Bank of England raises interest rates to a 13-year high
The monetary policy committee of the Bank of England voted 6-3 to increase its base rate of interest by 0.25 percentage points to 1% on Thursday. This fourth consecutive interest rate rise means rates are now at their highest level since February 2009 in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis. The move will […]
Zoopla HPI: three million homes now in higher stamp duty bracket
Today’s House Price Index from Zoopla has calculated that three million homes in the UK are now in a higher stamp duty bracket than at the start of the pandemic, thanks to rising house prices. The report, released today also reveals that first time buyers spend an average of £225,000 – up £27,000 on two […]
Diary of a high street conveyancer; 3rd May 2022
Following on from last week and my thoughts about additional enquiries, I note that the discussion surrounding this rumbles on. Everyone seems to object to the raising of enquiries, so who is raising them? And what are the particular questions that everyone seems to be objecting to? This week, I received a letter from a […]
House prices to fall in 2023 and 2024
House prices are set to fall by 5% between now and the end of 2024, according to the latest research. Such a drop would reverse a fifth of the surge in house prices since the pandemic began. The research, which is adjusted for the rise in interest rates, was conducted by independent economic research consultancy […]
Enquiries – addressing the black hole of conveyancing
Following a string of irked LinkedIn posts surrounding the issue of enquiries, Today’s Conveyancer has set out to discover exactly how the “black hole of conveyancing” is affecting conveyancers. Peter Ambrose, owner and Managing Director of The Partnership, explained how the “inexorable” number of enquiries is “causing tempers to fray”: “The latest focus for our […]
Building Safety Bill receives royal assent
The Building Safety Bill which started its passage through parliament last July received royal assent on Friday. Among the changes, which are now law, is the creation of a new building safety regulator for buildings higher than 18 metres as well as “waterfall” protections introduced to ensure leaseholders avoid footing the bill for remediation costs. […]
Nationwide HPI: growth slows to 12%
The Nationwide House Price Index for April has been released, revealing a slight slow at 12.1%. Despite the slowing growth rate however, Nationwide’s latest House Price Index shows that the market is now enjoying its 11th consecutive month in double figures. In April the average price hit £267,620, up £28,789 since last April, and the […]
GeoPlace 2022: improving the property chain
Do you want to find out how UPRNs are being used by big players in the property market such as Zoopla, Nationwide and HM Land Registry? Then register for the free GeoPlace conference and hear from Nationwide Building Society on the intelligent use of data to link together the underwriting, conveyancing and valuation processes. Zoopla […]
Webinar reminder: grow your law firm with Clio
Growing a law firm is as challenging as it is exciting. Law firm leaders need to focus on their day-to-day operations while always keeping one eye out for the future, working today to implement processes, tools, and establish a culture that will pay dividends for years to come. So, how do firm leaders know where […]
Beyond the norm – why Minerva?
A legal technology supplier has been celebrating their first quarter with a vibrant collective of new users and clients. The tech team at Law Firm Services (LFS) with their client onboarding solution Minerva have seen exponential growth not just with new clients, but also with existing firms rolling out the solution across all practices areas. […]
Stronger than expected law firm performance during the pandemic
Solicitors maintained services to their clients through successive lockdowns and many reported solid business performance for the first year of the pandemic, according to the Law Society of England and Wales law management section Financial Benchmarking Survey. In its 21st year, the survey looks at how law firms fared through the pandemic, providing an overview […]
Rightmove HPI: homes selling faster than ever in spring market frenzy
The latest Rightmove HPI data shows that despite growing economic headwinds, the 2022 market continues to set new milestones for price and activity levels. The price of property coming to market has hit a new record high for the third consecutive month. Month-on-month prices have risen by an average of 1.6% (+£5,537), and over the […]
Transaction data shows 20% monthly increase
March HMRC monthly transaction data shows that while the number of residential transactions are down on the previous year, month-to-date levels continue to increase by almost 20% as we move further into the Spring. Today’s HMRC data showed that the cost of living crisis is yet to impact figures as provisional non-seasonally adjusted property sales were 110,990 […]
Diary of a high street conveyancer; 25th April 2022
I was going to treat you to the opening scene of my new drama series The Move, but as I am mindful of always being topical, I am saving that pleasure for another time. Instead I want to talk about Additional Enquiries. This is a topic I have written about before. One of my pet […]
Why timing matters for second stage leasehold reform proposals
When the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 comes into force on 30 June 2022 it will restrict the ground rent on most types of new leases of residential properties in England and Wales to a peppercorn, or zero, rent. The new law is part of the Government reforms aimed at making leasehold ownership “fairer […]
Dealing with boundary problems
Ian Quayle, CEO of IQ Legal Training, provides some practical tips for busy practitioners. The issue of boundary identification is a problem for both residential conveyancers and commercial property lawyers for a number of reasons: The lack of reliable information on which to base the decision where a legal boundary actually sits. Over-reliance on unreliable […]
New-build homes sell 28 days quicker
New research from Unlatch found that once a property reaches the market and is listed for sale, it takes an average of 63 days for an existing property to reach sold subject to contract status (SSTC). A new-build takes slightly longer, averaging 67 days to reach the SSTC stage from the first point of listing. […]
RICS: 8% increase in new listings
Spring has reportedly sprung in the UK property market with the latest RICS Residential Market Survey showing the number of new homes listed for sale has risen for the first time in twelve months, despite ongoing caution over the rising cost of living and higher interest rates. In March, +8% of respondents reported a rise […]
UK HPI: prices continue to climb
HM Land Registry’s monthly price index for February reveals average house prices have increased 0.5% since January 2022. Annually an increase of 10.9% has been tracked, valuing the average property in the UK at £276,755. In England, February data shows that on average, house prices have risen by 0.9% since January 2022. The annual price […]
“Red flag”: downvaluations on the rise, say lenders
An increasing number of mortgage lenders are downvaluing their mortgage offers, a sign that the rampant housing market may be taking a turn. Homebuyers are being left struggling to pay the full price of the property’s they’ve agreed to purchase as more and more lenders are finding the value of a property to be lower […]