Archive

All my recent Natters have been focused on one particular topic, the coronavirus crisis, for obvious reasons. But there has been...

A daily monitor of mortgage market activity has reported “significant volumes” of business across the sector, even over the weekend. Mortgage technology...

There has been much speculation about when agents will be allowed back to work, and what the new office working environment...

The demand for mortgages in April was scarcely a quarter of what it was in March - but the figures show...

NAEA Propertymark has today launched a campaign for the government to introduce what it calls a Property Sector Support Package. This would...

If there are agents still uncertain as to whether their company or themselves as individuals are claiming the maximum business support,...

Property and construction are amongst the worst hit sectors for businesses in so-called ‘critical distress’ according to figures taken before the worst...

A leading estate agency says it has observed that some banks previously opposed to accepting remote and desktop valuations have started...

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced new measures to help the self-employed - likely to be welcomed by self-employed estate agents. The Chancellor...

It’s far too early for authoritative figures on how devastating the Coronavirus lockdown has been on estate agents but there is...

There has been scepticism across the industry as to the motives behind an unspecified number of lay-offs and permanent branch closures...

While controversy swirls around the approach and motives of the sackings and branch closures at Spicerhaart, other agents are showing how...

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced a sweeping range of financial measures to try to minimise the impact of Coronavirus...

Rightmove’s growth rate is at an all-time low, despite what some consider to be an unbeatable lead amongst portals in the...

Mortgage lenders approved the highest number of loans for house purchase in nearly four years in January, according to Bank of...

We are facing a new world in the lettings industry, with the proportion of households in the private rented sector (PRS)...

Multi-national financial institution UBS says there could be a cut in the Bank of England base rate as early as May...

Analysts are putting a surprise surge in mortgage approvals from banks down to a spike in applications ahead of the General...

With Brexit still unresolved, the domestic agenda has been pushed from the headlines by the seemingly overwhelming public and political discord...

[Estate Agent Today was ‘off air’ for some of Wednesday and most of Thursday thanks to technical problems - we apologise...

A new survey suggests that an overwhelming majority of householders want a legal ban on gazumping. The result is likely to be...

A Labour proposal to dramatically improve energy efficiency in almost every British home would cost an estimated £60 billion. The upgrades would...

It’s on - although judging by the early lack of enthusiasm amongst the British public, you might be forgiven for thinking...

The number of new mortgages approved by banks fell to a six-month low in September - but the annual figure shows...

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

There’s been a five per cent rise in the cases of mortgage fraud as increasing numbers of house buyers appear to...

It’s been quite a week for news so you might have missed this story - there is yet another boost for...

New research has identified those local housing market potentially worst hit by the planned changes to Help To Buy in 2021,...

The Bank of England’s monetary policy committee - which meets monthly to set the base rate on which the costs of...

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

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

With this summer marking forty years since Margaret Thatcher came to power, her legacy continues to invoke both celebration and consternation...

Retired homeowners are increasingly using property wealth to clear unsecured debts and mortgages to strengthen their later life finances, a new...

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

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

On the same day as one of the most optimistic Rightmove market snapshots of recent months, the latest mortgage monitor from...

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

The row over whether Help To Buy benefits house builders’ personal wealth more than it assists the housing market is continuing...

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

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

Former Emoov chief executive Russell Quirk has made his first on-the-record comments about the factors behind the dramatic collapse of his...

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

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

House prices are flatlining with the rate of annual growth having fallen continually since August according to LSL Property Services, which...

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

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

Newspapers are reporting that Brexit’s impact on house prices - especially if there is No Deal - are likely to take...

1.             Who are you and what do you do? HeyJuno Property is a business dedicated to empowering estate and letting agents throughout...

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

Johnston Press, the company which owns the i national newspaper and some 200 local titles - many with property supplements carrying...

Landlords and letting agents might feel they’ve taken a bit of a battering from the government in recent years – and...

The buy-to-let sector, which has been under sustained pressure for a number of years now thanks to tax changes designed to...

