Aspirations for home ownership at 40 year high
A three year housing slump has not dampened the long term home-owning aspirations of buyers across the UK, according to Property Talk Live. AA Home Emergency Response service has revealed that research carried out amongst buyers who purchased their first home after 2008 aspire to move up the ladder, with 37 per cent saying that […]
Brand new identity for Trethowans
Wilsthire based law firm, Trethowans Solicitors, have recently launched their new look website and a new, sharper brand identity. Simon Rhodes, Managing Partner, commented: “We have completely redesigned our website to utilise the latest technology and given it a sharper look. At the same time we’ve taken the opportunity to refresh our logo and branding […]
Popular “Prime” legal pack upgraded
Following the success of its ‘Prime’ Legal Pack, Haybrook, a large independent estate agency in South Yorkshire, are to launch an upgrade option call ‘Prime Protected’, according to Property4Media. Haybrook launched Prime last summer to give their customers access to a far wider range of information about both their property and the surrounding area. The […]
Quick Move Now Fall Through Index: What are the chances of a house sale falling through?
Quick Move Now has reported that the rate of house sales falling through in April was 30.32%, with one in three sales failing to reach completion. The main reason for this high rate was issues obtaining finance. This reflects the behaviour of the market over the first four months of 2012. Donna Houguez, Market Analyst […]
Searches UK joins Checkaprofessional.com as first search company in the UK
Searches UK, a leading provider of searches to UK conveyancing practitioners, have become the only search company in the country to have successfully joined Checkaprofessional.com. Checkaprofessional.com is a new venture from Checkatrade, which was founded in 1998 to help people find reliable and honest tradespeople. Checkaprofessional.com works in the same way, monitoring services by over […]
Transactions tumble following return of stamp duty
Following the end of the stamp duty holiday in March, the LSL/Academetrics House Price Index shows a drop in the number of transactions by 18%, although prices hold steady with a 0.2% drop. Richard Sexton, director of e-surv comments: “The sharp fall in transactions in April shows the huge impetus the end of the stamp […]
CML report on repossessions and arrears show stable picture
The CML has today released figures on repossessions and arrears over the first quarter of 2012. The number of repossessions was 9,600. This is the same as recorded in the first quarter of 2011, and stops the upward trend which had been seen in recent years. The number of repossessions was higher than the […]
Buy-to-let lending drops in first quarter of 2012
CML figures released this week show that buy-to-let lending has fallen by 5% in the first quarter of 2011 compared to quarter 4 of 2011. New buy-to-let lending totalled £3.7 billion, over 32,300 loans. This is a third better than the same time last year, but is still two thirds below 2007 levels. The buy-to-let […]
Buying Land for Development
BUYING LAND FOR DEVELOPMENT Land banks, like real banks, are experiencing something of a hiatus. Some developers are ‘unloading’ their development land; others are looking to pick up bargains. Some landowners have to realise their land assets despite the downturn. A rising market can hide mistakes; the current market won’t. The need to get things […]
Taylor Wimpey chief executive warns that high loan rates threaten NewBuy scheme
Pete Redfern, chief executive of housebuilding company Taylor Wimpey, has suggested that the NewBuy scheme could be less effective than hoped because the interest rates on eligible loans are too high. The NewBuy scheme was launched in March. It is designed to help those people who wish to buy a new-build property in England […]
Land Registry Launches Consultation over plans to close Telephone services
The Land Registry on 4 May launched a consultation over proposals to change Land Charges legislation. This will enable them to provide a wider range of online services, and would lead to the closure of the telephone ordering service for business customers. As there has been significant take-up of businesses using the Land Registry […]
Co-operative stops interest-only mortgages, and warns buyers not to rely on house prices rising
The Co-operative has announced that it is no longer offering interest-only mortgages. This includes new mortgages and remortgages. Only those existing borrowers moving home and not borrowing extra will be able to stay on an interest-only deal. This follows other lenders who are moving away from these types of loans, putting such conditions […]
Yorkshire new builds are the smallest in the UK, claim RIBA
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has claimed that new houses in Yorkshire and the Humber are the smallest in the UK. RIBA research shows that the average three-bedroom home built in Yorkshire and the Humber is 13 square metres smaller than the basic recommended minimum size, with a floor area of 83 square […]
April sees monthly dip in valuation market
The latest Housing Market Activity Report by Connells Survey & Valuation saw a drop in activity in the valuations market in April. The total number of residential valuations conducted during April fell by 32% compared with March. The overall valuations market is performing better than a year ago, despite the monthly fall. Connells […]
Shapps says Government on course to smash public land ambition
Housing Minister Grant Shapps has said that Whitehall departments are on target to exceed the ambition of the Prime Minister to release previously-used public land for building new homes. New figures released this week show that Ministers have identified enough surplus public land, including empty offices, unused storage and empty public service buildings, to […]
RICS suggests property market has run out of steam
The RICS Housing Market Survey for April was released this week. Activity levels flattened and prices expectations declined as the optimistic outlook from Quarter 1 started to fade. 19% more Chartered Surveyors reported price falls than rises. Expectations that prices would rise in the next three months dropped from a net balance of-3% to […]
VTUK integrate new ordering platform into sales software
The UK’s leading software company VTUK has announced that online ordering platform ETSOS is to be integrated into one stop solution software package for Estate Agents, Aquarius. The integration will enable estate agents to order and monitor products such as Energy Performance Certificates, floor plans and other services needed to market properties through Aquarius. This […]
JMW Solicitors LLP conveyancers see a rise in enquiries
Following a rise in activity in the housing market, JMW Solicitors LLP have taken on a further conveyancing specialist to the residential conveyancing department. Michael Purvis has joined the residential conveyancing team as an Associate. He previously worked at Gorvins and spent three years at HL Interactive. The department is led by Partner Andrew Garvie. […]
New benefits cap may lead to thousands losing their homes
Propertytalk Live has reported that the new benefit cap may lead to thousands losing their homes. The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has started writing to more than 90,000 adults within 67,000 households who have been identified as being in danger of losing benefits from April 2013 when the new overall benefit cap is […]
DevAssist delivers added value in the conveyancing process
A new search has shown to deliver greater insight and some real financial benefit to property buyers. DevAssist searches map and evaluate the future development risks and opportunities in a 75 metre radius of the property. The search has delivered impressive results for property buyers by unleashing hidden cash value in a property and by […]