Rents down as supply increases

Rents dropped across the residential lettings sector during the last quarter due to the increase in unsellable properties put onto the rental market.
The latest RICS Lettings Survey reports that the net balances of surveyors reporting new instructions to let both flats and houses (an indicator of supply) are now at historical highs.
50% and 68% more [...]

Look out for novice letting agents

A number of estate agents are putting landlords and tenants at risk by turning into letting agents overnight, according to Robinson & Hall. This is largely because some predict around 100,000 estate agents could lose their jobs by the end of 2008.
Plummeting house sales could force one-third of all estate agencies to close, and this [...]

London house price falls slowing

Haart estate agents research has revealed that London house price falls are continuing to slow.
The average price fell by only 0.25% last month, from £248,155 in July to £247,524 in August. House prices have already fallen almost 15% since January but haart believes they are unlikely to drop much further in 2008.
It says the last [...]

House prices plunge 10.5%

House prices are falling at their fastest rate since 1990, when Britain was in the grip of a major economic downturn. The Nationwide’s latest house price index has shown double digit falls for the first time a year after the onset of the credit crunch.
The value of the typical British home fell 1.9% between July [...]

Halifax shuts 53 estate agent branches

Halifax Estate Agents (HEA) is to close 53 branches by the end of the year.
The closure of the 53 branches is likely to mean 100 people will leave the business, which the firm says it hopes will be achieved by “voluntary severance and normal turnover”.
Halifax says that the majority of staff working in branches that [...]

ARLA welcomes Law Commission report

The Association of Residential Letting Agents, ARLA, has welcomed much of The Law Commission report, “Encouraging Responsible Renting.
However, the Association believes that the Commissioners expect more from local authorities for the implementation of their proposals than many will be able to deliver.
The Law Commissioners call for the regulation of letting agents, industry-wide standards and accreditation [...]

Promise reports HIP interest boost

Promise Homepacks has reported a 35% increase in new enquiries since the launch of its ‘No Sale No Fee’ option.
The Promise Homepacks No Sale No Fee or ‘HIP Expenses Guarantee’ facility enables the consumer to order a Home information pack on day one using the Promise Homepacks deferred payment option, providing the consumer with a [...]

A disaster: Estate Agent verdict on HIPs anniversary

HIPs have been a disaster and a hindrance to the homebuyer market, according to the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) one year since their launch. Peter Bolton King, NAEA chief executive, says a debate still rages about whether the timing of the launch helped cripple an “already rocky” property industry.
However, he says housing minister [...]

NAEA says government should learn from US mistakes

The National Association of Estate Agents has urged the government to learn from the US government’s mistakes and act now over the UK housing market slump.
Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the NAEA, says the housing market is the pillar of the UK economy and that it will require creative thinking to ease pressures and [...]

Hamptons see 40% rise in capital’s rental stock

Residential agent Hamptons International is seeing a marked increase in available rental properties across the capital with a 40% rise in rental stock.
Areas such as Chelsea and Tower Bridge are seeing rental stock increase by up to three times as much as the levels experienced this time last year.
Hamptons says rental stock is soaring as [...]