Breaking News
Mandatory Licencing for estate Agents needed says eMoov
eMoov leads the way to Implement Mandatory Licencing for Estate Agents with a petition to the Government. Russell Quirk, Founder & CEO, eMoov.co.uk says “In this day and age it is simply unacceptable that the estate agency sector continues to go unregulated with absolutely no barrier to entry when choosing to pursue the occupation. “When…
Allen Walkey
Annual house price growth eases.
Halifax House Price Index (HPI) report for September 2016 headlines ‘Annual house price growth eases further to 5.8%’ House prices in the three months to September were 5.8% higher than in the same three months of 2015. Prices in the last three months (July-September) were 0.1% lower than in the preceding quarter. Martin Ellis, Halifax…
Allen Walkey
Landlord challenge at High Court dismissed
This week we reported on Cherie Blair QC, wife of former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, representing landlords fighting proposed changes to the tax regime against the Government and HMRC at the High Court. ‘Landlords Oppose Tax Regime Changes’ Yesterday, Cherie Blair QC, argued that the changes were both “unfair and unlawful”, and that the…
Allen Walkey
Rise in buy-to-let mortgages to limited companies
According to the Mortgage for Business 3rd quarter Limited Company Buy-to-Let Index, 63% of applications by landlords purchasing buy to let properties are being made using a limited company structure. It would appear this is mainly in response to the changes to tax relief on mortgage interest announced by the former Chancellor George Osborne in…
Allen Walkey
NO JUDICIAL REVIEW OF SECTION 24 FOR LANDLORDS
Commenting on the High Court decision to the refuse permission for a Judicial Review of Section 24 of the Finance Act, Richard Lambert, Chief Executive Officer at the National Landlords Association (NLA) said: “This decision is ultimately disappointing not just for landlords, but for the tenants who will see their rents rise as a consequence…
Christopher Walkey
INDEPENDENT LONDON AGENT BERESFORD RESIDENTIAL FURTHER EXTENDS ITS SALES & LETTINGS NETWORK
Beresford Residential, one of London’s leading Estate Agencies, has further extended its Sales and Lettings network of branches by opening a new office in West Norwood. Launched in 2009, Beresford Residential has quickly grown to become one of the most successful and highly regarded independent estate agents in South London, consistently making the top 50…
Pound drops to a new 31yr low against US dollar
The Conservative Party conference came to a close yesterday on the same day that the pound sterling hit a 31 year low against the US$. Sterling remained under major pressure as £ dipped under US$1.27 for first time since 1985 & fell to 5-year low against the euro (euro 1.133/£) Earlier in the week the…
Allen Walkey
ONTHEMARKET.COM ACHIEVES RECORD TRAFFIC OF MORE THAN 10M VISITS IN SEPTEMBER
OnTheMarket.com reported yesterday that it achieved a record level of traffic of more than 10million visits throughout the month of September.* The figure of 10million visits is a rise of 79% year on year. In September last year, OnTheMarket.com recorded 5.6million visits. Throughout last month, the portal also delivered a record number of leads to…
Landlords oppose tax regime changes
Cherie Blair QC, wife of former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, will represent landlords fighting proposed changes to the tax regime against the Government and HMRC at the High Court on Thursday. She will argue against proposed changes to section 24 of the Finance (No.2) Act 2015, these changes would stop buy-to-let finance costs being…
Allen Walkey
Warning for ‘Rogue Landlords’ at Conservative Party Conference
The Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, announced yesterday at the Conservative Party Conference, that from December, landlords who knowingly rent out their property to illegal immigrants will be committing a criminal offence, and that they could go to prison for doing so. Addressing conference she unveiled a wide-ranging clamp-down on migrants coming to the UK, she…
Allen Walkey
New measures to build more houses, more quickly
Press release published yesterday 4th October on the GOV.Uk website headlined ‘Sajid Javid and Philip Hammond: Let’s get Britain building’. The Chancellor Philip Hammond and Communities Secretary Sajid Javid, have announced new measures to build more houses, more quickly, in the places people want to live. Measures see the launch of a massive £3 billion…
Allen Walkey
ZPG report continued growth in their Audience
News release from Zoopla Property Group yesterday headlined “ZPG reports over 53 million visits and 2 million leads in September” Over 53 million visits to its websites in September is up 13% year on year, the ZPG property apps also saw strong growth with total downloads now at in excess of 8.3 million. Mark Goddard,…
Allen Walkey
Ringing the changes for Auction House Cheshire
There’s change at the top for leading property brand Auction House in Cheshire as company managing director Peter Humphreys steps down from the role this month. Peter set up Humphreys of Chester in 1994 and joined Auction House in July 2008. Since then his work, selling property under the hammer, has gone from strength…
Allen Walkey
How to get more LOVE than your rivals down the road
BLAND IS BANNED I’ve been doing a lot of work recently adding some personality to agents’ websites, in particular the About us sections. It’s pretty simple when you know how. Don’t be bland, don’t be too serious and use a tone of voice / way of writing that doesn’t sound anything like a stereotypical estate…
Alex Evans
Reminder to Landlords and Letting Agents in Wales
A reminder to Landlords and letting Agents in Wales that from the 23rd November this year they must be licensed to be able to carry out letting or property management activities. The new rules require that all landlords with property in Wales must register themselves and their rental property addresses with Rent Smart Wales by…
Allen Walkey