Archive

Trade bodies and property firms have strongly welcomed the recommendations for root and branch reform of the agency industry - and...

The government has published proposals for far-reaching changes to the way estate and letting agents are regulated, trained and licensed. The proposals...

Improved communication and increased transparency throughout the buying process can manage vendors’ expectations, improve satisfaction scores and create long-term clients. That’s the...

  Who are you and what does it say on your business card?             Becky Howes, mio Account Manager What...

In the second part of my exploration of startups, I talk to a number of people with lived experience of creating...

The modern method of auction is proving to revolutionise the way properties are bought and sold across the UK.  By putting the...

MyBid4It is an online auction platform which has been developed to partner with Estate Agents and revolutionise the way properties are...

All the most successful startups of recent years – from Airbnb and Uber to Just Eat and Deliveroo – have melded...

The founder of Zoopla has explained how the portal got its name and branding, and the philosophy behind it when it...

It’s London Tech Week, everybody! The sprawling city-wide event taking in dozens of conferences, events, workshops, panel debates and so on,...

Fine & Country has a new office in Hampshire as a result of an independent which has joined its network. Hampshirewide is...

The Property Ombudsman says its members must in future disclose referral fees in a bid to make previously-hidden costs open and...

A Parliamentary committee has claimed that 160 properties in the UK are owned by “high corruption-risk individuals” and wants more to...

With the UK population spending longer in rental accommodation, due to the upfront expense of buying a home, their time and...

The new Federation of Independent Agents - scheduled to launch this week - has revealed a partnership with reviews platform Feefo. The...

It’s clear that some agents are not fans of Trading Standards officers, described in the comments sections of the trade press...

Q: What does it say on your business card? Charlie Lancaster,  Managing Director, m: 07976 507107 e:charlie.lancaster@mybid4it.com,  Blake House, 18 Blake...

It has been a long time coming, but the tenant fees ban, which forbids landlords and letting agents in England from...

No, this isn’t about Brexit. But as the saga of leaving the EU is likely to bring about the downfall of...

There was a time when the mere mention of the financial services industry brought with it scorn and mistrust. The issues arising...

Mortgage brokers are claiming that “a big number” of buyers are being cajoled into using estate agents’ in-house brokers. The Financial Conduct...

More than 800 property transactions fall through daily, which can have repercussions both practically and financially, as agents fail to get...

Virtual tours are a compelling way of enhancing a property’s potential through online marketing, increased transparency and efficiency for agents, and...

A quick-buy firm that buys homes at around 85 per cent of market value claims the industry is concealing how slow...

This article was originally written for City AM in response to an article it published attacking letting agents. See more here.  A...

The Law Society claims that the unforeseen charges faced by some purchasers of leasehold properties could be addressed “if developers and...

Estate agents have been warned that if new guidance over referral fees is not taken seriously, they could be faced with...

An industry provider of reservation agreements says its services can “entirely eliminate” fall throughs and reduce failed transactions “to almost zero.” PropTech...

Another new online auction company has launched and is bidding to woo traditional estate agents with the controversial ‘modern method of...

The online estate agency platform Love2Move has scrapped its bid for investment via a controversial crowdfunding platform. The platform - which allows...

The director of strategy at the Council for Licensed Conveyancers says “the onus is very much on estate agents” to respond...

HM Revenue & Customs has issued more details of its bid to encourage estate agents to combat money laundering in the...

A working party of NAEA Propertymark is to conduct a pilot of a new Property Information Questionnaire - part of a...

The National Association of Estate Agents has led the support for stricter new guidelines on transparency for referral fees. The clampdown means agents...

Nobody likes change. It makes people feel threatened, undermines their confidence, and makes them worry about the future. But regardless of...

The dust may have settled on the government’s recent announcement regarding housing and property complaints, but opinion is still split on...

Customer experience (CX) will largely determine the future of estate agency in the UK. This is now a key battleground for...

Purchasing a property. It’s a key life goal that so many Millennials aspire to - yet one that has become frustratingly...

The Property Ombudsman is to give agents new guidance on dual fees, following a surge in complaints from the public. In 2017, TPO received...

When it comes to letting a property, it is important that landlords and renters have faith in their agent. The more...

HM Land Registry’s ambitious digitisation plans continue apace with news that it is to consider Blockchain in a bid to speed...

It’s been revealed that the National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team is to deliver new guidelines to agents for referral fees...

When it comes to building online reputation, Google is king. It is estimated that over 90% of consumers Google a business before...

The civil servant leading work to reform the house buying has revealed key areas of government thinking - with a ban on...

