Brexit Concerns Blamed For 1 Million Lost Home Sales
Since the referendum result in 2016, around 1 million prospective British home buyers have delayed moving home because of Brexit uncertainty. Having commissioned a survey of 1.5 million Brits, GoCompare found that Brexit and the affect it will have on the UK economy is the biggest influencing factor in deterring people from buying a property. […]
Index Announce Industry Partnership with CILEx
Index is thrilled to announce an Industry Partnership with CILEx! Here at Index, we are extremely proud of our close working relationship with CILEx – long may it continue! Lynne Squires, Head of Business Development at CILEx comments: “I am delighted that Index Property Information have become a CILEx industry partner. This formal partnership enables […]
Leasehold Ground Rents Now Exceed £447 Million Per Year
The average leaseholder is now paying £319 in ground rent costs every year and have experienced an above inflation rate annual average rise of 5%. According to the NAEA Propertymark’s ‘Leasehold Report’, leaseholders are now paying in excess of £447 million in ground rents. Whilst ground rent contracts usually rise every decade, 10% of the […]
SLC And UK Finance Collaborate To Standardise Lending Policies On Unexpired Leases
The Society of Licensed Conveyancers (SLC) and UK Finance have been working to standardise lending policies on unexpired lease terms to help ease the difficulties many leaseholders are finding when trying to resell their home. The SLC estimate that over 1 million leases have less than 80 years remaining. In the past decade, lenders have […]
Too Many Able Buyers Help Themselves To Help To Buy
Since the launch of the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme in 2013, around 65,000 households or a third (31%) of people using the scheme could have purchased their home without using Help to Buy. Whilst one of the main aims of the scheme was to stimulate a stalling property market in the aftermath of […]
Search Acumen Comments On RICS Residential Market Survey
Andy Sommerville, Director of Search Acumen, comments: “The latest RICS UK Residential Survey results point to overall market trends remaining stagnant, with indicators on demand, supply and prices all falling within negative territory, albeit less so than previously. “Consumer confidence has been consistently subdued as uncertainty sweeps the UK. As a result, there are few […]
Conveyancing Firms’ Communications Transformed by AI Powered Digital Switchboard
Leading outsourced communications provider, Moneypenny, has launched a new AI powered switchboard that the company promises will revolutionise communications within the sector. The innovative platform was designed following increased demand from law firms for technologies that improve the customer journey while enriching the working life of front-of-house staff. As part of London Tech Week (10th […]
Should Pension Savings Fund First Time Buyer Deposits?
The current Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary, James Brokenshire, has claimed that first-time buyers (FTBs) should be permitted to use their pension pot to help fund the deposit needed to buy their first home. As we are days away from announcing the new leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of […]
RPSA Launch Quality Standards For Residential Surveying
Today, Wednesday 12th June 2019, the Residential Property Surveyors Association (RSPA) has announced the launch of the Certified Building Surveyor Scheme. The Scheme, which was launched at the RPSA’s annual conference, is unique and sets out quality and performance targets for the industry, ensuring that home buyers receive the highest possible service levels from their […]
Remortgaging Falls In April But First Time Buyer Mortgages Increase
First-time buyer (FTB) mortgages increase in April after a blip in March but remortgaging took a dive as recent mortgage trends suggest the property market remains confused in April. According to UK Finance Mortgage Trends data for April, 27,370 first-time buyer mortgages were completed in April which represents a 7.9% increase from the data a […]
New Build Housing Failing To Keep Up With Population Increases
The extent of the housing crisis was highlighted this week as the current housing stock and newly built properties in and around the UK’s largest cities are failing to keep up with the huge growth in population. According to property lender Blend, who compared building data between 2011 and 2017 against the Office for National […]
Only 25% Of Law Firms Are Price And Service Transparent
We are six months into the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) regulated changes to the way law firms share their price and service, yet only a quarter of regulated firms are fully compliant with the standards. Worse still, One-in-five regulated law firms have failed to make any effort to comply with price and service regulations. The […]
Application Requisitions Rise In Opening Quarter Of 2019
The number of applications being returned to conveyancers by HM Land Registry (HMLR) is increasing with 14.75% of all applications made by the 500 companies sending the most applications to HMLR resulted in a request for information from the governmental department. Between April and December last year only 13.3% of applications resulted in a requisition […]
UK Construction Experiences Sharpest Decline Since March 2018
The UK construction sector experienced its sharpest decline in construction output since the storms of March 2018. According to the seasonally adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Total Activity Index for May, the index rating had slipped below 50 (no change point) for the third time in four months. Despite economists predicting that construction output would […]
NHS And Public Land Sales Shortchanging The UK’s Majority
Surplus NHS and public Government owned land is being sold in record numbers, yet the benefit to most middle and low income earners will be zero. According to the ‘Still No Homes For Nurses: How NHS Land Is Being Sold Off To Build Unaffordable Homes’ report, carried out by the New Economic Foundation (NEF), found […]
New Landlord Coalition Group Offers Alternative To Section 21 Abolition
A number of national associations representing the interests of UK Landlords have united in opposition of the proposed abolition of Section 21 repossessions by creating a ‘Fair Possessions Coalition’ and offering a viable alternative. The primary objective of the coalition is to overturn the decision to abolish Section 21 repossessions or delay the abolition until […]
Government Pledge £2 Million Towards Lawtech Investment Initiatives
The Government has promised £2 million worth of investment to the legal sector in a bid to improve new and emerging technologies and solidify the UK’s legal sector as a market leader. In 2018, the Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, David Gauke, set up an expert panel of industry experts, governmental figures, leading members of […]
Terrafirma commits support to CoPSO future
– Market-leader in provision of mining and ground reports commits long-term support to CoPSO, to continue driving a lender-approved gold standard in property and environmental data and due diligence – Terrafirma has today announced they are extending their existing role within the Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) as ongoing Executive Members. Following a hugely […]
Too Many Businesses Taking The Impersonation Phishing Attack Bait
964 (94%) global IT decision makers from a survey size of 1,025 have found impersonation phishing attacks have had a severe impact on their business; losing money, data and subsequently customers to cyber criminals in 2019. According to the State of Email Security Report, completed by Mimecast, 55% of respondents have also noted a steep […]
Conveyancing Volumes Fall 6% Annually And 4% From Last Quarter
Brexit uncertainty has had a mighty impact on the conveyancing sector as conveyancing volumes dip and the number of active law firms’ plummets. According to the Conveyancing Market Tracker from Search Acumen, on an annual basis, conveyancing volumes have fallen by 6%. Similarly, the market has shrank by 4% on a quarterly basis with the […]