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...
Archive
![Property Natter - why housing must always have a seat at the top table](/upload/images/Site%20logos/PropertyNatter-2019-400x310.png)
First off, my own quick tribute to the Queen, who died on Thursday afternoon aged 96. Despite her age and declining...
10 September 2022
From: Features
![Agency groups hope to 'maintain momentum' with new Housing Secretary](/upload/images/Logos/NAEA-PropertyMark-400x310.jpg)
Estate agency trade body Propertymark is hoping to “maintain momentum” with newly appointed Housing Secretary Greg Clark. He replaces Michael Gove, who...
08 July 2022
From: Breaking News
![Greg Clark appointed as new Housing Secretary](/upload/images/Politics%20(MPs%2C%20party%20logos%2C%20etc)/GregClark-400x310.png)
Greg Clark has been named as the new Housing Secretary. Clark will replace Michael Gove who was sacked by Prime Minister Boris...
07 July 2022
From: Breaking News
![Expert Analysis: How safe are homes 5 years after the Grenfell Tower tragedy?](/upload/images/Locations/Grenfell%20Tower%20memoria_NORTH%20KENSINGTON_400x310.png)
It’s the fifth anniversary of the Grenfell fire tragedy, but are high rises any safer today than they were then? On 14th...
18 June 2022
From: Features
![PM survives no-confidence vote - what does it mean for property industry?](/upload/images/Politics%20(MPs%2C%20party%20logos%2C%20etc)/BorisJohnson-3-400x310.png)
The Prime Minister has tonight won a confidence vote in his leadership and hung on to his premiership. After a dramatic day at...
06 June 2022
From: Breaking News
22 January 2022
From: Features
![Former Housing Secretary dies at the age of 53](/upload/images/library/JamesBrokenshire-400x310%20(2).jpg)
Former Housing Secretary James Brokenshire has died at the age of 53. The Conservative ex-Cabinet minister, who was diagnosed with lung cancer...
08 October 2021
From: Breaking News
![“Deplorable” government slammed for years of housing problems](/img/default/eat.png)
A scathing document produced by MPs slams the government for its “deplorable” housing policies which are "invented, abandoned and reinvented" -...
09 December 2020
From: Breaking News
![Is Boris letting down the poor? Agency in rare criticism of government](/img/default/eat.png)
High end agents usually keep their powder dry when it comes to party politics, to avoid upsetting customers. However Knight Frank has...
05 November 2020
From: Breaking News
01 February 2020
From: Features
![Reservation Agreements: two key problems that must be overcome](/img/default/eat.png)
A law firm has spoken out about two possible problems in the government’s much-publicised idea of considering Reservation Agreements as a...
17 December 2019
From: Breaking News
![Property Natter: what has the last decade meant for the property industry?](/img/default/eat.png)
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...
14 December 2019
From: Features
![General election 2019: The housing crisis remains a top issue](/img/default/eat.png)
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
![Online estate agents and digital malfunction](/img/default/eat.png)
It never rains but it pours. And that’s certainly been the case for the online estate agency sector in the last...
03 October 2019
From: Features
![Tories set to allow more homes through relaxed planning laws](/img/default/eat.png)
Briefings from the Conservative Party to The Sun newspaper suggest that the party will this week announce further relaxation in planning...
30 September 2019
From: Breaking News
![Going Green: are agents ready for buyers wanting eco-info?](/img/default/eat.png)
There’s a clear change of mood music in the country now regarding environmental issues. You don’t need to be old to remember...
28 September 2019
From: Features
![When will confidence return to the property market?](/img/default/eat.png)
I think I speak for most people when I say that we are not currently where we thought we would be...
31 August 2019
From: Features
![Stamp Duty chaos as new Chancellor denies he wants sellers to pay](/img/default/eat.png)
If anyone thought a Boris Johnson government would be more decisive than Theresa May's when it came to housing policies, the last...
