The recent OFT report into estate agency has led Gary Smith, president of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) to write an open letter to the Office of Fair Trading regarding possible loosening of regulations to further facilitate the involvement of Tesco in the property market.
NAEA reconciliation with HIPs as OFT report is questioned?
February 25th, 2010 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Home Information Packs, Property Market, UK Property News 6 Comments »
Has the Property Market learnt from the House Price Crash?
February 2nd, 2010 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Property Market, UK Property News 6 Comments »
The property market is starting to recover from the recent housing crash witnessed and experienced around the world. However, it is a start of a recovery and certainly in our minds has not ‘recovered’ as some would like us to believe will happen very shortly or has actually happened and we just missed it.
The economic meltdown caused by the banking crisis will no doubt continue to affect the property market for some time (unless it was really caused by the introduction of HIPs) though the phoenix could rise out of the flames with some new and improved solid foundations. This possibility does potentially bring some questions to the forefront;
Nationwide – 2010 The End of House Price Rises?
December 2nd, 2009 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Property Market, UK Property News 1 Comment »
The Nationwide have released data indicating that house prices rose by 0.5% during November 2009. The data seemingly supports house price forecasters who expect that the rate of house price rises will diminish over coming months with possible retreat of prices during 2010.
Why now is the time to buy property
October 21st, 2009 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Property Market, UK Property News 1 Comment »
Investors have identified that now is an opportune time to invest in property. A recent survey conducted by the Property Investor Show & OPP Live reveals that while only 16.1 per cent of investors purchased UK or overseas property in the last six months, over double this number intend to invest in property in the next six months and are currently searching for the right opportunity.
Summer benefits both sellers and landlords
September 29th, 2009 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Property Market, UK Property News No Comments »
London Sales
Unsurprisingly, demand is exceeding supply with homebuyers retracted into their shells for the traditional summer calm this August. The figures this year indicate a certain tidal change compared to the same period in 2008. Across London properties, the amount of offers being made went up 60% on an annual basis while exchanges 78%.
Will Home Information Packs (HIPs) be ‘scrapped’?
September 3rd, 2009 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in EPC, Home Information Packs, News, Property Conveyancing, UK Property News 21 Comments »
The Conservative party has made no pretence about its desire to ‘scrap’ Home Information Packs (HIPs) should as is likely it gain power in spring of next year. Is this a credible policy which can be backed with intellectual argument or is it simply an easy way of trying to win the populist vote?
In this article I will look at both sides of the argument and will, despite my vested interest in seeing the HIP retained, try and provide a balanced analysis of the issues.
Nationwide – house prices rise again
August 28th, 2009 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Mortgages, Property Market, UK Property News No Comments »
Nationwide have published their monthly report stating that house prices have risen for the fourth consecutive month. In August, it is claimed that we have seen property prices increase by 1.6% making the average house price in the country £160,000. However, is this the recovery most are looking for?
New Experimental Property Search Engine
August 4th, 2009 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Property Market, Property Portals, UK Property News 1 Comment »
House hunters searching online for property can now benefit from a new search engine which uses text entries to find the most suitable match rather than traditional drop-down filter menus. Gartoo, which launches today, is based on ‘semantic search’ – advanced technology which disseminates search according to words entered by the user to find the most accurate fit.
New properties to the housing market are more likely to sell
July 30th, 2009 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Property Market, UK Property News 2 Comments »
In comparison to last year, recent studies in the property market have indicated that new properties for sale on the market are far more likely to be sold in this year.
New research indicates that owners are almost twice as likely to sell their flats and houses this month than they would have been when the market was at its highest. The number of people applying to buy has augmented by about 40% compared to May last year. A simultaneous fall in the number of new property being introduced to the market (about 31% since May 08) has clearly changed the balance between available property and the demand for it. As a result a noticeable advantage has emerged for sellers.
Estate agent turns to witchcraft
July 29th, 2009 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Property Market, UK Property News 2 Comments »
An estate agent in Somerset has been succesful in her job application to become a Witch at a tourist attraction in Somerset.
After watching BBC news yesterday morning and the reported results of the job interview later that evening; it just could not go without a mention due to the amusing nature of the story witch is sure to raise a smile.
