Posts by Allen Walkey
NAEA National Conference 2017
The NAEA National Conference 2017 will be held on the 9th February at 155 Bishopgate, Liverpool Street, London, EC2M 3YD. On their website they state: The NAEA National Conference promises to be a must attend event if you work within estate agent industry in the UK. This essential date for your diary will give you an insight into key industry…
Read MoreBelvoir announces solid performance in the final months of the financial year just ended.
Belvoir Lettings PLC the UK’s largest property franchise, today released their trading update to the close of the financial year ended 31 December 2016, recent developments in the business, and the outlook for 2017. They stated: The Group achieved a solid performance in the final months of the financial year just ended, reflecting the continued…
Read MoreConsultation on the ban on fees will begin March/April
Press release from Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) last week, 19th January, they commented on the debate in the House of Lords where it was announced the consultation on the ban on fees will begin in March/April. David Cox, Managing Director at Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) says: “After almost two months of…
Read MoreHouse price growth in regional cities continues to overhaul London
Hometrack UK Cities House Price Index December 2016 released today headlines ‘London drops to 7th in house price growth rankings’ UK city house price inflation bounced back in 2016Q4 with average values rising 2.2%. Growth over 2016 was down slightly compared to 2015 (7.7%) but in line with the average rate over the last 18…
Read MoreFunding to prevent and reduce Homelessness
The Government website GOV.UK this week announced ‘Government backs Homelessness Bill with £48 million for councils’. Councils are to receive a further £48 million funding to help them deliver new and expanded services to prevent and reduce homelessness, Local Government Minister Marcus Jones has confirmed. This new funding will be available to councils in England…
Read MoreLending for landlords wanting to offer longer tenancies
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) news release yesterday 19th January headlined ‘Fact Check: Do lenders really oppose longer tenancies?’ The CML points out: As market conditions have steadily improved in the aftermath of the financial crisis, lenders have continued to make funding more readily available for housing in all tenures, as part of this…
Read MoreHouse sales faltered in last month of last year according to RICS
The Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors (RICS) today released their December 2016 UK Residential Market Survey report headlined ‘Housing activity stutters in December’. House sales in the UK faltered in December and the RICS predictions for expected new sales over the next three months are pared back. Central London house prices continue to slip back,…
Read MoreBuilding new UK homes on car parks.
An interesting news report this week from JLL Residential headlined ‘Car Parks Could Provide 400,000 New UK Homes’. The latest research paper from JLL ‘Driving Innovation’ highlights the potential to develop circa 400,000 homes on car parks in the UK’s town and city centres. The report mentions that in the vast majority of cases it…
Read MoreTeam Belvoir raises money for charity
Late last year Belvoir announced a new charity initiative,Time to Give. It gave Belvoir as a group the opportunity to do something to raise as much money as they could for local and national charities. They announced yesterday on their website that they were delighted to be able to confirm that the outstanding effort put…
Read MoreAverage House prices in UK increase by 6.7% yr to Nov 2016
Statistical Bulletin released yesterday 17th January from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) UK House Price Index: Nov 2016 Average house prices in the UK increased by 6.7% in the year to November 2016 (up from 6.4% in the year to October 2016), the main contribution to the increase in UK house prices came from…
Read MoreLending to first-time buyers in November up on previous month
Press release today from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) headlines ‘House purchase lending up 5% in November’ Home-owners borrowed £11bn for house purchase, up 5% month-on-month and 2% year-on-year. First-time buyers borrowed £4.7bn, up 4% on October and 9% on November last year. Paul Smee, director general of the CML, commented: “November lending reflected stable…
Read MoreStrong finish to an uncertain year for house prices
LSL Property Services/Acadata released their House Price Index (HPI) DECEMBER 2016 for England and Wales yesterday 16th January headlined ‘England and Wales house prices finish on a high’ Growth of 0.4% pushed the average price of a house in England and Wales up £1,139 to finish the year at £297,678. Oliver Blake, Managing Director of…
Read MoreBarriers facing SME builders today are numerous and varied says HBF
Press release yesterday 15th January from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) headlined ‘Remove barriers and SME’s could deliver 25K more homes a year’. A new report published yesterday by the Home Builders Federation highlights the challenges faced by SME house builders looking to increase output and sets out a range of proposals to address the…
Read MoreModest full year revenue growth reports Countrywide PLC
Countrywide plc trading update released Friday 13th January for the year ended 31 December 2016 ahead of its results announcement on 9 March 2017. Commenting on the Group’s performance, Alison Platt, CEO said: “It is pleasing to report modest full year revenue growth against the backdrop of a challenging residential sales market. Our Retail and…
Read MoreRents to rise 4% outside of London in 2017 forecast by Rightmove
The Rightmove Rental Price Tracker report released this week for Q4 2016 ( October – December 2016 ). Their forecast for 2017 is that rents to rise 4% outside London. All regions except London recorded a rise in asking rents in 2016, with prices up annually by 3.0%, London recorded an annual price fall of…
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