19 August 2019
From: Breaking News
![New Regulator: Countrywide welcomes reform but warns it’ll be tough](/img/default/eat.png)
Countrywide has thrown its weight behind the proposals for a new single industry-wide regulator taking on the roles of Trading Standards...
05 August 2019
From: Breaking News
![Now is not the time for ‘BoJo Bravado’](/img/default/eat.png)
If you’d asked me at the start of the year how I thought the political landscape might look now, I wouldn’t...
03 August 2019
From: Features
![High profile housing minister named - but how long will she last?](/img/default/eat.png)
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
![Today may be final day in office for current housing minister](/img/default/eat.png)
This may be the final full day in office for Kit Malthouse, the latest politician to occupy the short-term position of housing...
23 July 2019
From: Breaking News
![Shifting stamp duty away from buyers will boost market, says top agent](/img/default/eat.png)
One of the country’s leading estate agents says shifting the burden of stamp duty away from the buyer - which is...
19 July 2019
From: Breaking News
![Property Natter - is a no deal Brexit real life, or is it just fantasy?](/img/default/eat.png)
It’s now more than three years since the EU referendum result in June 2016, and we’re still no clearer on when...
13 July 2019
From: Features
![Theresa May’s legacy - how has housing fared under her government?](/img/default/eat.png)
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
![Blond ambition - Does Boris Johnson have any housing policies?](/img/default/eat.png)
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
![There’s never been a better time for property to rise above politics](/img/default/eat.png)
Four years ago, as we approached the general election, Andrews Property Group held a roundtable debateon the impact the election might have...
08 June 2019
From: Features
![Landlords forced to conduct more background checks in post-Brexit Britain](/img/default/eat.png)
Theresa May’s ‘hostile environment’ policy that was implemented in 2012 was designed to make staying and residing in the UK as...
08 June 2019
From: Features
![Trumped! Hair-brained marketing idea from London agency](/img/default/eat.png)
Sharp-witted marketing advisers for Marsh & Parsons have done it again with a clever poster and social media campaign to mark...
04 June 2019
From: Breaking News
![Property Natter - talking women in property, Brexit investment and PropTech](/img/default/eat.png)
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
![Shock decision by housing minister Malthouse: “I want to be PM”](/img/default/eat.png)
In a surprising announcement overnight, housing minister Kit Malthouse says he is standing to become the Conservative party leader and next...
28 May 2019
From: Breaking News
![What would a Corbyn government mean for sales and lettings?](/img/default/eat.png)
While media attention has been on Theresa May, Brexit and the Tories, chatter in the agency industry has been about what...
25 May 2019
From: Features
![Here we go again … another new housing minister on the way](/img/default/eat.png)
It appears almost certain that there will be another new housing minister named when a new Conservative leader - and thus...
20 May 2019
From: Breaking News
![So farewell Theresa May and thanks for...well, not much](/img/default/eat.png)
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
![Online agency boss named in Top 100 Power List](/img/default/eat.png)
A slew of bad news stories about online estate agencies may have taken the lustre off the sector in recent weeks,...
06 March 2019
From: Breaking News
![Labour housing guru disagrees with party's breakaway MPs](/img/default/eat.png)
Labour’s housing spokesman, John Healey, has spoken out against the split in the party which has so far seen eight MPs...
21 February 2019
From: Breaking News
![Property Natter: will the real Housing Minister please stand up?](/img/default/eat.png)
Kit Malthouse has been making headlines this week, but – in keeping with his tenure as Housing Minister so far -...
02 February 2019
From: Features
![Brexit picture of the week: May day, May day....](/img/default/eat.png)
The seemingly-endless debate surrounding Brexit may be punishing for estate agents in London in particular but one, at least, is making...
30 January 2019
From: Breaking News
![Maverick agent threatens ‘yellow vest’ civil protest over Brexit](/img/default/eat.png)
A maverick estate agent pictured wearing a yellow vest has threatened to mount what he calls a “civil protest” if Brexit...
