Record-breaking self-employed mortgage searches in ‘month of sharp contrasts’
A slight overall dip in enquiries was tempered by record-breaking searches for self-employed mortgages in April, according to the latest mortgage activity data from by Twenty7tec. The financial services platform reported ‘a small nudge downwards’ in purchase mortgage search activity, with a drop of 3.5% in April compared to the previous month. However, CEO James […]
CPRE demands action on ‘rural housing crisis’
The countryside charity CPRE is urging the government to redefine affordable housing to tackle what it calls ‘a deepening housing crisis across rural England’. The charity claims that rates of rough sleeping in some countryside areas now exceed those in major cities, and says its own research in 2023 found 12 rural local authorities […]
Buy-to-let lending up 32% amid ‘persisting imbalance’ in rental market
The latest rental figures from Rightmove reveal rents are at a record high, despite an increase in supply triggered by a rise in buy-to-let borrowers and first time buyers. The number of buy-to-let loans is up 32% compared to the start of last year, as reported in Rightmove’s Rental Trends Tracker for the first quarter […]
Public remain suspicious of AI in law, as SRA approves first AI law firm
A survey measuring public opinion of AI in the legal system reveals that around half of those questioned would trust the technology with paper-based matters, but almost all want human representation in court. The survey comes as the Solicitors Regulation Authority announced it has authorised the first law firm providing legal services through AI. Legal […]
Understanding the different stages on the journey towards leasehold reform
The story we are told is that leasehold is a broken system being fixed in orderly stages, leading to a better model of ownership. That sounds good, but it just isn’t what’s happening. What we are actually seeing is a series of disconnected policy pushes — some seemingly driven more by political pressure than long-term […]
OnTheMarket ad complaint ‘informally resolved’ by ASA
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ‘informally resolved’ an anonymous complaint that OnTheMarket made misleading claims in its advertising. Ads from the online property portal suggested that its web traffic had overtaken that of rival Zoopla, with the graphic showing OnTheMarket traffic reaching over 55 million views and Zoopla hovering between 45-50 million. The figures […]