Blog
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Is the market returning?????
The supply of homes for sale has hit a five year high with 20% more homes on the market versus last year, new day data from Zoopla has revealed. Compared to spring 2022, the property websites says supply has improved the most in Cornwall (+159%), North Kesteven, Lincolnshire (+155%) and…
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Interest rates could be coming down
There are promising signs for rate watchers hoping for an earlier interest rate cut, with new data pointing to a cooling economy. UK inflation has fallen to its lowest level in two and a half years, as price pressures continue to ease. The consumer prices index has dropped to 3.2%…
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Estate agents would be forced to finish higher education under Labour plans
Estate agents would have to go back to school and achieve minimum level of qualifications as part of Labour plans to drive cowboy operators out of the housing market. Labour’s shadow housing minister Matthew Pennycook has tabled an amendment to incoming housing reforms which would require all estate agents to…
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Why do Solicitors tend to exchange on Fridays
What proportion of exchanges take place on a Friday? Turns out that over the last three years, on average, the proportion of exchanges increases through the days of the week, starting from 14% on Mondays through to a high of 28% of Friday. So that sorts that. Our social media…
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HSBC looking to offer 40 year terms!!!!!!!!!!
HSBC yesterday announced a policy change, increasing its maximum mortgage term from 35 to 40 years. The lender said the criteria changes, which covers all lending types including purchase, remortgaging and additional borrowing, will come into effect through mortgage brokers today. Customers making direct applications will be able to apply…
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Estate agent slams ‘doomsayers’ forecasting a potential crash in house prices
Ignore the negative market headlines because the UK’s property market is booming – if you know where to look. Lomond says it wants to “counterpunch” a gathering storm of negative headlines focused on the UK property sector by pointing out that its letting portfolio has increased 8%, while sales have…
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Estate agents face going bust due to slow conveyancers, warns law firm
A number of estate agency practices are at risk of going out of business due to the amount of time conveyancers are taking to complete property transactions, according to national law firm Dutton Gregory. The highest interest rates for 15 years have taken some heat out of the housing market,…
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Lenders report biggest increase in mortgage defaults since 2009
Mortgage lenders saw a sharp rise in the number of homeowners defaulting on their loans in the three months to the end of June, and expect significantly more borrowers to miss payments overt he next few months, owed to higher borrowing rates. The Bank of England’s Credit Conditions Survey, published…
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Interest rate increasing
Interest rates raised to 4.25% by Bank of England – property industry reaction
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The New Budget
Given that the Budget yesterday was designed to boost economic growth, it was somewhat surprising that housing was completely overlooked. Not even given a mention by the chancellor Jeremy Hunt. With no fresh support for first-time buyers, a failure to provide solutions to the widening supply-demand imbalance in the market,…
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Government responds to petition for landlord tax relief to be reinstated
Mortgage interest relief changes, the scrapping of the ‘wear and tear’ allowance and the introduction of the 3% stamp duty surcharge have hit landlords’ profits over the past few of years, which largely explains why so many people are exiting the buy-to-let market and in doing so reducing the supply…
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New Years resolutions
👉You don’t have to set any New Year resolutions but if the new year tends to be the time that you set new goals or projects for yourself, here is what the science says about willpower and how to make those new changes stick: Our ability to force ourselves…
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Lending on properties with cladding
Some of the country’s largest banks will consider mortgage applications for some flats with dangerous cladding from January, in a sigh of relief for thousands of people stuck in properties they have not been able to sell or remortgage. Lenders withdrew mortgage provisions for unsafe flats following the Grenfell Tower disaster,…
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A relatively soft landing is achievable for the housing market in 2023, says Nationwide
The residential property market is struggling to regain momentum following the disastrous mini-Budget in September but a ‘soft landing’ is still possible, according to Nationwide. The lender is predicting property prices will drop by around 5% next year, which is rather modest compared to projections made by some other market…
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Banks set to ease mortgage lending rules as part of major overhaul
Mortgage lending rules look set to be relaxed as part of the biggest shake-up of UK banking regulation for more than 30 years. The government is widely expected to announce a major overhaul of financial controls, including easing of restrictions on banks introduced after the financial crisis in 2008 when…
