Government claims planning reforms will boost economy by £7.5 billion
The reforms outlined in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will boost the economy by up to £7.5 billion over the next decade, according to a government impact assessment. Among the largest direct monetary benefits identified by the assessment is a £157 million saving in planning costs, which the report says will benefit the small, micro […]
Build strong communities to enhance wellbeing in legal practice
The legal sector is being encouraged to focus on mental health and wellbeing this month, with this week marking Wellbeing Week in Law, and Mental Health Awareness Week beginning on the 12th May. Awareness weeks offer a prompt to pause and reflect on the issue at hand, and when it comes to our health there’s […]
Kate Faulkner OBE: What impact could Trump’s tariffs have on mortgages in the UK?
With Trump’s tariff wars already sending financial markets yoyo-ing up and down and the likelihood that these trade wars will negatively impact both global and local economies, including the UK at some point, this is likely to affect the mortgage market, too. As evidence of this, it’s only a short time ago that we experienced […]
Silver lining for first time buyers, as Yopa finds improvement in ‘affordability ratio’
An analysis by Yopa suggests that first time buyer affordability is at the best level in 10 years, which the estate agency says has been driven by an increase in average annual earnings. This is despite the fact that the average price of a first home has increased by 63% in the last decade, whilst […]
March saw increase of £9.7 billion in mortgage debt, fears of ‘stagnant’ market to come
The rush to beat the SDLT deadline triggered a sharp incline in mortgage debt, with the latest Bank of England money and credit statistics revealing a £9.7 billion increase in March. Net mortgage approvals for house purchases, an indicator of future borrowing, decreased for the third consecutive month, with a fall of 800 to 64,300 […]
Over 60s control over half of all UK owner-occupier housing wealth, under 35s have 6%
Owner-occupiers aged 60 and over now hold a record estimated £2.89 trillion of net housing wealth in homes – more than half of all owner-occupier wealth in the UK – according to the latest assessment of housing wealth from property firm Savills. Those over 75 control almost a quarter (23%), with under 35s owning just […]
‘Buyer demand weakens but affordability boost likely’ – Zoopla
Zoopla’s April House Price Index finds cooling demand and expanded supply, but notes that the relaxation of mortgage affordability rules could boost buying power by up to 20%. Although buyer demand has cooled since the stamp duty changes, it remains 1% higher than this time last year. The number of homes for sale has risen […]
Friday 30th May predicted to be busiest house moving day of the year
The moving comparison website Compare My Move expects Friday 30th May to be the busiest day to move house this year, with conveyancers ‘likely to be busier than usual’. An estimated 13,549 households moved on this date last year, amounting to 1.23% of all moves throughout the year. The data gathered by Compare My Move […]
March transaction numbers ‘foundation for growth’ but capacity could be an issue
The impact of the SDLT deadline on 31st March was evident in the latest figures from HMRC which showed sizeable uplifts in transactions from February 2025 and March 2024. The provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of UK residential transactions in March is 177,370, which is 104% higher than March 2024 and 62% higher than February 2025. […]
Two million first time buyers ‘missing from the housing market’
A new report from the Building Societies Association (BSA) suggests that a significant number of potential first-time buyers have failed to get on the property ladder since the financial crisis. BSA analysis of historic first-time buyer data shows that around 7.2 million individuals or couples would have been expected to buy their first home since […]
Kate Faulkner OBE: How will Trump’s tariffs affect the property market?
It’s been a roller coaster ride of reporting over the last few weeks since Trump announced he was going to increase tariffs on goods into America from 10% through to Vietnam: 46%. The tariffs didn’t seem to have huge amounts of logic behind them, with Russia not being targeted whereas Tawain, a supposed ally of […]
‘Millions in limbo over mortgage rates’ with first-time buyers the most pessimistic
Data from the HomeOwners Alliance reveals ‘deep uncertainty’ about the future of mortgage rates, with 37% of people polled expecting rates to go up within the next year. In the survey of 2000 adults, 25% said they believed rates would hold, 16% thought they would fall, and 22% said they didn’t know what would happen. […]
1 in 4 paid more than quoted for conveyancing
One in four home movers say they paid more than they were quoted for their conveyancing, while nearly four in ten (37%) said they had paid the same as quoted, according to a new survey published by home moving comparison site Compare My Move. A quarter (25%) of respondents said the cost of their conveyancing […]
Rural Wales sees largest increase in Land Registry applications
An analysis of HM Land Registry transaction data has revealed Powys as the area with the largest increase in property applications to the registry in 2024. The rural mid-Wales county saw a 25.2% increase in applications, followed by Bedford with 17.3%, Hounslow in West London at 11.2%, and Oadby and Wigston in Leicestershire increasing by […]
Planning and Infrastructure Bill enters second week of oral evidence
Oral evidence related to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will continue to heard by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee on Tuesday, with General Committee debates scheduled tomorrow and Thursday. Last week, the bill went through its first and second sittings with the Public Bill Committee, following an announcement by deputy prime minister […]
Good Business Management is Good Risk Management
In this article covering the launch event in the Today’s Training Risk Management series, we summarise the panellists’ views on the risk and regulatory landscape currently facing the legal services profession. The audience for the well-attended webinar heard from specialists in law firm regulation, insurance and management. Some questions prompted disagreement amongst the panel, most […]
LMS remortgage report finds low swap rates and increased lender confidence
The March remortgage snapshot from national conveyancers LMS reveals ‘the lowest swap rates in recent years’, giving lenders ‘the confidence to price competitively’. The report from the national conveyancing company found that new instructions increased by 23% in March compared to the previous month, with a 10% pipeline increase. Remortgages were down 20% on February […]
Estate agents ‘concerned’ about housing targets
The professional body for estate agents says its members are ‘concerned’ about the UK government and devolved administrations meeting housebuilding targets, with most believing planning restrictions will present the biggest obstacle. A lack of a skilled workforce, population growth and not having the necessary infrastructure to support housebuilding were also cited as potential factors that […]
Twenty7tec sees surge in buy-to-let demand, with March mortgage searches at record high
Financial tech platform Twenty7tec has reported record numbers of remortgage searches, with a 22.9% month-on-month rise in buy-to-let mortgage searches leading to the highest seven-day totals ever recorded by the company. The searches for mortgages in the £150,000–£250,000 bracket were significantly higher than the 6.4% growth in residential enquiries, with 18th March being the company’s […]
Consumer confidence in housing market declines, affordability still key factor
Fewer than one in five people in the UK believe it’s a good time to buy a home, according to the latest Property Tracker survey from the Building Societies Association (BSA). The data from the BSA, which represents all building societies and mutual-owned banks in the UK, reveals that just 17% of respondents agree that […]
