporting that Brexit’s impact on house prices - especially if there is No Deal - are likely to take...
27 November 2018
From: Breaking News

1. Who are you and what do you do? HeyJuno Property is a business dedicated to empowering estate and letting agents throughout...
06 November 2018
From: 60 Second Interview

It’s now almost a month since the government introduced new rules on Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO), as part of its...
27 October 2018
From: Features

Johnston Press, the company which owns the i national newspaper and some 200 local titles - many with property supplements carrying...
12 October 2018
From: Breaking News

Landlords and letting agents might feel they’ve taken a bit of a battering from the government in recent years – and...
22 September 2018
From: Features

The buy-to-let sector, which has been under sustained pressure for a number of years now thanks to tax changes designed to...
15 August 2018
From: Sponsored Content

When you are starting up a new business, it is unlikely that you will already have enough capital to invest. Taking...
10 August 2018
From: Sponsored Content

A recent holiday in the US gave me an opportunity to catch up with property news over there - and surprisingly,...
02 June 2018
From: Features

Consumer body Which? is warning that those who used the Help To Buy equity loan to purchase their homes could face...
18 May 2018
From: Breaking News

The latest mortgage snapshot from e.surv has reinforced recent claims from other sources that London’s housing market remains the most difficult...
13 April 2018
From: Breaking News

The proportion of first time buyers in the market is still 11 per cent below the level seen before the 2008...
11 April 2018
From: Breaking News

An estate agent has been jailed for 18 months after he took out £30,000 worth of loans in the name of...
26 March 2018
From: Breaking News

Figures just released assessing February’s mortgage borrowing show that approvals are 1.25 per cent lower than in January, and are down...
20 March 2018
From: Breaking News

New analysis by credit and comparison service Totally Money has revealed the districts where the controversial Help To Buy initiative is...
15 January 2018
From: Breaking News

Two UK online estate agencies have been named in a list of the world’s top 50 real estate start-ups to watch...
11 January 2018
From: Breaking News

Earlier this week, Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered the Autumn Budget with a strong focus on housing. The decision to cut stamp duty...
25 November 2017
From: Features

Another Budget, another pledge of new house building: it appears from statements made over the weekend by Chancellor Phillip Hammond that...
20 November 2017
From: Breaking News

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...
02 November 2017
From: Breaking News

Last week was MIPIM PropTech Summit 2017 in New York, and it was the most oversubscribed to date - proof of the...
18 October 2017
From: Breaking News

ZPG - which already owns and operates Zoopla, PrimeLocation, Hometrack and the price comparison website uSwitch - has acquired the financial...
08 September 2017
From: Breaking News

New data from UK Finance - previously the Council of Mortgage Lenders - paints a relatively optimistic assessment of the UK-wide...
24 August 2017
From: Breaking News

Almost half of all property purchase valuations last month were conducted on behalf of first-time buyers according to Connells - well...
23 August 2017
From: Breaking News

The stock exchange seems to be on everyone’s lips at the moment. There’s Agents’ Mutual seeking to float on the Alternative Investment...
12 August 2017
From: Features

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

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

There has been general support from the industry for the government’s apparent intention to ban new homes in England being sold...
26 July 2017
From: Breaking News

Government schemes like Help To Buy, supposedly assisting more people get on the ladder, have little impact on improving social mobility...
04 July 2017
From: Breaking News

The overall mortgage market has grown in the past month according to e.surv - bringing to an end months of decline...
25 May 2017
From: Breaking News

Home buyers borrowed £11.2 billion in March - down on the ‘stamp duty bonanza‘ period at the same time last year...
18 May 2017
From: Breaking News

In recent years the mortgage industry has gone through some testing times. Recession and regulation have led to more stringent lending...
08 April 2017
From: Features

There are more first-time buyers (FTBs) finding a way on to the property ladder than at any time since the Financial...
01 April 2017
From: Features

Buyers with deposits of 15 per cent or less of the purchase price now make up more than a fifth of...
30 March 2017
From: Breaking News

A leading housing market analyst has made a stout defence of the growing trend of young buyers relying on their parents...
29 March 2017
From: Breaking News

The proportion of first time buyers relying on inherited wealth or loans from the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ has reached...
27 March 2017
From: Breaking News

Data from the Council for Mortgage Lenders show that loans taken out by buyers have hit a near two-year low. Home buyers...
15 March 2017
From: Breaking News

Over the past two decades, investing in buy-to-let has been a relatively easy way to make money, which is why so...
25 February 2017
From: Features

The number of home buyers in London dropped to a four-year low in 2016 while the number of loans taken out...
23 February 2017
From: Breaking News

So, Property Week has announced its Property Awards shortlist for 2017. Looking at the entries for PropTech Company of the Year, I'm surprised...
22 February 2017
From: Breaking News

The rapid growth in popularity of buy-to-let in recent years, fuelled in part by the failings of the pensions industry, has...
17 February 2017
From: Features

First-time buyers borrowed £5.1 billion from mortgage companies in December, far above the same month in 2015, and the highest December...
16 February 2017
From: Breaking News

The managing partner of a property investment firm says London residential property values have fallen by 15 to 25 per cent...
04 January 2017
From: Breaking News

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...
15 December 2016
From: Breaking News

Moneyfacts, the independent financial products monitoring service, says first time buyer have a lot to thank Help To Buy for -...
06 December 2016
From: Breaking News

There’s good news for London’s troubled market - a report from the CML shows that buyers in the capital took out 12...
24 November 2016
From: Breaking News
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It may still be too early to start compiling a Christmas wish list, but it is the right time to provide...
19 November 2016
From: Features