A survey of 6,000 members of the public and 660 estate and letting agents has revealed some striking findings about how...

The government has moved to crack down on money laundering in the UK with a new campaign focusing on the accountancy,...

With the speed of property sales continuing to slow and no end to the sluggishness in sight, it’s time to take...

It’s been revealed that 37 regulated conveyancing firms have repelled attempted frauds in the past year. But 11 conveyancing firms have actually...

When was the last time you looked at your business and really thought about what you could do to improve? Yesterday? Last...

The debate about online auction charges levied on buyers continues this morning with the release of figures showing that one company...

Photos and floor plans remain an essential tool in property marketing. Despite a wealth of choice from aspiring UK PropTech start-ups the...

Estate agents are missing around half of the conveyancing referral opportunities they could take, according to a new report.  PropTech firm OneDome...

An online auction platform which works with estate agents says this method of selling homes works, with four sales in one...

A digital conveyancing platform says a lack of transparency in the house moving process - particularly regarding legal costs - is...

It’s the most obvious visual medium high street agents have at their disposal, and for many decades has been absolutely pivotal...

A firm which links with agents to operate online auctions has hit back at a consumer group's allegations that this growing sector...

I am currently in the back of a taxi. The deadline for this piece is looming and I am desperate to...

The government says mobile home residents are to receive greater protection from dishonest site owners seeking to make a profit at...

It’s time to sort the wheat from the chaff when it comes to overseas buyers of property. If you listen to Theresa...

A government minister has told the estate agency industry that it must be more transparent over the issue of referral fees. In...

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

You will perhaps have seen recently that the Government has decided to boost funding to the regulator, the National Trading Standards...

A London estate agent who works closely with High Net Worth overseas buyers has hit out a proposed law which he...

Hunters and Fisher German are the latest agencies to offer online auctions to vendors. An announcement from PropTech property auction company Bamboo...

Fresh data from a PropTech firm suggests that 'conveyancer absenteeism' is causing severe delays to property transactions. When You Move reports that...

In our previous 2 blogs we have covered the definitions of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (CPRs) and what the practical...

In 2014 The Properties Misdescriptions Act was repealed and replaced with the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, otherwise known as...

Oakwood Homes, a four-branch sales and lettings agency operating across East Kent, has acquired Parkland Estates, a single-branch firm based in...

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,...

The Council for Licensed Conveyancers says it wants legal practice websites to list cost information, including whether they have referral arrangements. The...

We are currently engaged in consultations with our members to help to find a practical solution to the concern of the...

You will notice that there is a new author for this regular column for Estate Agent Today. Last month I was...

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

The dream goes on, and as England eases into the World Cup semi-finals, our agents’ reviews of their games continue -...

National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team and two of the three industry redress organisations have launched a survey to measure the...

A property portal that describes itself as free-to-list has launched today, taking the industry by surprise - however, at least one...

As the process of making buying and selling more transparent continues to gather pace, the body that regulates conveyancers says it...

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) - which replaces the Data Protection Act 1998 - has now become effective and is...

A PropTech startup which claims to revolutionise the speed at which property transactions can be processed has officially launched this week. When...

Respected industry spokesperson Kristjan Byfield is continuing his fightback against the negative coverage of the agency industry in the mainstream press...

Coming into force on May 25, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) - which replaces the Data Protection Act 1998 -...

Estate Agent Today understands several major national agencies and some smaller operators are involved in a project to understand why transaction...

Who are you and what does it say on your business card? Ben Robinson, Director of Agency Services at Landmark What is Landmark...

Today is the day. 1,600 people will gather in London for FUTURE: PropTech, an event I have supported when there were...

I have total transparency. I love that.  I know how the portals are doing, I know how many people are clicking on...

As the estate agency business in England moves towards being more robust with professional qualifications and higher standards being introduced, there...

Purplebricks has returned to the fray after recent controversies with a claim that home owners saved themselves over £140m in commission...

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

The announcement that MPs will set up a Select Committee to probe the scale of money laundering in the UK property...

Purplebricks has issued a provocative response to the government’s new measures to promote a more professional and transparent house buying process.  The...

  More details have emerged of the government’s proposals to enhance estate agency regulation, regulate referral fees, offer guides for buyers and...

Floor plans are an essential marketing tool, which play an important part in helping an estate agent sell a home.  A floor...

A technology company says that despite government attempts to eradicate money laundering in property transactions, agents and other industry professionals have been left...

A US TV company is considering making a news programme about Russian involvement in property transactions in the UK and particularly London. The...

  An assessment of nine online agencies undertaken by a property website has seen Emoov come out on top after being analysed...