16 January 2019
From: Breaking News
![Brexit: where does our industry stand? and where do you stand?](/img/default/eat.png)
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
![Property Natter – A to Z of the property market for 2018](/img/default/eat.png)
Another year is nearly done – and what an eventful year it’s been. We’ve had more than our fair share of breaking...
22 December 2018
From: Features
21 December 2018
From: Sponsored Content
![Property Natter: Emoov, Brexit, Agents Got Talent and a partridge in a pear tree](/img/default/eat.png)
Hard not to mention two major breaking news stories of recent days; one directly affecting the property market and one which...
15 December 2018
From: Features
![Deal or no deal – how could Brexit affect the property market?](/img/default/eat.png)
A no-deal Brexit The biggest impact of a no-deal Brexit in relation to housing is a potential fall in house prices -...
24 November 2018
From: Features
![No Deal Brexit would see ‘buyers and sellers hit the brakes’ - top agent](/img/default/eat.png)
The chief executive of Haart, Paul Smith, is warning that a No Deal exit from the EU could leave Britain with...
22 November 2018
From: Breaking News
![Brexit Shambles: Housing minister Malthouse backs Theresa May](/img/default/eat.png)
Housing minister Kit Malthouse appears to be backing Theresa May as Brexit chaos consumes the government. A request from Estate Agent Today...
16 November 2018
From: Breaking News
![Surge in overseas buyers ahead of latest stamp duty surcharge](/img/default/eat.png)
A leading London estate agency is reporting a surge in overseas buyers sealing deals ahead of the government’s new stamp duty...
18 October 2018
From: Breaking News
![Let’s focus on the real foreign property ownership problem](/img/default/eat.png)
It’s time to sort the wheat from the chaff when it comes to overseas buyers of property. If you listen to Theresa...
13 October 2018
From: Features
![Knight Frank hits out at foreign buyer tax after announcing profits boost](/img/default/eat.png)
Knight Frank appears to have shrugged off the problems hitting the high end of the housing market, reporting a 14 per...
09 October 2018
From: Breaking News
![New agency's stamp duty question: Do we need another property tax](/img/default/eat.png)
“Do we really need another tax?” - that’s the question from a new buying agency, querying why the government wants to...
08 October 2018
From: Breaking News
![Foreign buyer tax is just ‘bid to win over Brexiteers’ says property portal](/img/default/eat.png)
The head of a leading Chinese property portal has taken the unusual step of commenting on a British tax policy -...
05 October 2018
From: Breaking News
![Brexiteer agent scolds 'Maybot' over stamp duty threat to foreign buyers](/img/default/eat.png)
One of London’s highest profile and most outspoken estate agent chiefs has scolded ‘Maybot’ Theresa May on the day she is to...
03 October 2018
From: Breaking News
![Property Natter: Q&A with Stephen Ludlow, ludlowthompson](/img/default/eat.png)
Next week ludlowthompson celebrates its 25th anniversary. Here, I catch up with Stephen Ludlow, co-founder and now executive director of the...
11 August 2018
From: Features
![Why property software needn’t be as changeable as the Housing Minister](/img/default/eat.png)
With the shelf life of recent housing ministers being on a par with football managers, it's perhaps little surprise that we're...
20 July 2018
From: Sponsored Content
![MP criticises rip off quick buy firms using cowboy tactics](/img/default/eat.png)
A Labour MP has used Parliamentary privilege to name a quick buy company and to make accusations about its practices. During Prime...
20 July 2018
From: Breaking News
![Kit Malthouse - We’ve obviously had enough of experts](/img/default/eat.png)
It may not be a good idea for a journalist to be personal about a politician, so I write about our...
14 July 2018
From: Features
![Brexit and political fears now key drivers of prime London says agency](/img/default/eat.png)
The battered prime central London market is now suffering from the UK’s wider political volatility, the lack of stability of the...
13 July 2018
From: Breaking News
![If we’re to be taken seriously, our industry needs a Tsar says agency chief](/img/default/eat.png)
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
![Housing Minister Raab's speech seen as key to Theresa May's future](/img/default/eat.png)
It may seem innocuous enough but a speech at a party by pro-Brexit housing minister Dominic Raab is being interpreted by...
