Archive

The Spring Budget last Wednesday rounded out to be mostly a disappointment for the property industry, but it was also perhaps...

The level of mortgage approvals for home-movers hit the lowest level since the 1970s amid the cost of living crisis in...

As Conveyancers we operate in such a volatile market, where government economic policy can and has repeatedly made our professional lives...

This year has seen an ongoing cost-of-living crisis, fluctuating mortgage rates, rising rents, and the threat of falling property prices. Although average...

By Kevin Shaw, National Sales, Managing Director, Leaders Romans Group This year has seen an ongoing cost-of-living crisis, fluctuating mortgage rates, rising...

By Kevin Shaw, National Sales Managing Director, Leaders Romans Group As the cost-of-living crisis continues to impact the UK, many of us...

Winkworth is calling for the Government to take immediate action to fix the property market.  On the eve of the Tory party...

Since the Bank of England base rate started making large jumps around the middle of last year, mortgage rates have increased...

To help or not to help: that is the question the government is facing with regard to under-pressure private rented sector...

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has ruled out providing financial support for struggling mortgage borrowers as rates hit new highs. Average mortgage rates hit...

It’s a tough old road for today’s first-time buyers, with house prices and mortgage interest rates much higher than they were...

I’ve found myself in contemplative mode this week, looking forward to the future and remembering times past. In the immediate future –...

We’re only in February and it’s already clear that this year will set the future direction of the private rented sector...

The cost of living crisis in the UK has majorly impacted thousands of peoples’ plans to move home, with mortgage lending...

The Government is being urged to help homeowners go green and reintroduce mortgage interest relief as a way of boosting rental...

Agents are seeing more instructions as the year ends but fewer properties are selling, industry data shows. Figures from property data company...

The Bank of England increased interest rates from 3% to 3.5% yesterday, potentially pushing up costs for those looking to purchase property...

A third of adults are struggling to pay their monthly rent or mortgage payments, new data shows. The figures from the Office...

Agency stock has hit the highest level so far this year but it seems to coincide with a decline in demand...

The share of homeowners struggling to repay their mortgages could hit the same peak levels of the 2008 financial crisis by...

Demand for new-builds has slowed amid the current economic environment, a major developer has revealed. A trading update from Barratt Developments for...

Estate agents need to concentrate on quality marketing more than ever before as mortgage interest rates rise and lenders become ever...

As inflation passes the 10% mark, it’s no surprise that many landlords are hurriedly reviewing the health of their buy-to-let portfolio. You...

In this guest piece, Kevin Shaw, National Sales Managing Director at Leaders Romans Group, looks at whether house prices will start to cool...

Two senior estate agency figures have given their views on the prospects for the property market as commentators warn that longer-term...

July was the most active month for home sales so far this year but agents acknowledge that a slowdown is coming. The...

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) has long been the bugbear of many property transactions. Even the very wealthy will lose interest...

Earlier this month, the government’s energy regulator Ofgem announced a record 54 percent increase to the energy bill price cap. Combined...

The Building Societies Association’s regular confidence tracker about the housing market shows rising pessimism over interest rates, the escalating cost of...

The hot topic of rent controls has remerged in recent weeks, with passionate voices on both sides of the argument speaking...

The Bank of England’s monetary policy committee is set to meet today to consider a possible rise in base rate -...

A new survey suggests two thirds of current or potential home owners would accept the idea of a mortgage interest rate...

The prospect of higher mortgage interest rates mean the housing market may get tougher soon despite another set of upbeat house...

Few political policies have such a ring of the past as rent controls - they were last seen in this country...

Initiatives by property portal Residential People and mortgage lenders Paragon Bank and Foundation Home Loans help people to find, buy or...

The Stamp Duty holiday has been very beneficial for hundreds of thousands of buyers looking to take advantage of savings, even...

Banks and building societies want the government to offer more help to the housing market through additional assistance to home owners...

A relatively modest interest rate rise could trigger a crash in the housing market according to the housing analyst behind the...

A new paper from a think tank warns that many low income owner occupiers risk losing their homes when the mortgage...

