Interest rates made their biggest leap in 27 years yesterday, rising by 0.5% from 1.25% to 1.75%. It was the biggest...
Archive
05 August 2022
From: Breaking News
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When it comes to housing policy, the Conservative MPs have given their party a choice between Tweedle Dum and Tweedle DumDum. Rishi...
23 July 2022
From: Features

People in prominent positions in the housing industry aren’t always perfect role models. After all, Chris Pincher was housing minister for...
09 July 2022
From: Features

There’s talk of 50-year mortgages being introduced, loans that, along with the property they finance, could be passed to the next...
09 July 2022
From: Features
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It’s often fashionable to criticise trade bodies and official groups, but right now I think that’s absolutely inappropriate. In well over 20...
25 June 2022
From: Features

This question is not as flippant as it sounds because over recent years the status of the private landlord has taken...
11 June 2022
From: Features

Estate agents are in a unique position – we handle the meeting of people’s aspirations probably more than any other profession....
21 May 2022
From: Features

Peta Milne, founder of Instagram growth and PR service Monimo, and a content writer at Choices Estate Agents, recently sat down...
05 March 2022
From: Features

Momentum is building up in support of the government’s probe into whether the London homes of oligarchs on the sanctions list...
04 March 2022
From: Breaking News

The hot topic of rent controls has remerged in recent weeks, with passionate voices on both sides of the argument speaking...
02 March 2022
From: Features

Here’s the odd thing about interest rates - we all care about them, but they don’t directly affect that many people...
05 February 2022
From: Features

Propertymark has appointed an insider to the key role of policy adviser - effectively the position vacated last month by industry...
21 January 2022
From: Breaking News
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It appears almost certain that there will be limits imposed on the number and location of second homes in Wales, following...
23 November 2021
From: Breaking News

We’ve probably all learned to be a little less cynical about politicians in recent weeks, given the tragic events. We perhaps...
30 October 2021
From: Features
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Leading politicians operating in the housing industry have paid tribute to murdered backbencher Sir David Amess. Housing Secretary Michael Gove tweeted: “David...
18 October 2021
From: Breaking News

As we motor towards the next major global climate change conference – the UN’s COP26 being held in Glasgow from 31...
25 September 2021
From: Features

A leading planning consultancy has claimed that ‘the myth’ that housing developers are hoarding land after gaining planning consent in order...
23 September 2021
From: Breaking News

Few political policies have such a ring of the past as rent controls - they were last seen in this country...
04 September 2021
From: Features

There are some parts of the world, including in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, where estate agent isn’t seen as...
28 August 2021
From: Features
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Politicians in one of the most exclusive property enclaves are complaining after average house prices have risen around £100,000 in just...
24 August 2021
From: Breaking News

A nationalist party has blasted a Labour government in one national region of the UK for its lack of intervention in...
18 August 2021
From: Breaking News

There’s gathering momentum to do ‘something’ about the unfairness of council tax and stamp duty. This isn’t new in principle. Agents have...
24 July 2021
From: Features

One of the most senior politicians involved in the property industry is embroiled in a row over her anti-Marcus Rashford social...
13 July 2021
From: Breaking News

At first sight it’s a tough ask to defend holiday homes when there’s evidence that many who want to buy can’t,...
10 July 2021
From: Features
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One of the country’s leading politicians says a yet-to-be-revealed way of taxing property sales could be one way of helping homes...
01 June 2021
From: Breaking News

The new Mayor of London, to be decided in an election tomorrow, has just received a six point set of demands...
05 May 2021
From: Breaking News

The biggest news story in town this last week – which has brought people who don’t usually like or watch football...
24 April 2021
From: Features

For many, the funeral of HRH Prince Philip will be a solemn affair, while for some it will also be a...
17 April 2021
From: Features

First the good news - estate agents are trusted more than politicians and no less than bankers. Now the bad news:...
31 March 2021
From: Breaking News
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Honesty is a concept that journalists will tell their readers is non-existent for estate agents. Yeah, right! But as the end...
27 February 2021
From: Features
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Propertymark - still reeling over two senior resignations in less than a week - says its lobbying sessions with politicians are...
22 February 2021
From: Breaking News

A housing market analyst says stamp duty, for all its unpopularity within the property industry, may not be so bad after...
08 February 2021
From: Breaking News

Propertymark, the overarching body aiming to bring five different associations (ARLA, NAEA, NAVA, ICBA and APIP) into a single brand, was...
16 January 2021
From: Features

Here’s hoping you managed to have as good a Christmas and New Year as Covid rules allowed. Journalism in early January is...
02 January 2021
From: Features

An agency in London which was stung by fierce criticism in the spring lockdown has announced its policy for branch activity...
03 November 2020
From: Breaking News

