BREAKING NEWS – top 5 stories 20/05/2021

Estate Agent Networking Breaking News

3% OF HOUSEHOLDS OWN A SECOND PROPERTY IN THE UK

According to the most recent figures issued by the government, up to just over a year ago nearly 2.4M property owners had at least one other home. A large swathe of these were rented out, but interestingly enough over 770,000 homes were not.

Given the ongoing housing crisis, this is quite a large number of ‘holiday homes’ that are out there, sitting vacant for much of the year. This in an uptick of over 200,000 from a decade before. 39% are classed as a holiday home or weekend cottage, and 35% are classed as a long-term investment.

STUDY SHOWS THAT BAR IS NOW HIGHER FOR FIRST TIME BUYERS

Aldemore bank analysed the results of a survey into the fortunes of 1,000 first time buyers and how easily they could get mortgage finance. It showed that only 20% could get a mortgage, at their first attempt; as opposed to 50% being able to, pre-pandemic.

LABOUR SHADOW HOUSING SECRETARY SAYS HOMEOWNERS INTERESTS ARE KEY

The new labour shadow housing secretary has stated that in her opinion parliament is looking after donor ‘developers’ at the cost of homeowners facing poverty due to the cladding crisis, with unfit and unmortgageable properties.

Labour is calling for a hard deadline of 2022 for all cladding to sorted where it is found to be in breach of current building codes. She also wants those ‘responsible’ to be pursued. Interesting times ahead as Lucy Powell makes her voice heard in the house of commons.

BOOMIN ADDS STRATEGIC HIRE TO ITS CORE TEAM

Boomin strengthens its c-suite, with the addition of Richard Pennycock in a non-executive role, this is a strategic move as the ex-CEO of the Co-Op group has a pretty enlightened viewpoint on moving businesses forward away from analogue models.

Having been quoted as saying, ‘I have experienced first-hand the digital retail revolution and how important it is for every industry to adapt and change, to innovate, to break new ground and to engage and communicate with their customers in a number of different ways’.

HOW LONG DOES A LANDLORD HAVE TO FIX A PROBLEM IN A RENTAL?

We have been contacted by a tenant who has not had a working toilet for 3-months, and he asked us what the legal situation is, and can he force his landlord to undertake the remedial work. Any person who knows the answer please email me.

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

how to present your property for sale
Breaking News

These are the property hotspots

These are the property hotspots bucking the SDLT deadline price slide Last week, the latest UK House Price Index from the Land Registry revealed a sharp 3.7% monthly drop in average UK house prices during April 2025, following the expiry of temporary stamp duty support at the end of March. Further analysis by eXp UK,…
Read More
Breaking News

Demand rebounds for Prime London property

Big ticket buyers returned to the capital in the spring months, the Prime London Demand Index from London lettings and estate agent Benham and Reeves has revealed. Between the first and second quarters there was a 1.8% uplift in ‘demand’ for homes between £2 and £10 million, which is calculated based on the proportion of…
Read More
Breaking News

Failing to refinance could see portfolio landlords hit with a £23,000 hike to mortgage costs

The latest research by specialist property finance expert, Rangewell, has revealed that buy-to-let portfolio investors who fail to take the appropriate action when it comes to refinancing could see their monthly mortgage costs climb by over £23,000, rather than a £8,500 reduction due to improvements to the mortgage landscape. Rangewell analysed the average amount owed through…
Read More
to let sign 2025
Breaking News

Section 21 Is Set to Go – What This Means for Landlords

By Allison Thompson, National Lettings Managing Director, Leaders The Renters’ Rights Bill is making its way through the House of Lords and, if passed in its current form, will bring major changes to how tenancies are ended. One of the most significant proposals is the abolition of Section 21, often referred to as the ‘no-fault…
Read More
Breaking News

Are falling mortgage rates fuelling a rise in buy-to-let investment?

By Sarah Thompson, Managing Director, Mortgage Scout The latest data from UK Finance shows that in the last quarter of 2024, the average buy-to-let (BTL) interest rate for new mortgage loans taken out was 5.09%, a drop of 0.61% on the previous year. And it seems that falling mortgage interest rates may well be having…
Read More
Breaking News

New survey reveals it now takes over 200 days to sell a home in the UK

The average number of days to sell your home in the UK now stands at 205 – the first time the 200-day mark has been broken. The longest time to sell is in inner London and the South-East at 222 days, closely followed by outer London at 221 days. The North-East is the best performing…
Read More