06 June 2018
From: Breaking News
![May's new housing adviser is ex-Shelter ex-Livingstone policy chief](/img/default/eat.png)
Theresa May has appointed a controversial former Shelter executive as her new housing policy adviser working in Whitehall. Toby Lloyd was until...
01 May 2018
From: Breaking News
![Senior agents say wider issues must be addressed in housing debate](/img/default/eat.png)
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
![Housing Minister ‘does a Trump’ by accusing trade publications of fake news](/img/default/eat.png)
Housing minister Dominic Raab took to Twitter to make a Trump-style criticism of trade magazine The Negotiator and its editor, the...
07 February 2018
From: Breaking News
![Housing: its part in Theresa May's downfall](/img/default/eat.png)
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
![Property Natter: an eco-friendly approach and the importance of GDPR](/img/default/eat.png)
In recent years January has become the month of detoxes, fad diets, health kicks such as Dry January and Veganuary, and...
27 January 2018
From: Features
![Housing 'promoted' to full Cabinet status in cosmetic reshuffle](/img/default/eat.png)
The Department of Communities and Local Government has been rebadged as the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government in what...
08 January 2018
From: Breaking News
![Stamp Duty: mystery surrounds PM's 16,000 first timers helped claim](/img/default/eat.png)
Mystery surrounds a claim made by Prime Minister Theresa May that the stamp duty changes for first time buyers made in...
04 January 2018
From: Breaking News
![What next for property in 2018?](/img/default/eat.png)
What a year it’s been! Back in 2016 we had Brexit, a new prime minister, Donald Trump’s election, and so when...
30 December 2017
From: Features
![Property Natter: A to Z of the property industry for 2017](/img/default/eat.png)
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...
25 November 2017
From: Features
![Property experts reveal their Autumn Budget wishlist](/img/default/eat.png)
The housing industry has set out a list of demands in advance of the government’s hotly anticipated Autumn Budget on Wednesday. Despite...
18 November 2017
From: Features
![Why the last fortnight might not matter](/img/default/eat.png)
It’s something of an understatement to say it’s been a busy fortnight for the industry in terms of announcements, consultations and...
04 November 2017
From: Features
![Theresa May's right hand man to address agency's forecast event](/img/default/eat.png)
A man dubbed as Theresa May’s ‘brain’ when he worked in Downing Street has been invited to speak at the annual...
17 October 2017
From: Breaking News
![Government to hold housing summit tomorrow as it scrambles for ideas](/img/default/eat.png)
It has been revealed that the beleaguered government of Theresa May is to hold a summit at 10 Downing Street tomorrow...
16 October 2017
From: Breaking News
![Property Natter: reputation, renewables and an online revolution](/img/default/eat.png)
They say presentation is key (something that Theresa May now knows all too well after her calamitous conference speech). But equally...
14 October 2017
From: Features
![Party conference season - A housing plan for UK Plc](/img/default/eat.png)
And so concludes another party conference season. We’ve followed the great and the good (both terms are debatable) around Torbay, Bournemouth,...
07 October 2017
From: Features
![Dismay as Tories admit extra housing cash means only 25,000 homes](/img/default/eat.png)
The Conservative party, in a press statement released to clarify comments made by Theresa May, says the government’s proposed extra £2...
05 October 2017
From: Breaking News
![Property Natter: it’s time to party (political-style)](/img/default/eat.png)
In this week’s Natter I’m going to get all political. Don’t worry, I won’t be giving my opinions on Brexit, Trump...
02 September 2017
From: Features
![Could tax be the excuse to introduce national private rental licensing?](/img/default/eat.png)
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
![Newspapers ramp up pressure for further reform of stamp duty](/img/default/eat.png)
Stamp duty has become the latest weapon in the ongoing war of words between different wings of the Conservative party, as...
14 August 2017
From: Breaking News
![HIP, HIP, Hooray - The Other 10-Year Anniversary](/img/default/eat.png)
You’ll see a lot of 10th anniversary stories in the property industry and consumer media in the coming days: early August...
