BREAKING NEWS – 5 top stories 08/02/2021

Estate Agent Networking Breaking News

NATIONAL RESIDENTIAL LANDLORDS ASSOCIATION CALLS FOR REDUCTION IN SDLT

Ben Beadle the reactive and sensible voice of lettings, and CEO of NRLA, has asked that the government look again at removing the additional tax that Landlord’s pay when buying investment property. Citing it increases rental prices as its cost has to be mitigated, also it stops some from entering the arena which means less stock for tenants and higher rents for all.

He recently stated that, ‘a tax on developing new housing is completely nonsensical at a time when more is needed. Supporting growth in the private rental market, alongside all other housing types, would provide a significant boost to the economy in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.’

BOOMIN SIGNALS INTENT TO LAUNCH

The new property portal Boomin will soon launch according to information released, and it will be a full-scale media campaign across all of the media, so get ready for those television and radio adverts.

Boomin has scaled quickly, by building a large elite sales force comprised of some of the biggest hitters in real estate, who have secured many key agents. Plus of course their large tech team has been diligently been developing for a long time the ‘new’ portal that generates revenue for all. The one factor that is missing is traction by the general public, and this will be tested by the imminent launch.

HOUSING MARKET SLOWS DUE TO SDLT UNCERTAINTY

As predicted new instructions coming to the market are now extremely rare, with seven weeks to complete a purchase 95% of new sales will not hit the deadline, so canny vendors are sitting and waiting, not wanting to instruct until the Chancellor does, or does not do something.

With agency carnage due if nothing is done about a hard stop date. And agents then having to renegotiate 15K, or 30K or more in a chain, being the respective component amounts that buyers would lose out on, the market now moves to a vital phase. Many think the Chancellor will wait until the 3rd to announce or not announce something/nothing, in the meantime sales will drop as without inventory no one can buy or sell.

RIGHTMOVE – MORE AGENTS REPORT A HIKE IN THEIR ANNUAL CHARGES

We are getting more agents contacting us saying that despite inflation running at 0.5%, and Lockdown 3.0 they are receiving correspondence telling them that their fees to Rightmove are going to rise. The feeling of anger and resentment felt by some, not all agents over this action is starting to gain momentum, it will be interesting to see if the ‘Say No to Rightmove’ movement becomes a vocal critic once more, and the share price suffers, as it did last year.

HAYSTO LENDING PLATFORM HELPS OUT SELF EMPLOYED FIND MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS

The pandemic has made mortgage lending a more difficult proposition. But, according to research organised by Haysto a mortgage platform who caters for self-employed and company directors and the type of people who do not fit neatly into the PAYE tick box, as many 16% of these fail to get mortgages even though they may earn a larger amount annually.

Perhaps it is time with WFH and more people than ever before ‘working for themselves’ that lenders start to look at the new way society is going, especially with the huge amount of redundancies caused by the internet decimating overnight huge traditional safe business employing tens of thousands.

Andrew Stanton

CEO & Founder Proptech-PR. Proptech Real Estate Influencer, Executive Editor of Estate Agent Networking. Leading PR consultancy in Proptech & Real Estate.

You May Also Enjoy

small house bird box
Breaking News

UK First Time Buyers better off than many other global nations

Is it really that bad being a first-time buyer? UK better off than many other global nations when it comes to affordability The latest market analysis from Yopa, the full-service estate agents, reveals that first-time buyers (FTBs) in the UK may be paying 63% more to get a foot on the property ladder than they…
Read More
new build homes colchester essex
Breaking News

Building Safety Regulator Reform

The Government has announced reforms to the Building Safety Regulator, including leadership, process and investment. The changes are hoped to deliver 1.5 million homes. The reforms pave the way for creation of a single construction safety regulator, as recommended by the Grenfell Tower enquiry. David Smith, property litigation partner at London law firm Spector Constant…
Read More
Breaking News

New anti-money laundering rules now in effect: what landlords need to know

New anti-money laundering (AML) rules came into effect this month, marking a significant change for landlords and the lettings industry as a whole. The new rules mean financial sanctions checks are now required for all lettings, regardless of how much rent is charged. Here, Steve Bond, managing director of residential lettings for Beresfords, explains what…
Read More
Breaking News

What landlords need to know about the upcoming Renters Rights Bill

The government’s long-awaited Renters Rights Bill is one of the most significant overhauls of the private rental sector in decades. While it has not yet received royal assent, the legislation is expected to come into effect late this year, or early in 2026. With the bill moving closer to becoming law, Steven Bond, managing director…
Read More
Breaking News

Mortgage approvals bounce back in May

The latest figures show that: – Mortgage approvals on house purchases for May sat at 63,032 up 3.9% from 60,656 in April. The monthly increase seen in May marks the end of four months of previous decline, with approval levels having fallen each month since January of this year. Approvals are also 2.5% higher than…
Read More
Breaking News

Money and Credit – May 2025

Key points: Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals increased by £2.8 billion to £2.1 billion in May, following a large decrease in net borrowing of £13.8 billion to -£0.8 billion in April. Net mortgage approvals for house purchases increased by 2,400 to 63,000 in May. Approvals for remortgaging also increased by 6,200 to 41,500…
Read More