Archive

The speed and success of the Coronavirus vaccine programme holds the key to the housing market rebounding in the second half...

The Federation of Independent Agents says a survey of member agencies suggests only around a fifth per cent would definitely be listing...

Property expert Phil Spencer is warning that “chaos” and “mayhem” looms in the housing market if the stamp duty holiday is...

Just a week ago, I thought it was all over. Christmas and New Year had gone, as had the passionate calls...

There’s growing optimism that an extension to the stamp duty holiday - thought to be off the agenda just days ago...

The sales market is currently strong but the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has issued a warning about a slowdown next...

As we approach the most unusual of festive periods, many property professionals will already be thinking about the January market and...

Recent debate about urgent need for reform and better collaboration within the property industry, has once again come under the spotlight...

Public sentiment over the housing market remains stable despite the Coronavirus crisis and the possibility of a No Deal Brexit. That’s the conclusion...

The second England-wide lockdown is here. The good news is that this time round, the property market remains open for business,...

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

A survey of over 2,300 home owners across the UK suggests market sentiment is mixed, with most doubting house prices have risen. The...

A leading agent says the government’s new Coronavirus clampdown from Monday will push more home owners to sell. Caspar Harvard-Wills, a partner at...

House prices rose again in August to reach a record high level according to Halifax, which is part of the Lloyds...

A sentiment survey conducted amongst 585 estate agents by the OnTheMarket portal suggests fewer than half have witnessed price rises since...

An overview of the global PropTech sector is often what I am asked to cover at conferences around the world. This generally...

The latest market snapshot by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors warns the current boom may not continue as government support measures...

The latest sentiment snapshot produced by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors confirms the trend that the market is still improving...

The outlook for the housing market is still taking shape, but here I take a look at three market indicators to...

During March, the coronavirus pandemic put the brakes on the property market with an enforced period of shutdown. However, almost two...

London estate agency Benham & Reeves says there’s been a sharp fall-off in demand for ultra-expensive homes in prime suburbs of...

A survey of agents’ attitudes which two weeks ago showed a big majority of agents wanting to work as self employed...

The second part of a survey which has already thrown up shock results has been launched with an appeal for agents...

Since my last column in April, one could argue that very little has changed for agents in terms of the market...

One of the industry’s top recruitment gurus wants to check the pulse of the industry - and that includes whether furloughed...

Rightmove and Knight Frank are today both calling for a series of government incentives to kick-start the market after the Coronavirus...

If it’s really the case that estate agents’ offices could be in the category of High Street premises first allowed to...

A high number of agents across the country have been furloughed in recent weeks and are now at risk of losing...

One of the first analyses of portal listings since the start of the Coronavirus crisis shows that new listings have plummeted...

One of Britain’s leading agents says online viewing and interest in videos for homes on sale continues to be relatively strong...

Where else to start? Since my last Natter two weeks ago, all our lives have changed more than we could ever...

The extraordinary past week of anger over portals’ fees plus early-warning statements like that from Foxtons indicate the anxiety in the...

Countrywide’s share price has dived over 50 per cent during the course of the day, following news of LSL pulling out...

The three leading portals have rejected an appeal to give the industry a payment holiday to help firms through the Coronavirus...

Savills is the latest agency to warn about the possible threat of Coronavirus to its business activities and success this year. In...

Hello and because it’s Friday there are two pieces of good news: it’s nearly the weekend and it’s the day for...

House prices have risen 2.3 per cent in the past year - the strongest rate of inflation for property since July...

For several years the regular monthly RICS market snapshot has made depressing reading - now, for there second month in a...

“It appears conveyancers either aren’t too concerned with PropTech right now, or they don’t yet have all the information needed to...

In its latest State of the Property Nation report, which questions over 650 agents and 6,000 consumers, Zoopla says 55 per...

Whisper it quietly but the housing market could be significantly stronger in 2020 than in recent years. Two key indicators in the...

Savills says the decisive General Election result appears to have suddenly turned the market around and gave “a strong close to...

After a year dogged by Brexit deadlock, political turmoil, and slow growth, estate agents’ confidence in the property market hit a...