28 July 2017
From: Features
![Property auctions market round-up Q2 2017](/img/default/eat.png)
With several agent partner programmes available across the country, estate agents can often increase business by offering sales by auction, with...
22 July 2017
From: Features
![Housing minister Sharma at centre of Twitter and speech disputes](/img/default/eat.png)
Housing minister Alok Sharma has blocked some of his Twitter followers, accusing them of “abusive language”. Sharma has a relatively modest 9,169 followers...
17 July 2017
From: Breaking News
![Agency chief condemns Theresa May's housing disaster](/img/default/eat.png)
First time buyers have finances stretched beyond their means, buy to let is attracting fewer investors because of taxes, and affordability...
13 July 2017
From: Breaking News
![Forget stamp duty reform - There’s a new tax on the horizon](/img/default/eat.png)
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
![Queen’s speech: Property industry reacts to proposed tenant fee ban](/img/default/eat.png)
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
![Industry veteran Harry Hill slams crass housing minister appointment](/img/default/eat.png)
Harry Hill - former chief executive of Countrywide and founder of Rightmove - has sharply criticised the appointment of Theresa May’s...
20 June 2017
From: Breaking News
![Property needs to rise above politics now more than ever](/img/default/eat.png)
“Housing policy should be in independent hands.” That was the conclusion of a panel debate that Andrews held, not recently, but two...
17 June 2017
From: Features
![Industry reacts to appointment of new housing minister](/img/default/eat.png)
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
![Ex-housing minister appointed chief of staff as industry awaits replacement](/img/default/eat.png)
Former housing minister Gavin Barwell has been appointed as Theresa May's chief of staff. Barwell lost his Croydon Central seat – and...
12 June 2017
From: Breaking News
![Housing industry reacts to shock general election result](/img/default/eat.png)
The housing industry has responded with shock, joy, and jitters, after Theresa May’s snap general election went catastrophically wrong, leaving her...
10 June 2017
From: Features
![Disbelief, joy and nerves: Property industry reacts to general election result](/img/default/eat.png)
As the nation waits with bated breath to see if Theresa May can form either a minority or coalition government after...
09 June 2017
From: Breaking News
![Homeowners trust Tories to run UK housing market](/img/default/eat.png)
British homeowners have the most confidence in the Conservative Party to run the nation's housing market. A survey of almost 4,500 homeowners,...
06 June 2017
From: Breaking News
![Lib Dems change name of their 'mock estate agency'](/img/default/eat.png)
If a political party wants to run a country, it’s probably a good idea that it shows it can at least...
05 June 2017
From: Breaking News
![General election 2017: Facing the UK’s housing crisis](/img/default/eat.png)
Theresa May’s call for a snap general election on June 8 took many by surprise. But estate agents have been broadly...
03 June 2017
From: Features
![Election preview: Could we be heading for a ‘black swan moment’?](/img/default/eat.png)
In years to come, students of political history might come to look at the 2017 General Election campaign with some interest....
03 June 2017
From: Features
![Oops - Lib Dems open fake estate agency, but use name of real firm](/img/default/eat.png)
Vigilant followers of the Liberal Democrats may have spotted a blog in the name of Mark Pack early yesterday morning, commenting...
31 May 2017
From: Breaking News
![Upcoming election yet to affect the market as house prices remain stable](/img/default/eat.png)
Theresa May's decision to call a snap election in June has so far had 'little effect' on the property market, according...
15 May 2017
From: Breaking News
![Will the Conservatives introduce Capital Gains Tax on family homes?](/img/default/eat.png)
Speculation has grown that the Conservatives may make a manifesto pledge to remove some family homes’ long-established exemption from Capital Gains...
02 May 2017
From: Breaking News
![Housing policy progress will suffer thanks to snap General Election](/img/default/eat.png)
Not only did Theresa May stun everyone with her decision to call a ‘snap election’ but with the campaign now underway...