BREAKING NEWS – 5 top stories TUESDAY 15/12/2020
CLOCK IS TICKING FOR NON-DOMS BUYING
From the 1st of April there is another deadline looming, the imposition of the new 2% extra SDLT being imposed on property bought in the UK by those living outside the UK. The headline figures, well if are non-domicile and you are buying at 500K, and complete in April, you need to find an extra 2%, so £25,000. In London where 1M buys you not a lot that is a an extra £35,000 to find.
Wil this soften prices or push prices up as buyers from outside the UK scramble to buy and complete, unfortunately in the middle of the melee caused by the UK SDLT holiday period dreamed up by No.11.
ON THE MARKET CHARM OFFENSIVE – OR IS IT?
Jason Tebb, the new CEO of OnTheMarket, we wish him well, as any new boy needs to get his legs under the corporate desk before we can make any judgements. He seems to be making positive noises around actually talking with his client base and being at one with them. But news that day one he will receive performance-based share options worth in excess of £500,000, will do little to lessen the hostility that many seem to have against OTM.
NAEA PROPERTYMARK – MARK HAYWARD LEAVES & RETURNS
Tim Balcon became the new CEO in September as Mark Hayward, CEO for the previous seven years stood aside. Tim was hastily installed and now it seems possibly that as he has no estate agency background, Mark will now ‘guide him through.’ Which invites the question who is in charge of recruitment?
The reality is that hardworking agents who pay annual subscriptions, are paying to support two major roles, I can’t think of another corporate entity who replaces a CEO, and then pays a previous CEO to hold his hand. Just what is happening inside this organization? There seems to be a massive disconnect and certainly it is not value for money, thoughts anyone?
IT IS ELECTRIC – COMPLIANCE IN THE PRS – ANOTHER DEADLINE
The first of April 2021, sees the need for rental properties to have been assessed for electrical compliance (regulation actually came in a year before). Huge swathes of properties have not been inspected or have not passed muster, Covid and lack of trained staff have hampered the project. ARLA Propertymark has reminded the new housing secretary of the impasse. Will Mr Pincher have a sparky solution?
PURPLEBRICKS – IS THERE A NEW FEE STRUCTURE LOOMING IN 2021
Teasingly, newsworthy Vic Darvey CEO of Purplebricks has come out with a coquettish statement today to his shareholders, around a possible pivot on the pricing model, ‘we continue to look at ways to evolve our proposition, exploring new pricing models and introducing new proposition bundles that will help us to expand our target market’.
Could this be no-sale no fee? Time will tell, as indeed will the full years trading and profit and loss figures, which many stakeholders anticipate with glee next year.
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