NAEA member agents have delivered a relatively downbeat forecast for 2020 - but the organisation says an injection of digital technology...

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

28th NOVEMBER 2019: Christopher Watkin’s recent thought-provoking interview with Dan Marsden sheds light on the property industry today and offers an...

The latest market snapshot from the National Association of Estate Agents continues to show how political uncertainty is dampening sentiment and...

Last week, it was announced that Plentific, the London-based tenant experience, has raised $32 million in Series B funding. Plentific’s model sees...

In recent months, we’ve seen headlines dominated by changes to tenancy rules, government consultations and more than a few scare stories. Landlords...

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

The average age of a first-time buyer in the UK is 27, according to research from Nested.com. The online estate agency says...

It never rains but it pours. And that’s certainly been the case for the online estate agency sector in the last...

There’s a clear change of mood music in the country now regarding environmental issues. You don’t need to be old to remember...

An estate agent is linking a drop in transactions of as much as 20 per cent with the stamp duty increases...

The annual rate of growth of UK house prices has slowed to its lowest level since September 2012. Official government data from...

Winkworth’s trading statement for the first half of 2019 show the company’s revenue and pre-tax profit both dipping slightly - but...

A senior estate agency director is warning that house price growth could continue to stall “with Boris loose at the wheel”. Benham...

As real estate firms begin to execute their Q3 strategies and think more closely about Q4, there is one major question...

The latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors suggests that last month’s optimistic assessment of the housing market has...

Seemingly-endless uncertainty over Brexit and now speculation over whether there will be an easing of stamp duty on transactions is making...

The average house price growth across southern cities is running at the lowest level recorded since January 2012, according to Zoopla.  Prices...

Our own industry’s upheaval over recent years has been no less dramatic than the turmoil at Westminster. The political earthquake has seen...

A more stable trend is now emerging in the UK housing market, according to the latest results for the RICS UK...

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

London Central Portfolio, a respected property consultancy that has been pessimistic about the market in prime areas of the capital, says...

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

Over 80 per cent of home owners say they expect house prices to rise in their area before the end of...

Purplebricks has announced that it is to give a trading update and the result of its review of its US activities on...

The average time on the market for a property is soaring across the UK thanks to Brexit uncertainty, according to the...

Who are you and what does it say on your business card? Jake Gready Managing Director NEXA Bristol What services do you provide? buying - selling...

There’s a silver lining to another set of stodgy housing market figures - at least one sector, for those buying their...

A new housing market survey paints a bleaker picture than that from Rightmove earlier this week - and instead speaks of...

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says house price sentiment improved by a small amount last month for the first time...

At the end of a week consisting of largely depressing market reports, new data from Knight Frank suggests that the bad...

Knight Frank says the number of exchanges in Prime Central London in the year to the end of February slumped 14...

Agents appear to be speaking with one voice in response to the latest house price index, saying that once Brexit is...

A large-scale survey by a consumer group has revealed that over half of home owners regard stamp duty as a growing...

This month’s MIPIM conference in Cannes once again played host to the final round of the much coveted MIPIM Startup Competition.  The...

A 36 per cent collapse in sales between November and January has created an “unprecedented” five year low in the number...

Agents have suggested that the latest price figures from the Halifax may be masking increased activity in the market in recent...

Strutt & Parker says transaction levels in Prime Central London, already at a low ebb, plummeted a further nine per cent...

House prices grew at the slowest annual rate for nearly six years in January, according to Nationwide, which says the market...

Savills’ residential business grew market share last year in the UK despite what it calls “challenging conditions.” In a trading statement to...

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

The online sales and lettings platform TheHouseShop has scrapped its £500,000 crowdfunding pitch - and it’s blaming the collapse of online...

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

The UK renting demographic is diversifying at a rapid pace. While the current market poses many challenges for traditional letting agents,...

Countrywide’s share price fell to its lowest-ever level yesterday - evidence that it’s not just online estate agencies that are having...

Savills has issued its forecast for the housing market for the next five years, and while it highlights some bright spots...

An insolvency firm is warning that the real estate sector of the economy is showing a growing number of businesses defined...

