Archive

Stamp duty rebates and cash to improve energy efficiency are being demanded by one of the country’s biggest mortgage lenders in...

2023 was the highest year on record for ‘rental scam’ searches in the UK, with an increase of 11% from 2022...

The share of homes purchased by first-time buyers so far this year has been pushed to record levels, but most are...

The gap between the costs of home ownership and renting has reached its smallest level since 2019, according to the latest...

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

It’s time to abolish what is colloquially called Landlord Licensing. If you’re a casual reader and perhaps not in our industry, a...

Renting a flat or house in the UK has never been more difficult. The market is tight, supply is limited and...

Homeowners with mortgages have seen the highest increase in household costs over recent months, official data suggests. The latest Household Costs Index...

Every year the media writes a lot about house price crashes, and often pose the question whether this is the year...

Britain is in the midst of a senior living housing crisis – according to CBRE, an undersupply of 614,000 mid-market senior...

Everyone’s a pundit these days, aren’t they? And January is pundit season – when a New Year starts, out come the...

Yulia Barnes is founder and managing partner of Barnes Law   2024 is set to be another significant year for the property...

Happy New Year and welcome to what’s looking like a busy - perhaps even hectic - 2024! I thought it worth running...

After months of negative messaging and anti-development sentiment, espoused both nationally by the Government, and locally during May’s local election campaigning,...

In the current challenging market, housebuilders are increasingly looking for novel and engaging means of marketing to achieve the necessary supply/demand...

The last thing you want as we rake through the dying embers of 2023 is a journalist’s prediction of what’s going...

As the world marches relentlessly forward to 2024, the government’s flagship legislation for the private rented sector (PRS) remains in limbo. This...

The private rental landscape has been undergoing a profound transformation, with technology playing a pivotal role in shaping the way tenancies...

It may be a measure of the government’s incompetence in the area of housing that two recent major announcements were sorely...

Long-awaited guidance on material information in property listings was revealed yesterday but policing of the rules won’t be any different, it...

The National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT) has published the long-awaited Parts B and C of material information...

The role of a residential landlord has changed considerably over the years. What was once a relatively straightforward means of generating...

The Government appears to have gone through so many housing ministers that it is now repeating them. Lee Rowley was appointed as...

Propertymark has written to the Housing Secretary Michael Gove to reiterate its longstanding call for regulation of property agents. The agency trade...

As we enter the winter months and a traditionally quieter time for the property industry - agents are still contending with...

In this interview, Riccardo Dawson, Chief Operating Officer at Alto and Chris Hutchinson, CEO of Canopy discuss the benefits of their...

By Neil Cobbold Recent data from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities show that 24,260 households served a valid Section...

As the UK economy faces a period of uncertainty characterised by a cost of living crisis and soaring inflation rates, many...

Housing supply rather than the private rented sector (PRS) made the headlines during the Conservative and Labour Party conferences this year...

Talk about a wasted opportunity. The Conservative party conference - just finished, and possibly the last one before a General Election -...

While some landlords may have breathed a sigh of relief following Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak’s announcement on energy upgrades, I suspect...

After years - indeed a decade - of anti-rental sector policy and rhetoric it’s difficult not to see recent days as...

Build to Rent (BTR) is the UK’s fastest-growing sector and this trend looks set to continue throughout 2023 and beyond. The...

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

Introduced to Parliament in May, the Renters (Reform) Bill seeks to improve the private rental sector for both tenants and landlords....

Agency software provider Alto has announced a new partnership with home setup provider Just Move In. Customers of the Zoopla-backed firm will...

And suddenly it’s autumn. It’s just six weeks before the clocks change, days are getting shorter and - the real sign...

I recently wrote that the long-gestating Renters Reform Bill, finally introduced in Parliament back in May, could be poorly timed, both...

Andrews Lettings Director Angharad Trueman has identified two priorities for her forthcoming term as President of the Association of Lettings Agents. Known...

The latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors housing market snapshot shows the increasing damage being wrought by high interest rates. The RICS...

Who are you and what does it say on your business card? Adam Pigott, CEO of OpenBrix What is ‘company name’ and what...

Over recent years, as successive governments have tightened lettings legislation and increased the tax burden on landlords, some with investment properties...

We all want more transactions - the Holy Grail when it comes to agencies’ bottom lines - but an interesting aspect...

Landlords considering selling up are being urged to lease their homes to a trust catering for homeless people instead. With fears that...

Housing Minister Rachel Maclean MP is probably looking forward to her summer break this year. But wherever she's going and whatever she's...

Renters are putting off their buying plans until property becomes more affordable, according to the latest research from The Mortgage Lender...

‘Schools out for Summer’ as the Alice Cooper song goes and the kids are not the only ones looking forward to...

A recent poll of 11,000 private renters by SpareRooom reveals that 81% spend more than 30% of their take-home pay on...

Almost half of adults who currently pay rent or a mortgage have seen their payments increase over the past six months...

It’s not a sentence that I thought I would be writing, but Housing Secretary Michael Gove has indeed finally done something...

