Breaking News
Agents warned over adverts
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will warn estate agents that they are at risk of breaking the law if they make anti-competitive advertising deals with newspapers that barr the display of all fees and discounts in the industry. The CMA said such an agreement limited the ability of estate agents to compete with each…
Allen Walkey
Nationwide House price index
According to the Nationwide House Price Index annual house price growth slowed in May. The building society said that prices were up 4.6pc in May compared with the same month a year earlier, however moderated from last month which was at 5.2%. Robert Gardner Nationwide’s Chief Economist reportedly says: “The annual pace of house price…
Allen Walkey
Shared ownership pilot scheme
Southern Housing Group has partnered with the Greater London Authority to establish ‘Second Steps’, a service which offers current shared owners who can’t afford to buy outright the chance to purchase a home on the open market on a shared ownership basis. According to a report recently posted online Sandy Macmillan, head of sales and…
Allen Walkey
Property versus Pints
Foxtons the Estate Agents represented by Agents Montague Evans notified Southwark Planners in April that they intended to open a Branch of their Estate Agency in the pub known as the Elephant and Castle. The current Elephant & Castle pub is on the corner of New Kent Road and Newington Causeway, it took the place…
Allen Walkey
Good time to buy?
Confidence has certainly increased since the election, the number of people expecting to make a good home purchase in the next year increased in April compared to the previous month according to the latest Halifax data. The factors that contribute to such improving optimism are the record low mortgage rates along with various government introduced…
Allen Walkey
Land Registry Market Trend Data
April 2015 market trend data. Land Registry’s Market Trend Data for England and Wales. The April data shows an annual price increase of 5.1 per cent which takes the average property value in England and Wales to £179,817 compared with the peak of £181,014 in November 2007. House prices are up 0.9 per cent since…
Allen Walkey
Older generation trapped
A report out today in one of the main stream newspapers highlights the difficulty being experience by the over 55’s to find an appropriate property to downsize to due to limited availability. In fact millions of older people are actually trapped in properties too large for their needs due to a shortgae of suitable sized…
Allen Walkey
Government minister for tenants
According to research from Your Move and Reed Rains tenants would like to see a government minister specifically to deal with their issues within the housing sector, actually it revealed 60.2% of respondents were in favour of having one. The survey also revealed that renting is becoming a longer-term option for increasing numbers of people….
Allen Walkey
BUY2LET.COM LAUNCH OPENS INVESTMENT DOORS.
The £1 trillion buy-to-let sector shows little signs of stopping, with lending levels up a third on last year, and many landlords reporting an increase in rental income. For estate agents, developers and corporate landlords looking to capitalise on the current buoyancy of the market, today’s launch of Buy2Let.com the first-of-its-kind dedicated investment property portal,…
Christopher Walkey
Rogue Tenant
An illegal immigrant was arrested and will now face prison with the possibilty of deportation. Ashid Bomedian a Morrocan national assaulted the owner of his rental property after the landlord reported him to the police for suspected bicycle theft. He took the bicycle from outside a city restaurant and returned back to the property in…
Allen Walkey
Zoopla aquisition completes
The aquisition of utility price comparison website uSwitch by Zoopla the residential property website has now completed. In a short statement released on Wednesday Zoopla said it had received clearance from the Financial Conduct Authority to complete the transaction, which had first been announced in April. The uSwitch website made revenues of £62.9m and adjusted…
Allen Walkey
Property Partner Crowdfunding
A property in Byfleet, Surrey was funded to the tune of £212,900 via the propertypartner website launched earlier this year, a total of 126 investors clubbed together to buy the 2 bedroom flat in just over half an hour, the eager buyers invested an average of £1,700. The property that sold out in 35 minutes…
Allen Walkey
NHF responds to Queen’s Speech
The National Housing Federation responds to the Queen’s Speech Henry Gregg, Assistant Director of Campaigns & Communications at the National Housing Federation response: “We are pleased to see a Housing Bill front and centre of the Queen’s Speech and to see the Government committed to getting more homes built. “Plans to identify and free up…
Allen Walkey
starts today
It starts today. The Consumer Rights Act has made it a legal requirement for all lettings agents in England to display details of all fees and charges on websites and in offices from 27 May. Agents also need to display whether or not they are a member of a client money protection scheme along with…
Allen Walkey
Queen’s Speech
Today will be the first time since 1996 that the Queen’s Speech will include a programme of legislation devised solely by the Conservative Governement, we have to go back to Sir John Major the then Prime Minister to be in a similar situation. There will be no constraints of a coalition Government as we have…
Allen Walkey