Three weeks has flown by (I missed an early deadline last week - apologies) and I find myself writing the next...

Conveyancing services firm My Home Move has launched a portal which it claims gives users complete transparency checking their conveyancing progress.  eWay, which is...

Your buy-to-let investment is an extremely valuable asset and you need to know the income generated from it will be safely...

The UK property sector has been a hotbed for financial crime in recent years, with many criminals seeing it as an...

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

Hello and welcome to our first Property Jobs Today, a weekly round-up of key job moves within estate and letting agencies...

Here’s how the LetsBid Property team is helping them do it. A new property platform called LetsBid has launched in the...

It is now an industry truism to say that Alison Platt has transformed Countrywide - but recent evidence, and now doubt...

Fall-through rates have long been a problem for the UK residential property market, the issue is nothing new. Today, however, the...

A conveyancers’ trade body has told the government that it wants the house buying process to be modernised by having estate...

allAgents, the specialist review website which has had a bitter dispute with Purplebricks, has poured cold water on the hybrid agency’s...

Purplebricks is to work with respected review website Feefo - in addition to keeping its controversial existing link with Trustpilot which...

Online estate agent eMoov recently set itself apart by directly addressing the issues of openness and transparency that have long dogged the online business...

Conveyancers and the speed of local council searches have come in for criticism as details have emerged of the government’s consultation...

Purplebricks has told Estate Agent Today it is more open about its business than almost any other agency and stridently rejects criticism about...

The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that two TV advertisements for Purplebricks cannot be shown again in their current form because...

Last week was MIPIM PropTech Summit 2017 in New York, and it was the most oversubscribed to date - proof of the...

In his PropTech 3.0 report, Andrew Baum dedicated an entire section to blockchain; it was titled: ‘Blockchain is coming – get...

Having launched 13 years ago, PayProp, part of Humanstate Group, an international private technology services group, has grown into a leading...

One of the world’s leading property technology experts, who at one time was head of strategy at a property portal, says investing...

A leading business consultancy which advises clients on investments has refuted a claim by a prominent media analyst that it is...

Even if you didn’t watch it, you’ve almost certainly heard about it by now.  The recent BBC Watchdog exposé of Purplebricks has...

After a roller-coaster day on the Stock Exchange yesterday, Purplebricks has sought to defend itself against further possible share price losses...

Without wishing to blow our own trumpet at this time, we did say at the start of the year that 2017...

Purplebricks’ well-publicised attempt to break into the Australian market with a similar model to the one being used here has come...

Purplebricks has landed a deal to sell new-build homes, an activity previously done usually directly by developers or traditional high street estate...

Mark Goddard was the founder and CEO of The Property Software Group (PSG), a property software solutions firm established in 2007,...

The political ebb and flow continues - seemingly with all the subtlety of a Boris Johnson rugby tackle on a 10-year...

The popularity of property auctions in the UK has increased enormously in recent years, supported by popular TV shows such as...

The industry’s three government-approved redress schemes have this week issued an updated version of their Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU is...

In November 2016 when the Autumn Statement was delivered by Chancellor Philip Hammond, the announcement was made to ban letting agent...

Last week’s acquisition of high-end agency Cluttons from pre-pack administration is to be investigated by the Pension Protection Fund. We reported on...

Our recent roundtable on the government’s proposed ban on tenant fees generated a range of tips for growing your business.   We recently...

The National Association of Estate Agents has thrown its weight behind a government move to create a register of overseas companies...

A group campaigning for the reform of money laundering and other accountability laws claims that billions of pounds worth of investment...

The Office for Budget Responsibility, which released its latest economic forecasts on Wednesday, has adjusted its prediction for UK house prices…again.  It...

A London property investment firm says the government has enjoyed a tax take of £394m since introducing the Annual Tax for...

Housing minister Gavin Barwell says the government will provide “substantial investment” to ensure more transparency in leasehold tenure. “We are determined to...

The flexibility of Foxtons’ business model - especially its ability to control headcount, including the number of agents it employs -...

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

Agency review website RaterAgent has listed its top 50 agents for 2016 based on customer reviews posted in the year to...

The Guild of Professional Estate Agents has followed in the steps on the ESTAS awards by linking up with a reviews and...

The government has published details of the Criminal Finances Bill with prime central London property used for purposes of money laundering...

In recent weeks I have been carrying out question and answer sessions with some of the key figures in the property...

Conveyancing is the most complained about area of law in England and Wales – accounting, on average, for nearly a quarter...

The ESTAS Group, which runs the national customer feedback scheme and produces the largest annual awards event for the residential agency...

