Archive

One key point of difference in the parties’ housing policies during the recent general election campaign was that the Conservative Party...

The new Government’s plan to ‘Get Britain Building’ is ambitious, to say the least.    And it is central to their mission, not...

A political party is pledging that if elected it will make every home in the UK have an EPC rating of...

In what are some of the biggest changes to the residential leasehold sector in the last 21 years since the Commonhold...

So we’ve been sent the ‘Save The Date’ card - it’s July 4. Now all we need is the invitation to the...

A property industry group has called for a reduction in the discounts available for council tenants buying their own home, after...

Last week the Government published new housing data which has largely gone unreported.  The vacuum was probably linked to the Budget, and...

What a waste. Islington council announced in recent days that it will buy back 310 ex-council houses this winter, to add to...

It was a genuine pleasure to read this week about Yorkshire estate agent Ian Bradbury who clocked up 40 years selling...

Time is up for Boris Johnson's tenure as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party, serving 3 years and 44...

In this Guides & Tips piece, the team at Together set out what Right to Buy is and who is eligible. If...

Estate agency trade body Propertymark is hoping to “maintain momentum” with newly appointed Housing Secretary Greg Clark. He replaces Michael Gove, who...

Anyone working in the property market should have at least one eye on supply. Of course, it’s a constant issue for...

The Bank of England’s continued rise in interest rates – the latest being a shift up to 1.25% - is, in...

The government’s new Right to Buy policy for housing association tenants appeared to unravel last night after the Housing Secretary said...

Agency trade body Propertymark has called for the government’s housing market reforms to go further and has even suggested targeted stamp...

This question is not as flippant as it sounds because over recent years the status of the private landlord has taken...

Property professionals and MPs were left wanting more after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s much-anticipated housing announcements yesterday. Johnson yesterday promised a review...

Boris Johnson has promised a review of the mortgage market and housing benefit rules to help more people to get on...

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to unveil a flagship policy today to help more people onto the property ladder. It is...

A significant housing announcement has been promised by Prime Minister Boris Johnson as a part of a sweetener that saw him...

Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently announced that he is considering extending Margaret Thatcher’s Right-to-Buy scheme, that gives council tenants the chance to...

What a difference two months and some local elections make. Cast your minds back to March 9 and the annual report of...

We’ve probably all learned to be a little less cynical about politicians in recent weeks, given the tragic events. We perhaps...

Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond and strategist Sir Lynton Crosby - the architect of many Conservative election campaigns -...

At first sight it’s a tough ask to defend holiday homes when there’s evidence that many who want to buy can’t,...

Local elections rarely set the pulse racing and this year’s poll on Thursday faces a similar problem. But this time, it’s a...

For many, the funeral of HRH Prince Philip will be a solemn affair, while for some it will also be a...

A mortgage broker that’s just become a partner of OnTheMarket is warning that house prices are likely to fall 10 per...

Yes, believe it or not, we’ve nearly reached the end of a whole decade. And what an eventful decade it’s been. We’ve...

With Brexit still unresolved, the domestic agenda has been pushed from the headlines by the seemingly overwhelming public and political discord...

It’s on - although judging by the early lack of enthusiasm amongst the British public, you might be forgiven for thinking...

There’s no doubt that we live in politically charged times and every day appears to bring something new to the ‘party’. For...

In recent years, governments and local councils have sought to change the private rented sector (PRS) to make it more appealing...

Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, who earlier this month told a newspaper that he wanted to introduce a Right To Buy policy for...

The new housing minister has admitted that her party has tried to “put a lid” on house price rises and has...

If you thought - perhaps hoped - that five weeks of prorogued Parliament meant a break from politics, think again: the...

A leading London estate agent has written to The Times dismissing MPs who have been squabbling over Brexit and a possible...

If you’d asked me at the start of the year how I thought the political landscape might look now, I wouldn’t...

Theresa May arrived in Downing Street some three years ago - but her premiership has not been a smooth ride. As she...

With this summer marking forty years since Margaret Thatcher came to power, her legacy continues to invoke both celebration and consternation...

Britain lives in fundamentalist black-and-white times - all the more surprising when the country's most divisive point of contention sits on...

No, this isn’t about Brexit. But as the saga of leaving the EU is likely to bring about the downfall of...

Campaigning groups like Generation Rent and Shelter like to think they are simultaneously edgy and radical; likewise some think tanks believe...

Phil Spencer is on the warpath against “constant tinkering” by government in housing matters - and instead, he wants the problems...

Any day now we’ll hear the date for the Autumn Budget: it may be delayed to wait for a Brexit deal...

A regional pilot has been launched for what is called the Voluntary Right to Buy - a scheme giving housing association...

The government has quietly scrapped a proposal to force councils to sell off their most valuable assets, which would have included...

A new website has been set up specifically to help leasehold flat owners who have been served a Section 5 Notice...

Savills has suggested that it may be time for a fundamental review of what’s left of the flagship policy of Margaret...