This month saw the introduction of the final stages of the Section 24 tax changes, first introduced in April 2017. Whereas buy-to-let...

Earlier this month, Boris Johnson carried out a reshuffle of his cabinet, telling ministers they must 'repay the trust of those...

After a challenging period for the UK property market, recovery is very much on the cards and the end to uncertainty...

The Bank of England’s monetary policy committee meets today for its monthly decision on whether the move base rate - and...

Some buying agents have batted away the many signs of an improving housing market but one says the Boris Bounce is...

Yes, believe it or not, we’ve nearly reached the end of a whole decade. And what an eventful decade it’s been. We’ve...

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

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

Since I started working with Zero Deposit for me the market leader in deposit replacement alternatives, the most common question I am...

Agents have expressed quiet optimism that the market may be over the worst as it continues to show resilience in the...

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

Recently a number of politicians and charities have been calling for the introduction of rent controls or rent freezes in the...

A record £8.2 billion was paid in Capital Gains Tax in 2017/18 - over £1 billion more than the year before.  The...

With Boris Johnson winning the Conservative leadership election and becoming Prime Minister, he has spent his first few days in office...

Sometimes having prior knowledge of a stressful event can be more stressful than the event itself, just look at Brexit for...

Theresa May arrived in Downing Street some three years ago - but her premiership has not been a smooth ride. As she...

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

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

There is a perfect storm brewing in the lettings market, and as the saying goes, “you can’t change the direction of...

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

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

An open rental market, where neither landlord nor tenant is in a dominant position, enables rents to rise and fall, which...

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...

There’s been another drop in mortgage arrears and possessions for owner occupiers - although an increase for some elements of the...

One of the UK’s leading group of economic experts has repeated its warning that housing market is not going to see...

The Money editor of The Mirror newspaper has finally sold a home he first put on the market in late 2016...

Prime London’s transactions are now the preserve of so-called ‘needs-based buyers’ and not investors according to high-end agency Knight Frank -...

Prices grew at a faster than expected rate last month according to the Halifax House Price Index, which has reported a...

A 1.0 per cent interest rate rise would add £930 a year to the cost of servicing the average mortgage, according...

A range of factors - including fierce competition under the supplied housing market, rising property prices and political uncertainty – have...

What a year it’s been! Back in 2016 we had Brexit, a new prime minister, Donald Trump’s election, and so when...

It’s traditional before Christmas to either review the year past or anticipate the one ahead - but I’m intrigued about what...

As we hurtle towards the end of 2017, it’s time to reflect on the year that’s just been.   Even better, this property-based...

The housing industry has set out a list of demands in advance of the government’s hotly anticipated Autumn Budget on Wednesday.  Despite...

We recently witnessed the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) increase the base interest rate for the first time since...

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

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

A think tank says the penalties now levied against second home owners - such as the stamp duty surcharge and phasing...

Stamp duty has become the latest weapon in the ongoing war of words between different wings of the Conservative party, as...

London Central Portfolio, a property investment consultancy, has set out a five point plan for the next government elected this week...

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

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

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

More than three quarters of developers want to see the government go into reverse on its stamp duty and mortgage interest...

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

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

Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered his first Budget this week pledging extra funding for the NHS, transport in the Midlands and the...

There was nothing doing in the Budget - no stamp duty reform, no second look at mortgage interest tax relief changes,...

Chancellor Phillip Hammond has introduced no new property taxes in his Spring Budget - but a clampdown on those setting up...

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

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

The buy-to-let market has gone through significant change in the last year and with the Budget just around the corner, what...

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

2016 was quite a year – eventful, dramatic, shocking and impossible to predict. In no particular order, we saw Leicester winning...

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

The government has announced that its next Budget will be on March 8 next year. Until recently, Budgets and their ‘mini-me’ Autumn...

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

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

A housebuilder that has in the past profited from its concentration on high-end London schemes says demand for its units is...

Chancellor Philip Hammond caught the lettings industry unaware with an incredulous Autumn Statement.  The buy-to-let sector took a bashing earlier in 2015...