As with finance broking, there can be many frustrations that come with being an estate agent – I perhaps don’t need...

Who are you? Nick Dyoss, Group Business Development Director, SearchFlow, property intelligence specialists You have a high profile within the conveyancing search industry,...

I write this during the week that David Cameron resigned as an MP – it is quite startling how quickly politics...

The Conveyancing Association says it is continuing to campaign to reform the leasehold transaction process, despite the government saying there is...

With almost a fifth of house sales in Britain collapsing every year, it’s now more vital than ever that we –...

The Conveyancing Association has set out recommendations to end what it claims are significant delays and overcharging taking place within the...

An estate agency owned by Countrywide has relaunched with what it calls “an innovative, premises-free business model that seeks to redefine...

The National Association of Estate Agents and the Association of Residential Letting Agents have asked new housing minister Gavin Barwell to...

Settled, which was set up in 2015 and earlier this year announced it was hunting for an additional £1m in funding,...

Nearly three quarters of people who have sold or bought a property deem it more stressful than having a child or...

The plummetting pound following the UK’s shock vote to leave the European Union risks creating more money-laundering operations through this country’s...

As a service provider to both Estate Agents and Conveyancing Solicitors from one platform, ETSOS sits in a fairly unique position...

The controversy over whether the Land Registry should be sold off will now not be resolved until a new Prime Minister...

The Conveyancing Association is setting up a working group to consider how to increase transparency, cut unnecessary delays and costs, and...

The agency which describes itself as the UK’s first hybrid - EweMove - is claiming a record quarter of property sales...

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

Running a business is not easy, but sometimes it becomes harder because we are expected to modify our behaviour due to...

Straightforward money laundering customer due diligence (CDD) is a worry for agents, but then also having to identify beneficial owners and...

Subletting of prime London lettings properties is a lucrative business.  What began as a rogue trade over the course of several years,...

The Competitions and Markets Authority has sent two open letters - one to online publishers and one to marketeers - warning...

This website recently published a piece ahead of the nationwide launch of our new property platform, Be Street Smart.  It explained how...

The Competition and Markets Authority has ordered a company to stop writing fake reviews for small businesses and to try to...

Software. You might not give it much thought a lot of the time, but it’s an absolutely crucial part of how...

Estate agents with a difference, a twist, a unique selling point, whatever you want to call it, seem to be becoming...

The amount of column inches taken up by ‘property’ is at an all-time high.  In my mind there are two major contributing...

The Competition and Markets Authority has updated its advice to all online review sites - including those for estate agencies and...

This week, SearchFlow launches it new brand. Group Marketing and Communications Director, Maud Rousseau discusses the ethos behind the new brand...

This week, Storm Desmond has left devastation in its wake. Once again, the nation’s attention is drawn to the threat flooding...

A report from anti-corruption campaign group Transparency International says British estate agents reported only 179 suspicions of money laundering in a...

Money laundering and the controversies raised by the From Russia With Cash documentary will be amongst the subjects under discussion at...

News from the Halifax this week that the combined values of the residential properties in London amounts to £1.13 trillion, virtually...

The National Association of Estate Agents is awaiting a response from the government to its demand for four changes to sale...

The National Association of Estate Agents has teamed up with a campaigning anti-corruption body to call for four major changes to...

It’s rare for an incumbent to pivot to a disruptive business model, even in the face of compelling logic that they...

YourLocalAgent.com Some 91% of the public use search engines to find information every day and 91% of these always or most of...

A company is claiming that estate agents are missing out on substantial potential income by not charging for referrals of clients...

The internet has changed the way that most businesses operate. In many cases, the opportunities opened up by the emergence of...

One of the candidates for the deputy leadership of the Labour Party says she wants pensioners to invest in bonds which...

Property software firm VTUK has launched a digital security protection service for estate agents.  With a growing industry focus on digital marketing...

Labour’s housing spokesperson on the London Assembly wants estate agents and mayor Boris Johnson to take money laundering in property more...

A pressure group is calling for estate agents to conduct additional checks to ensure the legal provenance of buyers’ funds, and...

An MP has tabled an Early Day Motion calling on the Land Registry to require greater transparency for overseas company purchases...

The chief executive of online agency easyProperty says the money laundering scandal exposed in Channel 4’s ‘From Russia With Cash’ would...

The internet and rapidly evolving digital landscape has revolutionised the way people buy and sell properties. With some reports suggesting 95 per...

There has been a strong reaction against proposals to reform the ownership of estates and other substantial land holdings in Scotland. The...

Earlier this week we passed the official deadline for letting agents to fully publicise their fees as well as providing evidence of...