Forecasts are a tricky business. And as I wrote in a recent Industry Views opinion piece, any prediction in the current...
19 November 2016
From: Features

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...
15 November 2016
From: Breaking News

The latest Bank of England data on mortgage approvals - a key barometer for likely transactions for agents - shows Brexit...
01 November 2016
From: Breaking News

It’s all been kicking off in recent weeks, hasn’t it? Marmite wars, the endless Trump v Clinton debate, Samsung phones blowing...
28 October 2016
From: Features

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

Those working within the UK housing market would have felt considerable worry about the immediate impact of the vote to leave...
23 September 2016
From: Features

Zoopla Property Group (ZPG) has announced the launch of a new feature on its website which will help estate agents to...
20 September 2016
From: Breaking News

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

Respected financial comparison website Moneyfacts says the average buyer requiring a mortgage and securing a deal now will be £240 a...
26 July 2016
From: Breaking News

I’m indebted to one of the most enthusiastic estate agents I’ve had the pleasure of meeting for suggesting the subject of...
15 July 2016
From: Features

With a number of agent partner programmes available nationwide, estate agents can often increase business by offering sales by auction, especially...
15 July 2016
From: Features

As I sit and write this piece, even with the FTSE 100 back up and sterling having recovered some of its...
08 July 2016
From: Features

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...
16 June 2016
From: Breaking News

A firm says it wants to help agents and sellers frustrated by a stagnating housing market to short-let homes using controversial...
15 June 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

While buy-to-let lenders brace themselves for further interventions as part of proposals currently being drawn up by the Prudential Regulation Authority...
01 June 2016
From: Features

There has been a 58 per cent rise in the past year for mortgages for house purchase purposes, according to the...
18 May 2016
From: Breaking News

The Council of Mortgage Lenders says the number of repossessions in the first quarter of 2016 was 2,100 - the lowest...
13 May 2016
From: Breaking News

First time buyers with small deposits are among those likely to suffer as a result of new regulations on credit risk...
28 April 2016
From: Breaking News

Home lending in 2016 saw its best opening quarter for nine years according to the figures from chartered surveying firm e.surv. An...
15 April 2016
From: Breaking News

We talk about the unstoppable rise of buy-to-let and forget that it was only as recently as the early 1970’s that...
08 April 2016
From: Features

A top consultancy firm is warning that the stamp duty surcharge coming into effect at the end of this week may lead...
31 March 2016
From: Breaking News

A group of leading tax experts claims the stamp duty surcharge coming into effect one week from today will hurt the...
25 March 2016
From: Breaking News

Data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders shows that gross mortgage lending reached £17.6 billion last month - that's the highest...
18 March 2016
From: Breaking News

A centre-right think tank founded by Tory former planning minister Nick Boles is urging a review of stamp duty to link...
07 March 2016
From: Breaking News

As we know, the property market in London is notorious for sitting a long way outside the conventions of the wider UK...
27 February 2016
From: Features

Banks have approved the highest number of mortgages for almost two years as the rush to purchase buy to let properties...
25 February 2016
From: Breaking News

In December 2015 first time buyers borrowed £4.5 billion for house purchases - that’s up seven per cent on November and...
17 February 2016
From: Breaking News

Increased competition amongst mortgage lenders and the rush to buy investment properties before the April 1 stamp duty surcharge deadline have...
02 February 2016
From: Breaking News

In January readers of Estate Agent Today and Letting Agent Today were given the opportunity to give their views on proposed...
25 January 2016
From: Features

Mortgage lending for home buyers dipped by nine per cent in November according to new data - but it is up...
15 January 2016
From: Breaking News

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

An estate agent is going on trial concerning allegations that he defrauded people of over a quarter of a million pounds. Russell...
19 October 2015
From: Breaking News

Campaigning charity Shelter claims the government's flagship housing incentive, Help To Buy, has added £8,250 to the price of a home...
22 September 2015
From: Breaking News

Despite seeing the word in many industry pieces, using ‘crisis’ to describe anything related to the UK housing market at present...
18 September 2015
From: Features

Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show that lending to first time buyers bounced back in the second quarter of...
12 August 2015
From: Breaking News

Here's a thought. The Chancellor may have done the buy-to-let industry a small favour with his emergency Budget in July. What...
07 August 2015
From: Features

eMoov has entered into a partnership with peer-to-peer lender RateSetter in another bid by an online estate agency to find an...
27 July 2015
From: Breaking News

When Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, recently announced that interest rates would have to start to rise sooner...
24 July 2015
From: Features

Connells says its sales figures for June show a 27.5 per cent rise on the same month last year. The agency has...
17 July 2015
From: Breaking News

Lending for house buying is still down compared to this time last year but there are signs that the market is...
15 July 2015
From: Breaking News

There is more evidence of a boost in mortgage approvals according to data from chartered surveyor company e.surv. It says there were...
10 July 2015
From: Breaking News

The methodology used by the Nationwide to compile its house price index is to be changed from next month, with more...
03 July 2015
From: Breaking News

The Financial Times says London Mayor and new Conservative MP Boris Johnson is lobbying the government in a bid to persuade...
02 July 2015
From: Breaking News

This month has marked a real change in the way the private lettings sector is perceived - and it’s a perception...
19 June 2015
From: Features

The Aston Mead estate agency says “unnecessarily restrictive mortgage criteria" have caused the number of home loans to drop sharply in...
07 May 2015
From: Breaking News

The number of mortgage loans approved by banks fell year-on-year for the ninth consecutive month in March. Data from the British Bankers’...