40% of consumers believe structural survey is conveyancer’s responsibility
40% of consumers believe it is the conveyancer who checks the structure of a property is sound during the home moving transaction. 48% were unaware the conveyancer acts on behalf of both them and the mortgage lender, while 2/3rd of respondents said the conveyancer’s role was to transfer the ownership of the property (68%); effect […]
First time buyers face 6.5 year wait to get on the housing ladder
First time buyers (FTBs) need to save for nearly six and a half years to raise funds to purchase their first home according to recently published research. A single person, purchasing a property at the average price of property in the UK (£234,000) with a 10% deposit and covering moving costs including conveyancing, surveying and removals, […]
PEXA UK announce further board additions
The UK arm of PEXA, the Australian property settlement business which launched in the UK in 2022, has announced further additions to it’s board. Nicky Heathcote, current Chair of the Conveyancing Association and former Chief of Staff at the HM Land Registry, and Tim Everest, a banking executive who led the transformation at Pay.UK will […]
CMA announce further commitments to ground rent reductions
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has confirmed that a further 500 households will benefit from commitments to not double ground rents. It has secured undertakings from 8 investment firms who acquired the freeholds from house builders, that they will return ground rents to the original fee amount from when the property was first sold, […]
Government grab for votes may see stamp duty cuts
Housing Secretary Michael Gove has warned the government they face being beaten at the polls in the upcoming election without reform of the housing system. Speaking to a number of national news outlets over the weekend, Gove discussed issues ranging from leasehold and rental reform, making provision for housing in the upcoming budget, new build […]
Housing Minister urges ‘greater pace’ of innovation to transform home buying and selling
Conveyancers have “a central role” in realizing a digital home buying and selling process but innovation needs to happen at a greater pace, the Housing Minister told last week’s Council for Licensed Conveyancers’ (CLC) annual conference. Baroness Penn said that “placing digitalisation at the heart of our home buying and selling reforms has the potential […]
3 in 4 movers “satisfied” with home moving experience
3 in 4 home movers indicated they were “satisfied” with their home moving experience, although “a faster move” and “more frequent communication” featured highly on ways to improve to the conveyancing process. 1 in 3 UK adults would consider themselves to be aware of what conveyancing is; and recommendation remains the largest route to market […]
New sales up 13% after seasonal December slump
The return of seasonality to the property market after the inconsistency of the last couple of years was in evidence in the run up to December, before a positive start to 2024 saw a 13% increase in new sales year-on-year. The latest Propertymark Housing Insight Report, covering December 2023 identifies a fall in the number […]
“Mortgage laden” Gen X won’t clear loans before retirement
Research into Gen X has identified that over a quarter (27%) are not confident they would pay off their mortgage before age 67 with 13% firmly believing they wouldn’t and a further 14% unsure if they could. 45% of those who have a mortgage say it’s taking longer to pay off than hoped throwing a […]
Historic homes’ energy efficiency targeted in new review
A government review into the practicalities of retrofitting historic homes, homes in conservation areas and listed buildings has identified opportunities to remove barriers to effective energy efficiency installations and avoid the “blight of ugly or inappropriate retrofit damaging these properties.” The review, part of the government’s plans to reach Net Zero by 2050, details how […]
Mortgage approvals indicate more people looking to move
Bank of England mortgage approval data suggests that more people may be looking at moving home in the first part of 2024. The latest figures, which show that mortgage approvals for house purchases rose from 47,900 in October to 50,100 in November, must be set against the overall downward trend seen since the peak over […]
22% fall in completions could be the nadir
A further fall in property completions in November 2023 may be the nadir of the property market as forecasters look ahead to 2024 with cautious optimism. November completions were around a quarter down on 2022 and marginally lower than October as the market continues to adjust to the challenges 2023 has presented with high inflation, […]
Higher proportion of new builds classed as “affordable homes”
A decrease in the number of home starts and completions has been blamed on the ongoing impact of the economic downturn. From 1st April to 30th September 2023 Homes England delivered 11,530 new houses starting on site and 11,297 new homes completed down from 14,812 housing starts on site and 12,118 housing completions in 2022. […]
Politics to blame for lowest new build stats in 20 years
Housing supply risks falling to it’s lowest levels since 2014 according to the latest Housing Pipeline Report from the Home Builders Federation, with fewer than 200,000 new build properties forecast to complete in 2024. The report highlights falls in metric around the number of new build sites and the number of units granted planning permission […]
Remortgage activity falls for consecutive month
Remortgage activity has fallen for a consecutive month in the run up to Christmas but there are positive signs for an uplift in Quarter 1 of 2024, according to the latest LMS Monthly Remortgage Snapshot. In a sign that borrowers are keen to fix their payments and take advantage of falling mortgage rates, 36% of […]