Data from HM Revenue & Customs shows some 98,400 homes were sold across the UK in September - that’s slightly lower...

Transactions across England and Wales in September dropped 7.6 per cent year on year while Prime Central London now sees fewer than...

Outspoken online estate agency chief Russell Quirk says the estate agency industry is “really p****d off” with Rightmove trying to ride...

The latest market snapshot from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors suggests the number of properties on estate agents’ books is now nearing...

From where I’m standing there’s a lot in common between the debate between online and traditional agents, and the argument over...

There’s more bad news for the long-troubled Prime Central London market. A new analysis shows that transaction volumes have plunged 11.6 per cent...

Rightmove is reporting a mini-boom as the autumn market gets into gear, with a surge in buyers and a one-month rise...

There’s been a huge vote of no-confidence in online reviews, often used for marketing by many online agencies and some traditional...

For too long the private rented sector has been complacent towards customer satisfaction. In the changing rental landscape, the smartest letting...

When Oakland A’s, a small-market team, stunned the baseball world 16 years ago by transforming itself into world-beaters on a shoestring-budget,...

One of London’s leading estate agents says Brexit has had at worst a neutral effect on the housing market and may...

Outspoken property commentator and buying agent Henry Pryor has made a scathing attack on some of the main house price indices. In...

Connells Group - which now says it’s the country’s largest estate agency by market share and numbers of homes sold -...

‘Up’ is the key word in Rightmove’s figures for the first half of 2018, released to the City and to shareholders...

Figures from Savills suggest that there’s currently an average 1.14 price adjustments per sale across the prime regional markets of the...

The battered prime central London market is now suffering from the UK’s wider political volatility, the lack of stability of the...

Transactions across Greater London have plummeted - they were down 7.9 per cent over the past three months and a whopping...

Research by Zoopla suggests that homeowners' confidence in the property market is on the rise.  The property website's latest Housing Market Sentiment...

The latest data from Rightmove indicates that the average national asking price has reached another all-time high of £308,075 following a...

Strutt & Parker has repeated its warning that the market in prime central London could see a typical house price fall...

A new report by the residential property team of a legal firm has found widespread criticism of online agents’ over their...

Brexit uncertainty and weakening consumer demand are likely to hit house prices this year, according to a survey of 33 housing...

While there is a distinct market for flats held on particularly short leases, there is a middle ground where flat owners...

More price falls have been recorded across areas of prime London according to Savills.  The pattern is not uniform - the agency...

The housing market remains flat as it heads towards 2018 according to the latest snapshot survey by the Royal Institution of...

Savills has given a pessimistic outlook for the mainstream housing market for the next five years.  It says average house prices across...

Respected buying agency Black Brick says there is evidence that prices in prime central London may be stabilising and transactions volumes...

Confidence in buying property remains negative according to the quarterly sentiment measure undertaken by the Building Societies Association. Over a quarter of...

The housing market remains mixed across different parts of the UK but London and the south east remain the weakest areas...

The roadshow of presentations of Agents’ Mutual’s plans to float on the stock market have just passed the half-way mark. Remaining sessions...

Record low stock numbers, political uncertainty and the aftermath of tax changes are the obstacles hindering the housing market, according to...

Households appear to be more optimistic about the strength of the housing market despite Brexit and political and economic uncertainty, according to...

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

Prime London house prices are now 5.3 per cent lower than at the time of the EU referendum admits Savills, following...

The housing industry has responded with shock, joy, and jitters, after Theresa May’s snap general election went catastrophically wrong, leaving her...

The latest measure of house price rises in key UK cities by the property consultancy Hometrack shows house price in many...

The director of a respected mortgage broker is warning that market sentiment is changing with more down-valuations from surveyors and some...

The first meeting of fledgling trade group CIELA has ended with a pledge to expose what it calls ‘fake agents’ which...

Contrary to some reports suggesting London’s housing market may be recovering, new data from Hometrack reveals the capital’s performance is still...

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

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

There is no doubt that 2016 managed to catch the world by surprise on more than one occassion.  But will 2017 be...

The extension of Inheritance Tax from April is likely to hinder the recovery of the battered prime central London market according...