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

A recent holiday in the US gave me an opportunity to catch up with property news over there - and surprisingly,...

Consumer body Which? is warning that those who used the Help To Buy equity loan to purchase their homes could face...

The latest mortgage snapshot from e.surv has reinforced recent claims from other sources that London’s housing market remains the most difficult...

The proportion of first time buyers in the market is still 11 per cent below the level seen before the 2008...

An estate agent has been jailed for 18 months after he took out £30,000 worth of loans in the name of...

Figures just released assessing February’s mortgage borrowing show that approvals are 1.25 per cent lower than in January, and are down...

New analysis by credit and comparison service Totally Money has revealed the districts where the controversial Help To Buy initiative is...

Two UK online estate agencies have been named in a list of the world’s top 50 real estate start-ups to watch...

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

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

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...

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

ZPG - which already owns and operates Zoopla, PrimeLocation, Hometrack and the price comparison website uSwitch - has acquired the financial...

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

Almost half of all property purchase valuations last month were conducted on behalf of first-time buyers according to Connells - well...

The stock exchange seems to be on everyone’s lips at the moment. There’s Agents’ Mutual seeking to float on the Alternative Investment...

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...

There has been general support from the industry for the government’s apparent intention to ban new homes in England being sold...

Government schemes like Help To Buy, supposedly assisting more people get on the ladder, have little impact on improving social mobility...

The overall mortgage market has grown in the past month according to e.surv - bringing to an end months of decline...

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

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

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

Buyers with deposits of 15 per cent or less of the purchase price now make up more than a fifth of...

A leading housing market analyst has made a stout defence of the growing trend of young buyers relying on their parents...

The proportion of first time buyers relying on inherited wealth or loans from the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ has reached...

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

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...

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

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

First-time buyers borrowed £5.1 billion from mortgage companies in December, far above the same month in 2015, and the highest December...

The managing partner of a property investment firm says London residential property values have fallen by 15 to 25 per cent...

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...

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

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...

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

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 Bank of England data on mortgage approvals - a key barometer for likely transactions for agents - shows Brexit...

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

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

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

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

Zoopla Property Group (ZPG) has announced the launch of a new feature on its website which will help estate agents to...

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

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

I’m indebted to one of the most enthusiastic estate agents I’ve had the pleasure of meeting for suggesting the subject of...

With a number of agent partner programmes available nationwide, estate agents can often increase business by offering sales by auction, especially...

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

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

Home loans activity has fallen to a 12 month low as market torpor sets in ahead of the EU referendum.  According to...

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

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

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

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

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

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

A top consultancy firm is warning that the stamp duty surcharge coming into effect at the end of this week may lead...

A group of leading tax experts claims the stamp duty surcharge coming into effect one week from today will hurt the...

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

A centre-right think tank founded by Tory former planning minister Nick Boles is urging a review of stamp duty to link...

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

Banks have approved the highest number of mortgages for almost two years as the rush to purchase buy to let properties...

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...

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

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...

An estate agent is going on trial concerning allegations that he defrauded people of over a quarter of a million pounds. Russell...

Campaigning charity Shelter claims the government's flagship housing incentive, Help To Buy, has added £8,250 to the price of a home...

Despite seeing the word in many industry pieces, using ‘crisis’ to describe anything related to the UK housing market at present...

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

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

eMoov has entered into a partnership with peer-to-peer lender RateSetter in another bid by an online estate agency to find an...

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

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...

There is more evidence of a boost in mortgage approvals according to data from chartered surveyor company e.surv.  It says there were...

The methodology used by the Nationwide to compile its house price index is to be changed from next month, with more...

The Financial Times says London Mayor and new Conservative MP Boris Johnson is lobbying the government in a bid to persuade...

This month has marked a real change in the way the private lettings sector is perceived - and it’s a perception...

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

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

With another hung parliament looking increasingly likely, the so-called ‘challenger parties’ look set to have a major say in who forms...