“I’ve got 47 years of experience as an agent. Do I still have to get a qualification?” asked one attendee at...
31 October 2020
From: Features

Lawyers, politicians, bankers, insurance sellers – no matter where you go, there are some professions that are just always going to...
17 October 2020
From: Features

It’s fair to say that UK estate agents don’t have the best of reputations, often featuring in the lists of the...
29 August 2020
From: Features

You have to feel for Rishi Sunak - well, at least a little. Leave to one side that he carries more presentational...
11 July 2020
From: Features

It may be that by the time you read this it’s all over for Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for...
27 June 2020
From: Features

The death has been announced of Colin Lowman, a veteran south London estate agent who had a 64 year career in...
08 June 2020
From: Breaking News

Over the last few years, there have been a number of high-profile court cases in which renters took action against letting...
30 May 2020
From: Features

The industry should continue to prepare for large-scale reforms such as mandatory agency training, the licensing of agents and a new...
21 May 2020
From: Breaking News

The government will not announce a Mansion Tax at next month’s Budget. It was first reported by the Sunday Telegraph a week ago,...
16 February 2020
From: Breaking News

Now we’re well into the second month of the year, we have reached a crucial point in the ongoing plans to...
08 February 2020
From: Features

The chair of the working group introducing mandatory examinations and qualifications for estate and letting agents says senior politicians will meet...
04 February 2020
From: Breaking News

After a challenging period for the UK property market, recovery is very much on the cards and the end to uncertainty...
01 February 2020
From: Features

Suddenly Brexit Day is nearly here. It may have taken three and a half years from the Referendum but the UK will,...
25 January 2020
From: Features

Data from HM Revenue & Customs shows tax receipts from stamp duty fell a further 5.2 per cent between 2018 and...
23 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

Agents and property industry figures have given a clear message to the government six weeks ahead of the General Election -...
31 October 2019
From: Breaking News

There are many adjectives that can be applied to Boris Johnson, probably very few of them complimentary, but there’s one that...
26 October 2019
From: Features

It’s only a week to the Big Day when gore-splattered figures wreak havoc on an unsuspecting industry and nation. But enough about...
24 October 2019
From: Breaking News

In recent years, governments and local councils have sought to change the private rented sector (PRS) to make it more appealing...
28 September 2019
From: Features

If you thought - perhaps hoped - that five weeks of prorogued Parliament meant a break from politics, think again: the...
14 September 2019
From: Features

A well-respected agent who was president of the NAEA just five years ago has written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson asking...
28 August 2019
From: Breaking News

Recently a number of politicians and charities have been calling for the introduction of rent controls or rent freezes in the...
24 August 2019
From: Features

With Boris Johnson winning the Conservative leadership election and becoming Prime Minister, he has spent his first few days in office...
03 August 2019
From: Features

Esther McVey is to be the new housing minister - one of the most seasoned politicians to take the job in...
25 July 2019
From: Breaking News

The industry press has given substantial space to recommendations from the Regulation of Property Agents, the government’s working party which has...
20 July 2019
From: Features

A new industry regulator is likely to be in place within two years according to the chair of the government’s Regulation...
11 July 2019
From: Breaking News

Theresa May arrived in Downing Street some three years ago - but her premiership has not been a smooth ride. As she...
06 July 2019
From: Features

Britain lives in fundamentalist black-and-white times - all the more surprising when the country's most divisive point of contention sits on...
22 June 2019
From: Features

In the first Q&A Natter for a while, I catch up with Angelica Donati - CEO of Donati Immobiliare Group, PropTech...
01 June 2019
From: Features

It’s clear that some agents are not fans of Trading Standards officers, described in the comments sections of the trade press...
27 April 2019
From: Features

No, this isn’t about Brexit. But as the saga of leaving the EU is likely to bring about the downfall of...
13 April 2019
From: Features

Labour is proposing two methods of controlling house price rises should it win the next General Election - and the ideas...
11 April 2019
From: Breaking News

Campaigning groups like Generation Rent and Shelter like to think they are simultaneously edgy and radical; likewise some think tanks believe...
30 March 2019
From: Features

This article was originally written for City AM in response to an article it published attacking letting agents. See more here. A...
23 March 2019
From: Features

Last week, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government announced a number of measures aimed at further tackling homelessness, including...
09 March 2019
From: Features

With the home buying and selling process firmly on the news agenda of late – everything from a possible ban on...
16 February 2019
From: Features

Kit Malthouse has been making headlines this week, but – in keeping with his tenure as Housing Minister so far -...
02 February 2019
From: Features

The British Property Federation has made an outspoken intervention into the Brexit debate, telling politicians that No Deal is the worst...
31 January 2019
From: Breaking News

