The Competitions and Markets Authority has started court proceedings seeking the disqualification of two estate agency directors over a price fixing scandal. The CMA has this afternoon announced that it has issued proceedings in the High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts seeking the disqualification of: – Stephen Jones,… Read More »Agency cartel scandal – watchdog wants agent directors disqualified
Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Conquering Corona, our daily update helping the industry cope with the current crisis. If you have appropriate advice to share with the industry, please email us on press@estateagenttoday.co.uk and we’ll let other agents and suppliers see it too. Firstly today there’s an offer by… Read More »Conquering Corona – portal offer, live events, mental health help
Two auctions held behind closed doors have been deemed a success, and evidence that the property market can still function despite the lockdown. Savills has held its first ever remote-bidding-only auction, run by a single auctioneer supported by almost 30 staff working remotely connected using technology. Over the course of… Read More »Auction success shows property sector can still thrive – claim
One of London’s most experienced estate agents says there has been a very significant surge in foreclosure sales in part of the capital’s housing market – even before the Coronavirus outbreak began. Marc Schneiderman is the director of Arlington Residential, an independent agency that offers sales and lettings at the… Read More »Big surge in distress sales even before virus – top agent
Two property portals insist they’re going to launch this spring despite the Coronavirus chaos effectively closing down much of the housing market. OpenBrix has been 18 months in the making and says it’s finally launching at an unspecified date in early April. It says it’s seeking to address what it… Read More »Two new portals set to launch despite Coronavirus chaos
The latest research by Deposit Replacement Scheme, Ome, has found that the impact of the Coronavirus could cost buy to let landlords nearly £14.9bn should tenants be unable to pay rent during the three month support period announced by the government yesterday. Last night the government announced that they would… Read More »Coronavirus outbreak could cost the buy to let sector £14.9bn in three short months
Leading lettings and sales agent, Benham and Reeves, has released the latest of its very own quarterly house price index based on data from the top four existing indices, looking at where the average house price sits and how the gap between buyer and seller expectation and actual sales has… Read More »House price gap between sellers and buyers reduces
The key figure behind the Say No To Rightmove campaign says the fight for more realistic fees goes on – and agents are still joining the campaign hour by hour. The portal caved in to pressure from agents a week ago and agreed a short-term 75 per cent fees reduction to… Read More »Say No To Rightmove – the fight goes on says campaign leader
It’s been reported that the government is talking with banks and building societies about putting the housing market ‘on ice’ during the virus crisis to avoid a crash and to allow financial institutions to offer mortgages. Today’s Financial Times says UK Finance – the trade body representing mortgage lenders – has told… Read More »Housing market could be ‘frozen’ to avoid Coronavirus crash
Rightmove has this morning told its shareholders it is “taking appropriate measures” to shore up the company. It gives no indication of what those measures are but it says in a trading statement released at 7am today: “In this period of unprecedented uncertainty, we are unable to quantify the impact of… Read More »Rightmove “taking appropriate measures” to shore up company
