NAEA Propertymark has renewed its warning that a cliff-edge threatens housing market stability as the stamp duty holiday ends. The organisation’s outgoing chief executive Mark Hayward says: “The pressure of completing sales ahead of the Stamp Duty holiday ending means that we have seen the number of potential buyers and the… Read More »Agents still worried about cliff-edge threat to stamp duty holiday
The housing market in England and Wales is stabilising, according to analysis of web traffic from a property advice site. Valuation requests on Property Price Advice are now roughly in line with the four-year average, having fallen back from their early summer level of almost 70 per cent above the… Read More »Valuations and transactions cooling as tougher Tiers arrive
Property tax rises and falling house prices look as if they are on the way according to the small print accompanying yesterday’s Spending Review by Chancellor Rishi Sunak. No tax increases were mentioned yesterday but the Office of Budget Responsibility, which oversaw the Sunak statement, says: “Our central forecast shows… Read More »Property tax rises and falling house prices coming in 2021
Today sees the government’s Spending Review, with Chancellor Rishi Sunak taking centre stage as he presents a 12 month spending plan to MPs. Although traditionally such spending reviews are not opportunities to change taxes – that’s reserved for the annual Budget, which is not scheduled until next year – there has… Read More »Sunak’s Big Day: “Don’t make knee-jerk property tax rises” he’s told
Agents should know in the next 36 hours how new Coronavirus restrictions will affect how they work. The Prime Minister is announcing tougher Tier restrictions to operate from the end of the England lockdown on December 2. Under the current England-wide lockdown agents have been able to work in branches but… Read More »Tougher Corona restrictions: Agents to be told how market will work
It may make little difference to agents but a leading analyst suggests thousands of buyers have effectively lost money on their purchase – even if they complete in time to secure the full stamp duty holiday saving. PropTech analyst and market commentator Anthony Codling, in a post on his website Twindig,… Read More »Price rises overtake stamp duty holiday savings in many places
The director of a conveyancing technology company has hit out at what he calls “an over-reliance on outdated processes” and “age-old search delays” for hold-ups in processing transactions in the housing market. Andy Sommerville, director of Search Acumen, says the now well-publicised combination of pent up demand from the spring… Read More »Conveyancer attacks “outdated” and “age old processes”
Countrywide, which is thought to have closed over a fifth of its branches in recent years, has opened a new office in London. It’s been widely publicised throughout the industry – but without detailed comment from the company itself – that some 50-plus Countrywide branches have closed this year alone.… Read More »Countrywide opens a new branch after 50 closures this year
Transactions appear to be edging higher than in 2019 for the first time this year – despite lockdowns and concerns caused by Coronavirus. Comparison site GetAgent says transaction volumes across the whole of the UK were just 0.7 per cent lower in September 2020 than at the same month last… Read More »Transaction volumes edging higher than 2019 despite Covid
A new report funded by high profile consumer champion Martin Lewis says the government must do more to help ‘mortgage prisoners’. These are existing home owners who are unable to remortgage to a cheaper deal with another lender because they don’t meet strict borrowing criteria brought in after the 2008… Read More »TV consumer champion demands action to free ‘mortgage prisoners’