2016 has undoubtedly shone a spotlight on the reviews industry and drawn into question the legitimacy of online customer reviews.  Amazon, amongst...

The latest housing market confidence index measured by agency Knight Frank says householders in every region of the UK expect their...

Confidence in the UK housing market has fallen to its lowest point in three years, according to the latest Halifax ‘confidence...

There is really only one topic of debate and forensic analysis at the moment and that’s the ascendency of Donald Trump...

Savills is the latest estate agency to warn that economic uncertainty following the Brexit vote will trigger two years of low...

Most householders taking part in a sentiment survey by estate agency Knight Frank say they believe the value of their home...

I hate to be a party-pooper, but one of the agency industry’s coming-up-to-Christmas traditions is going to be particularly hard to undertake...

Confidence amongst ‘second steppers’ - those aiming to sell up to move to larger homes - is improving according to a...

It is a tedious fact, but the housing market is underpinned by economic fundamentals. This won’t be a surprise.  However, at a...

Knight Frank has reported a four per cent rise in annual revenues to £461m but a five per cent drop in...

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...

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

The bank Credit Suisse has launched a new monthly survey of online estate agents, using a simple eight-element questionnaire. The bank -...

The investment advice company UBS Wealth Management says it is likely that UK house prices will flatline by the end of...

An estate agency is claiming that the psychology of buying and selling has come to the fore following the EU referendum,...

No fewer than 174,000 people moved home in the first six months of 2016 - a rise of nine per cent...

The morning after the EU referendum, and Westminster, Britain, Europe and the world were left in shock at the news that...

There has been a gloomy response to the latest Knight Frank measure of house price sentiment - the first of its...

It has been revealed that the new housing minister, Gavin Barwell, appears to be campaigning to oppose a new housing scheme...

Rightmove’s latest house price index, covering two weeks either side of the EU referendum at the end of June, suggests average...

One of the first major pieces of research to come from an estate agency following the EU referendum suggests the short-term...

With the new Formula One season now well underway, we delve into the fast lane to take you on a whirlwind...

Housebuilder St Modwen has been forced to write down the value of the landmark Nine Elms regeneration scheme because “recent transactional...

Referendum uncertainty - even before the shock Brexit vote itself - led prime central London prices to drop 1.4 per cent...

The Council of Mortgage Lenders says the Brexit vote will hit transactions as buyers and sellers wait for the dust to...

Fraudsters attacking the conveyancing sector, successfully stealing large sums of money from homebuyers, are making national headlines at a depressing rate....

An increasing number of UK households say they plan to buy a property in the next 12 months.  Knight Frank's latest house...

House prices dipped by 0.8 per cent in April, the first month of the stamp duty surcharge and the period when...

Another agency has warned of the likely market slowdown caused by the June 23 EU referendum and political uncertainty over the...

House prices in the three months to March were 10.1 per cent higher than in the same quarter a year earlier...

There has been a significant acceleration in house prices in Britain’s big cities with lower-priced locations such as Portsmouth, Nottingham and...

With the scale of devastation from flooding witnessed recently, anxiety about purchasing a property in a flood risk area is heightened....

Cluttons is warning that the prime central London market may stagnate for at least the early part of this year thanks...

The latest government house price index from the Office for National Statistics shows that house prices across the UK rose by...

House prices ended the year with strong growth of 0.8 per cent in the month of December according to the building...

The Nationwide says house prices will rise three to six per cent in 2016, despite the prospect of interest rate rises during...

OnTheMartket (OTM) recently wrote to its membership saying how well its doing, how membership has increased beyond expectations and how it...

Economic and housing market commentators have interpreted the latest raft of Bank of England data as indicating that interest rates may...

There has been a mixed response from the agency world to David Cameron's pledge to reform planning, promise that 200,000 new...

Knight Frank has become the latest high-end agency to admit that the prime central London market is in the doldrums, with...

Rightmove says the price of property coming to market this month has hit a new national record, up 0.9 per cent...

Households in all UK regions perceived that house prices increased this month, according to Knight Frank’s latest House Price Sentiment Index. This...

The unexpected outcome of the general election has given a shot in the arm to sellers and agents leading to a...