The long-awaited Renters Reform Bill was finally introduced in Parliament in May, but is it really good news for tenants? Several...

The proposals to shake the Private Rental Sector (PRS) to its foundations will, depending upon your political persuasion and housing status,...

It has been another busy week in the property sector.  In his latest column, property commentator Jonathan Rolande, provides his take on...

In simple terms, as you are probably aware, ‘lenders’ are the organisations who loan you something, in this case money to...

As a property market expert, I have been closely monitoring the challenges faced by the housing market, particularly the issue of...

Sleight of hand, optical illusion, card up the sleeve – we all love a good conjuring trick, don’t we? And they say...

Skipton Building Society has unveiled details of the first 100% loan-to-value mortgage launched since the 2008 financial crisis. Aimed at renters, the...

The UK is on its rear - fact. Whilst many were breathing a sigh of relief after surviving a global pandemic,...

Landlords are exiting the market in droves. According to an accountancy firm who analysed HMRC data, 70,000 buy-to-let landlords left the sector...

Landlords are now quite accustomed to the challenges of operating in a market where they are often perceived as the antagonist...

As the unending attack on landlords continues, many are succumbing to the pressures of increased taxes, interest rates rising, regulations becoming...

The RICS Residential Survey Report for March caused a bit of a stir this week – despite the fact that it...

A controversial change due to be brought about in the proposed Renters’ Reform Bill is the abolition of Section 21 ‘no...

Homeowners are now almost £500 better off annually than renters, new research suggests. Analysis by Halifax shows the monthly cost of owning...

Listings are down, mortgage rates are high, regulations are becoming even more complex and already stretched tenants are feeling the effects...

The competition watchdog is set to shine a spotlight on property, with investigations into the housebuilding market and a separate project...

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

Half of first-time buyers say house prices would need to fall up to 20% for them to consider making a purchase,...

As we’ve mentioned in other blogs, even though we’re going through uncertain times, this is the right time not only to...

Zoopla’s homepage may look a little different from today. The portal is supporting homeless charity Crisis’s Christmas fundraising campaign with a homepage...

In this feature, Jonathan Daines looks at how landlords can do their bit to make the rental market greener. Global leaders have...

With the sudden rise in energy prices in the last few months, many tenants will be feeling the pinch. Combine this...

I’ve been on Twitter for a decade and have 23,500 followers - a gratifying number and of those a couple of...

And…breathe. For a while back there, the only certainty for the housing market was uncertainty. That isn’t to say the election of Rishi...

In a statement likely to rile plenty of estate agents, a proptech firm is suggesting aspiring homebuyers should wait until 2024...

Over the last five years, the Government has introduced a range of measures to regulate the property market, particularly in the...

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

Who would be in the shoes of Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng? I don’t mean who would like their power, pay and...

Now that the industry has had the weekend to digest Kwasi Kwarteng’s short and dramatic mini-Budget, more reaction has been filtering...

Time is up for Boris Johnson's tenure as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party, serving 3 years and 44...

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...

Potential buyers will be able to search for eco-friendly homes and message an agent through WhatsApp as part of a range...

Zoopla has teamed up with homelessness charity Crisis to help campaign for reform of housing benefits and to tackle the affordable...

Propertymark’s partnership with MoveIQ has already attracted attention from more than 250,000 consumers and potential property buyers and sellers. The agency trade...

You may be thinking that cost and hassle outweighs the benefits of outsourcing, but read on, you may be surprised! The last...

When it comes to housing policy, the Conservative MPs have given their party a choice between Tweedle Dum and Tweedle DumDum. Rishi...

A wide range of upcoming legislative changes will affect the private rented sector. From new carbon monoxide alarm regulations to renters...

Estate agency trade body Propertymark is hoping to “maintain momentum” with newly appointed Housing Secretary Greg Clark. He replaces Michael Gove, who...

Propertymark has announced an extension of its working relationship with property expert and TV presenter Phil Spencer. The agency trade body will...

Rising property prices in the UK mean that occupiers are renting long past their forties. According to the government’s last English...

Agency trade body Propertymark has called for the government’s housing market reforms to go further and has even suggested targeted stamp...

Hybrid estate agent ZOOM 995 has relaunched its website and logo as part of a rebrand. As part of the change, the...

House price growth may be slowing but there is still plenty of movement in the property jobs market. Here are some of...

In retrospect, it was perhaps inevitable that the infamous dead cat would come into the debate over government housing targets and...

Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently announced that he is considering extending Margaret Thatcher’s Right-to-Buy scheme, that gives council tenants the chance to...

After years of delays and upheaval, the Renters' Reform Bill finally appears to be back on the agenda, in an effort...

The Queen’s Speech has unveiled proposed overhauls on planning, consumer and economic crime laws that could all have an effect on...

The government has insisted it is still committed to introducing agency qualifications and minimum standards in the sector. It is almost three...

In this weekend feature, inventory expert and chair of the AIIC, Daniel Evans, sets out why rental reform changes will make...

It’s not an easy time for many renters (and homeowners). The cost of living is going up across the board for...