Breaking News
Even greater demand for rental property
According to research by the Countrywide plc, the UK’s largest property services group, increasing numbers of landlords are able to re-let their property before the existing tenant moves out. The average UK property is taking 32 days to let, that is the lowest figure on record, over half of new lets in London are agreed…
Allen Walkey
Smoke alarms for rented property
Landlords need to be prepared for a change in the law which will see them be required to fit smoke alarms in properties that are rented out, to help landlords prepare for the new regulations, the government has provided every fire and rescue service with a limited number of free smoke and carbon monoxide alarms…
Allen Walkey
London Mayor announces 12,000 new homes
Plans have been announced that London Mayor Boris Johnson will create four new housing zones which will provide over 12,000 new homes, more than a quarter of which will be affordable housing. The new zones which will be a joint effort between London, Local and National Government, will be located in the the boroughs of…
Allen Walkey
Increase in new homes being built
According to Data from the National House Building Council 43,987 new properties were registered in the UK between March and May, a 15 per cent increase on the same time last year, this is a significant rise over the figures from last year. The NHBC data appears to support Markit/CIPS figures on the construction sector…
Allen Walkey
A surge in office refurbishments outside London, the fastest growth in years.
The first six months of 2015 has been really interesting the pattern of refurbishments has been changing for the first time in years we are seeing the north and the provinces refurbishing at a much faster rate in years. We are finding that in certain areas offices have not updated for 20 years and have…
Alex Evans
HMRC property sales data
Property sales data from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has provided more evidence that the UK housing market is moving slower than a year ago, 98,540 homes were sold in May, down 3% on a year earlier. Other data has predicted a modest pick-up in the housing market during the latter half of this year….
Allen Walkey
Extending Right to Buy scheme
Jeremy Corbyn a Labour leadership contender has said, “the right to buy policy that lets council tenants buy their homes at a big discount should be extended to the tenants of private landlords, that Labour needed to go further in tackling the housing crisis and that extending Right To Buy could help more people find…
Allen Walkey
BBA mortgage approvals (May)
The Mortgage Approvals published by the British Bankers Association measure the number of home loans issued by the BBA during the previous quarter. A Mortgage growth represents a healthy housing market. BBA Mortgage Approvals for (May) Previous 42.1K Actual 42.5K Richard Woolhouse, Chief Economist at the BBA, reportedly said:“Household borrowing remains robust and this…
Allen Walkey
Zoopla Property Group launches real-time listings service
Zoopla Property Group (ZPG) has launched its Real-Time Listings Service, allowing its members to send updates to property listings on ZPG websites within minutes of being updated on the agent or developer’s system or website. The service has been launched initially with Property Software Group (PSG), starting with Alto and will be followed by the…
Allen Walkey
Lord Kerslake speaks out
Lord Kerslake speaking at The Chartered Institute of Housing’s annual conference in Manchester renewed his attack on the governments plans to extend the right to buy to housing Associations. He claimed that the proposal is wrong in principle and wrong in practice, Lord Kerslake, who is the chair of housing group Peabody, reportedly said the…
Allen Walkey
Pensioners invest in Buy-to-Let
The buy-to-let sector of the property market remains as strong as ever, new data reveals that the number of buy-to-let deals available to first-time landlords has increased 13 per cent in the last few months. It is just a few weeks since the relaxtion of rules came into effect concerning changes to how pensioners are…
Allen Walkey
FTB prefer house to flat
According to research from Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks approximately 70% of first-time buyers in the UK would prefer to own a house rather than a flat, this compares with an average last year of 57%, those who would prefer a flat are at 28% down from 43% in 2014. Steve Fletcher, director, retail banking, reportedly…
Allen Walkey
Regents Estate Agents open a new office in Addlestone.
Regents Estate Agents, part of the Badger Holdings Group, are pleased to announce the opening of its newest branch situated on Station Road in Addlestone, Surrey. With four other branches in prominent commuter towns; Chertsey, Sunbury on Thames, Staines upon Thames and most recently Woking, the addition of Addlestone fits perfectly within the Regents’ network….
Christopher Walkey
The team @raterAgent finds over 1 in 6 attempted reviews are fake:
raterAgent’s latest analysis of its website submissions has found that 17% – just over 1 in 6 of all attempted reviews – are efforts by estate and letting agents, or someone that they know, to falsify their or their competitors’ reputation. “It’s one of the reasons why we welcome the investigation by the Competition and…
Christopher Walkey
Five year licence for HMO in Camden
Camden Council is introducing new licensing conditions for landlords of shared accommodation, it will mean that landlords who rent out a HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) must apply for a five-year licence. A licence will only be granted if a minimum set of standards for the property are met, this is infact good news,…
Allen Walkey