Theresa May has appointed a controversial former Shelter executive as her new housing policy adviser working in Whitehall. Toby Lloyd was until...

Right To Buy is unsustainable without local councils being given the right to set discounts for their areas and replacing every...

The Advertising Standards Authority has told the organisers of a house raffle that they must not repeat a promotion because of...

In this week’s Natter I’m going to get all political. Don’t worry, I won’t be giving my opinions on Brexit, Trump...

Property has been changing hands for centuries, but when did estate agents as we know them today – with their branches,...

Government schemes like Help To Buy, supposedly assisting more people get on the ladder, have little impact on improving social mobility...

The controversial raffle of a home reportedly purchased in 2014 under the Right To Buy scheme for just £360,000 is back...

Theresa May’s call for a snap general election on June 8 took many by surprise. But estate agents have been broadly...

The Green Party, one of the final political groups to launch their manifesto for the June 8 General Election, wants an end...

The Conservatives have this morning announced a reform of the house buying process in the party’s manifesto for the June 8...

The Liberal Democrats have set a building target of 300,000 new homes a year, have pledged to scrap housing association Right...

Since the seventies, housing starts and completions across England and Wales have been on a downward trajectory. The long run average...

An investigation by the BBC has revealed that councils are spending million buying back homes they sold at a discount under...

Wales is the latest part of the UK to formally scrap the policy which was once the flagship of Margaret Thatcher’s...

Forecasts are so last year: who anticipated Bowie, Brexit or Balls for example? Quotes, on the other hand, really ARE last year...

In case you missed it yesterday, here’s a summary of everything relating to property that was in Chancellor Phillip Hammond’s Autumn...

It may still be too early to start compiling a Christmas wish list, but it is the right time to provide...

Working relationships between estate agents and conveyancers can be mutually beneficial with the referral of work between parties. However, they are missing...

The huge rush to acquire buy-to-let property in the first quarter of the year ahead of the stamp duty change deadline...

If you want an indicator that the United Kingdom isn’t so united any more, have a look at Right To Buy. The...

Councils have started replacing just one sixth of the number of homes sold under Right To Buy in England in the...

Wales has confirmed that it is to scrap the former flagship Thatcherite policy of Right To Buy. Since 1980, 138,423 homes have been...

Right To Buy - the controversial sell-off of council and housing association homes initially introduced as a flagship of Margaret Thatcher’s...

I’m indebted to one of the most enthusiastic estate agents I’ve had the pleasure of meeting for suggesting the subject of...

A man has been prosecuted for fraudulently attempting to purchase a Right To Buy council property from one of the local...

The race to replace London Mayor Boris Johnson has entered its final few days, and like never before, housing is the...

Government figures claim almost 50,000 households in council and other forms of social housing have taken up their Right To Buy...

Bungalows are likely to be sold-off as a by-product the government’s plans to extend Right To Buy, but are unlikely to...

As we all know, Peter Redfern is critical to the future of the British housing market and.... What? Wait? You don’t know...

So this weekend some of us will see our first snow of the season. Harsh weather, Christmas adverts and winter generally...

Over the next five years at least 70,000 new households a year in England alone will be unable to afford to...

The government is telling councils to produce local plans for new homes in their area by 2017 – or Whitehall will...

The party's over. It's probably the best double entendre in the world of politics right now. For centre or right-leaning Labour...

London agency Barnard Marcus has secured what is believed to be a record sale price for a former council flat -...

Labour leadership front-runner Jeremy Corbyn says he would vote for a complete end to all forms of Right To Buy and...

Competition is hot among home buyers in my part of southern England to take ownership of properties that come onto the...

The House of Lords has set the cat amongst the pigeons on the government proposal to give housing association tenants the...

The Chancellor, George Osborne, has announced a series of measures impacting on the property industry, including:   Mortgage interest relief for buy-to-let homebuyers...

The government says it will publish an action plan this week to explain how it is going to implement some of...

The Financial Times says London Mayor and new Conservative MP Boris Johnson is lobbying the government in a bid to persuade...

The government claims that over 36,000 new home owners have been created through Right to Buy since 2012. Figures released by the...

The  new government has announced its legislative plans for housing in the coming year.  In the first all-Conservative Queen’s Speech since 1996,...

The Conservative Party’s manifesto pledge to extend the Right to Buy scheme was confirmed in yesterday’s Housing Bill.  The Bill was part...

Hunters founder and new Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake says he supports the Tory policy of extending Right To Buy to housing...

I write this article on the day of the General Election so you’ll forgive the political analogies. In particular, how any...

Margaret Thatcher may have given the country Right To Buy and David Cameron has created Help To Buy but when it...

With another hung parliament looking increasingly likely, the so-called ‘challenger parties’ look set to have a major say in who forms...

Former Conservative housing minister Kris Hopkins warned two years ago that allowing housing associations to sell their stock was a policy...