Politicians and officials are studying a ‘model’ two page reservation agreement drawn up by a law firm as a possible way...
24 January 2019
From: Breaking News

I often speak of my wish to see property taken out of the hands of politicians. Indeed, this is likely to...
19 January 2019
From: Features

The civil servant leading work to reform the house buying has revealed key areas of government thinking - with a ban on...
18 January 2019
From: Breaking News

It’s the word on everyone’s lips: after two and a half years of debate, and months before that leading up to...
11 January 2019
From: Breaking News

Phil Spencer is on the warpath against “constant tinkering” by government in housing matters - and instead, he wants the problems...
02 January 2019
From: Breaking News

There’s nothing new about identifying 10 figures who have helped shape an industry over the past year, but that doesn’t mean...
28 December 2018
From: Features

The chief executive of failed online agency Emoov has been named this week as one of the 500 top “tech influencers”...
07 December 2018
From: Breaking News

The title may be unfamiliar but most agents know by now that in the corridors of Whitehall a working party exists...
24 November 2018
From: Features

A new book has revealed that one of the long line of recent housing ministers was known as “the invisible minister”...
27 September 2018
From: Breaking News

Bank of England governor Mark Carney says a no-deal Brexit exit could lead to a 35 per cent house price crash. The...
14 September 2018
From: Breaking News

It’s holiday time: schools have broken up, quite a few estate agents are taking time off, and the MPs are in...
28 July 2018
From: Features

First things first, I have to mention the World Cup. The dream is over, football’s not quite coming home (not until...
14 July 2018
From: Features

A leading agency chief says the frequent churn of housing ministers means there is only one answer if our industry wants...
11 July 2018
From: Breaking News
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To say this is a turbulent time for UK politics would be something of an understatement. As I write, the Brexit...
23 June 2018
From: Features

As housing market stakeholders we’ve all had a month or so to try and digest the government’s own response to its...
19 May 2018
From: Features

James Brokenshire - yesterday appointed Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government - joins the rank of senior politicians...
01 May 2018
From: Breaking News

The game of musical chairs that has so often gone on with politicians in charge of housing continues today with the...
30 April 2018
From: Breaking News

If you want to know whether buy to let, landlords and letting agents will be in the firing line for more...
28 April 2018
From: Features

‘Respect’ is the new mantra for politicians: whether it’s about street gang leaders, social media trolls or those on either side...
14 April 2018
From: Features

Have you noticed a new turf war going on on the fringes of the agency world? It’s not a high-profile battle like...
17 March 2018
From: Features

The Ernst & Young ITEM Club - a group of economists highly regarded by politicians and some sectors of the property...
12 March 2018
From: Breaking News

An estate agent and former chairman of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says the government’s latest drive to build new...
06 March 2018
From: Breaking News

It’s probably unwise to write too much about politics these days. The most fanciful predictions turn out to be less wild...
03 February 2018
From: Features

Here we are again: another much anticipated Budget has been and gone and, yet, still nothing much has changed! Yes, of course,...
02 December 2017
From: Features

Another week, yet more consultations - the agency industry can’t complain about not being asked for its views recently. The latest were on...
21 October 2017
From: Features

With party conference season around the corner and the next Budget just a couple of months away, more industry players are...
07 September 2017
From: Breaking News

It’s not just the evenings drawing in that marks the approach of autumn - it’s also the return to work of...
26 August 2017
From: Features

A new survey commissioned by a property firm suggests that 31 per cent of people feel uncomfortable about the idea of...
25 August 2017
From: Breaking News

It’s traditional for estate agents to support each other when they come under attack from the press or public. After all,...
28 July 2017
From: Features

That the private rental sector has become the government’s whipping boy for housing problems - landlords in particular, letting agents almost...
14 July 2017
From: Features

When it comes to provoking anger in property professionals, taxation takes some beating. Press releases are still arriving berating the December...
01 July 2017
From: Features

The Queen’s speech to the British parliament this week was a scaled-back affair, which was unsurprising given the Grenfell Tower fire,...
23 June 2017
From: Features

A cluster of conveyancing and legal experts, known as the Legal Sector Group, has published a raft of proposals on leasehold...
21 June 2017
From: Breaking News

The property industry has broadly welcomed the appointment of a new housing minister, which was made yesterday evening. Reading West MP Alok...
14 June 2017
From: Breaking News

The banning of letting fees levied on tenants has dominated the industry headlines in recent months but this election campaign suggests...
27 May 2017
From: Features

Pole-axed by politics? Bored of ballots? Well, this is where you can escape from pledges, promises and politicians and instead read...
05 May 2017
From: Breaking News

