Ward Hadaway expands with 39 new hires across UK
Ward Hadaway has appointed 39 legal specialists across its Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle offices, as part of the Top 100 law firm’s long-term strategy to increase its market share and extend its client base. The new hires include partners, directors, managing associates, associates, solicitors and paralegals across a range of departments. In Birmingham, nine […]
Properties closest to transport links command as much as £43,000 premium compared to those further away
Transport links are driving sizeable premiums on property prices, in some cases by as much as £43000, as home movers value property close to rail, underground and tram services in London, Manchester and Glasgow. Research conducted by Nationwide Building Society in the three cities suggests buyers are paying more for property closer to transport links. […]
Stress and a lack of suitable property putting off older home movers
The stress of moving and lack of suitable housing is putting older homeowners off moving home, potentially blocking second stepper homes for families looking to move up the property ladder. 1.2 million UK homeowners aged 55 and over have put plans to move on hold in the past two years, despite initially considering a move […]
Over-pricing ‘should worry industry’ as 62% of homes marked down
Over-pricing by estate agents is undermining public trust in the housing market and should worry the property industry, according to the co-founder of agent brokerage Avocado Property Partner Agents. With TwentyEA data revealing more than six in 10 homes were marked down during July and August, Ian Macbeth said the findings should act as a […]
Southern buyers benefit most from current housing market, says Rightmove
Analysis from Rightmove suggests static house prices and lower mortgage rates are benefitting south of England buyers more than those elsewhere in the UK, with London buyers potentially saving £181 a month on mortgage payments. Buyers in the South East could save £120 a month on an averagely priced home in the region,with South West […]
A third of first-time buyers don’t intend to move again, Barclays research finds
A third of first-time buyers are purchasing semi-detached properties with the intention of staying put in ‘forever homes’, according to research from Barclays. Mortgage data from the high street lender reveals semi-detached properties account for 33.5% of first-time buyer purchases, with 33% of buyers aged between 18 and 27 saying they bought a ‘forever home’ […]
Conveyancing Alliance becomes CAL, with new brand that reflects ‘years of growth’
The Conveyancing Alliance has launched new branding to reflect ‘years of growth and industry recognition’, and will unify its portfolio under the brand CAL. CAL is now the home brand for the group, with the new structure including Broker Conveyancing for mortgage advisers and Agent Conveyancing for estate agents. The move reflects feedback from mortgage […]
Pressure group launches stinging criticism of Law Society and urges attendance at AGM
The Law Society has ‘lost its way’ and is caught between its former position as a regulator and its current position as a membership body said the chair of pressure group the Property Lawyers Alliance (PLA) in stinging criticism of proposals to increase the number of votes required to hold the body to account at […]
Chancellor considers staggered stamp duty option, as HMRC receipts reach over £9.3bn
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is reported to be considering a proposal to spread stamp duty payments over several years, as property tax speculation continues to cast a cloud over the housing market. News of the plans come as HMRC’s stamp duty land tax receipts hit £9.33 billion so far this year – almost £1.6 billion more […]
“Interoperable, digital ecosystem” welcomes 42 new organisations to its transaction network
Forty-two organisations have committed their support to the National Property Transaction Network (NPTN), described as an ‘interoperable, digital ecosystem’ by its creators, following a successful pilot in late 2024. The NPTN has been created by LMS and uses the a framework of secure, reusable data to share information through the course of the transaction, built […]
A hard conveyancing process, ‘acutely stressful’ failed transactions, financial and emotional costs: Santander’s home buying report
A report from Santander which examines the ‘frozen in time’ process of buying and selling a home suggests failed transactions cost the economy ‘a conservative calculation’ of £1.5 billion each year – a combined total of direct consumer costs, lost work output, wellbeing costs and wasted leisure time. Santander’s research, conducted in partnership with consultants […]
HMRC consultation raises uncertainty of conveyancers’ role as tax advisers
A government consultation on the registration of all organisations who provide tax advice and interact with HMRC could see conveyancers required to register with the agency under new legislation. HMRC has identified a need to raise minimum standards across tax advisors with the proposed changes designed to ‘improve HMRC’s ability to monitor and exclude tax […]
Knights’ acquisition strategy delivers revenue of £162 million
Full year financial results from legal and professional services business Knights reveal revenue of £162 million for the year to 30 April 2025 – an increase of 8% since 2024. The group has completed a string of acquisitions across the UK in recent months, a strategy it credits for its ‘significantly increased scale in key […]
Annual fall in house prices ‘hit by rumoured property taxes’?
Rightmove’s latest House Price Index shows an annual fall of 0.1% in average new seller asking prices across the UK, which the company attributes to continued underperformance in London and the South East. Monthly, prices rose by an average 0.4%. While Rightmove says its real-time data shows no immediate reaction from movers to property tax […]
UK House Price Index ‘reflects steady demand and resilient market’
The latest UK House Price Index shows an annual increase of 2.8% in the 12 months to July (provisional estimate), down from 3.6% in the 12 months to June. The average monthly growth in July was 0.3%, with an average UK house price of £270,000. In England the price was £292,000 (up 2.7%), with Wales […]
Inflation holds at 3.8% in ‘surprising and positive development’
The ONS Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 3.8% in the 12 months to August, unchanged from July. On a monthly basis, CPI rose by 0.3%, the same rate ast August 2024. The Consumer Price Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) rose by 4.1% in the 12 months to August 2025, down from 4.2% […]
Half of London homes could be hit by property tax, but just 17% across England and Wales
An analysis of Land Registry data by eXp UK has revealed that while just 17.4% of homes sold across England and Wales between January and July achieved a price of at least £500,000, more than half of the homes sold in London (53.3%) were over the threshold. The analysis of Land Registry Price Paid data […]
Homebuyers unaware of bamboo risks and would proceed with purchase if plant was present
A survey by invasive plant specialist Environet suggests many homebuyers are unaware that the presence of bamboo can hinder the sale of a property, with only 38% of respondents saying they would be deterred from a purchase if the plant was present. The YouGov survey of over 2,000 adults found that more than half (54%) […]
Market downturn predicted as rising compliance and competition turn up the pressure on conveyancers
A decline in transaction volumes is predicted in the next 12-18 months after the stamp duty changes masked an otherwise flat year for conveyancers and transaction volumes. The claim comes from a new report published by Access Legal who say the 5% increase in completions in 2024-25 could be almost entirely accounted for in the […]
Updated schema for Open Property Data Association
An updated schema for the Open Property Data Association’s (OPDA) Property Data Trust Framework (PDTF) schema, has added new features to improve transparency, reduce delays and further accelerate the digitisation of the property market said the group. The PDTF is an attempt to standardise the collection, storage and redistribution of data in such a way […]