In this Natter we have an exclusive interview with David Cox, CEO of ARLA Propertymark and one of the best-known figures...
08 April 2017
From: Features

We’re almost nine months on from the EU Referendum and yet the issue remains the big divide across the nation: an...
18 March 2017
From: Features

Grant Shapps, housing minister between 2010 and 2012, has said the measures in the current government’s White Paper are not bold...
09 February 2017
From: Breaking News

The south’s seaside resorts are stealing the headlines for all the wrong reasons and at the heart of the troublesome issue...
28 January 2017
From: Features

2016 was quite a year – eventful, dramatic, shocking and impossible to predict. In no particular order, we saw Leicester winning...
18 January 2017
From: Sponsored Content

Now I’m not one to lose sleep over politicians, but it strikes me that Communities Secretary Sajid Javid and Housing Minister...
07 January 2017
From: Features

Welsh politicians have called for clarity over the new Land Transaction Tax that will replace stamp duty from April next year. In September...
06 January 2017
From: Breaking News

Following a strong start to 2016, particularly in the lower to middle range of the UK housing market, that lasted up...
17 December 2016
From: Features

Let me set out my stall from the beginning. Firstly with two buy to lets managed by an agency, I understand and...
03 December 2016
From: Features

Listening to all the coverage of the tenant fee ban, all I hear is consumer groups talking about how some agents...
26 November 2016
From: Features

Some of this week’s headlines - ‘Firms must list foreign workers’ and ‘NHS to no longer rely on foreign doctors’ -...
07 October 2016
From: Features

It’s curious how gloom, gloom pre-Brexit Britain’s property market has gained a much brighter outlook now that the result of the...
07 October 2016
From: Features

With the number of new homes being built across the UK still significantly below the level needed to meet demand, housebuilders...
16 September 2016
From: Features

The importance of overseas buyers in underpinning increasing elements of the capital’s housing market and won support from an unlikely quarter...
06 September 2016
From: Breaking News

The morning after the EU referendum, and Westminster, Britain, Europe and the world were left in shock at the news that...
05 August 2016
From: Features

A housing body says that, rather than presiding over a worsening housing crisis as many suggest, David Cameron has actually left...
02 August 2016
From: Breaking News

Older readers may recall a terrific movie called Network where a character, disillusioned by life, shouts from a window: “I’m as...
29 July 2016
From: Features

Plans for the Northern Powerhouse scheme, designed to rival London and the South East as the main driver of economic growth...
29 July 2016
From: Features

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

It’s over. A win is a win, whichever side you backed. It’s true that everyone seems a lot less happy than...
01 July 2016
From: Features

One estate agency leader - you’d all recognise his name - described the victory of the Leave camp in the referendum...
24 June 2016
From: Features

The old and eternal debate over whether or not tenant fees should be banned continues to rumble on. It’s a major concern...
10 June 2016
From: Features

So what is it with young people failing to stand up for themselves and not making the most of their money...
20 May 2016
From: Features

The race to replace London Mayor Boris Johnson has entered its final few days, and like never before, housing is the...
29 April 2016
From: Features

This website recently published a piece ahead of the nationwide launch of our new property platform, Be Street Smart. It explained how...
01 April 2016
From: Features

There are to be significant increases in council tax paid by the owners of the most expensive homes across Scotland, in...
03 March 2016
From: Breaking News

As we all know, Peter Redfern is critical to the future of the British housing market and.... What? Wait? You don’t know...
13 February 2016
From: Features

Estate agents and journalists don’t always have a lot in common but in a new opinion poll they rank side-by-side in...
25 January 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

Once you go beyond the industry’s anger about the Chancellor’s three per cent stamp duty surcharge – and that’s an anger...
27 November 2015
From: Features

Scotland’s home building industry says at least 100,000 homes of all tenures are needed by the end of the next Scottish...
05 November 2015
From: Breaking News

The party's over. It's probably the best double entendre in the world of politics right now. For centre or right-leaning Labour...
25 September 2015
From: Features

An independent estate agent based in Leicestershire has urged agents to play a more active and altruistic role in their community. William...
26 August 2015
From: Breaking News

When do we really start to worry about rising rents and house prices? Despite an apparent slowdown in house price inflation...
19 June 2015
From: Features

This week RICS reported a further drop in the number of people putting their homes up for sale; new instructions fell...
15 May 2015
From: Features

So, a sigh of relief. Most agents will be pleased with the election result - even if they are not Tory supporters...
08 May 2015
From: Features

I write this article on the day of the General Election so you’ll forgive the political analogies. In particular, how any...
08 May 2015
From: Features

The chief executive of Andrews estate agency chain says housing policy should be decided not directly by politicians but by an...