The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), the residential sales arm of the National Federation of Property Professionals (NFOPP), is disappointed that first day marketing is not going to be scrapped completely, but welcomes the move by the Minister for Housing and Planning to work with the industry to make HIPs more effective. Peter Bolton King, [...]

The government has announced that the final roll-out of its controversial home information pack (HIP) scheme will be delayed further. The Government announced a new package of measures which it says will help ensure consumers are seeing the vital information in Home Information Packs and are receiving a higher standard of service in the home buying [...]

The Council of Mortgage Lenders has said it was unsurprised by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee's decision to keep rates on hold at 5%. Michael Coogan, CML director general, commented: "We understand the conflict between slowing economic growth and rising inflationary pressures, and the uncertainty over some of the data reflected in the split [...]

The European Central Bank has decided to keep interest rates within the eurozone at 4.0%, the 11th consecutive month without a rate change. High inflation, a record 3.6% in March, as a result of high food and fuel prices is seen as the reason why interest rates have remained unchanged. However, some analysts are expecting interest [...]

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has decided to keep UK interest rates on hold at 5.0%. Despite a flood of data pointing to a downward trend in the economy, the Bank was widely expected to keep interest rates on hold after cutting them by a quarter of a percentage point in April. The Bank of [...]

A major new package of investment in housing, jobs, infrastructure, community facilities and green spaces is set to rejuvenate areas of east London and transform the lives of people living there, announced Housing and Planning Minister Caroline Flint. Improving the quality of life for residents and creating a sense of community is at the heart [...]

17% of people think the current economic situation is good - less than half of the level that thought the economy was in good shape before the credit crunch and Northern Rock issues arose (36%) new research has said. Nationwide's Consumer Confidence Index also found that consumers have become more gloomy on the house market, with [...]

The Woolwich has become the latest big lender to demand at least a 10% deposit from all new borrowers. Barclays mortgage lending arm announced Thursday May 8th the company, which operates as the mortgage arm of Barclays bank, said that it's decision affects three deals it offered with a 5% deposit - a lifetime tracker, a [...]

Some 4.7 million UK adults do not have any home contents insurance, new research from Sainsbury's Home Insurance has revealed. Those living in London are most at risk from not having contents cover, with 22% of the adult population in the capital opting to do without this. Worryingly, a further 5% of those in London were [...]

The National Landlords Association (NLA), the UK's leading representative body for landlords, has urged private-residential landlords to use the Landlord's Energy Saving Allowance (LESA), a tax break allowing landlords to claim on their tax return against the cost of buying and installing energy saving items. Landlords are able to claim a maximum of £1,500 per property [...]

Lloyds TSB has announced the second stage of its AIRMILES partnership, with the launch of an AIRMILES mortgage. Customers who opt for the new AIRMILES product will receive a lump sum of 6000 airmiles on completion of their mortgage and will earn an additional 50 airmiles each month for the life of the fixed rate. The AIRMILES [...]

The residents of Chiltern have the best quality of life in rural Great Britain with them being the healthiest and best paid, with the highest life expectancy rates of 80 years for newborns. The claim comes as part of research in Halifax Estate Agents "Rural" Areas Quality of Life Survey. The first survey of the kind [...]

The National Landlords Association (NLA), the UK's leading representative body for landlords, has responded to further calls for the adoption of a large institution-driven, US-style branded rental market in the UK by warning that it could leave the vulnerable 'out in the cold'. Yet more proposals to incentivise large institutions to invest intensively in rental accommodation [...]

Following the release of the Halifax house price index confirming an annual fall of 0.9% in April, Peter Bolton King, Chief Executive of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), has said that for some regions house prices are increasing. Mr Bolton King said: "Whilst the report shows a modest decline in prices, this is a [...]

The decline in house prices is driven by a squeeze on spending power and the rapid rise in house prices in the last few years, Halifax has said as it reports a fall in asking prices during April. House prices fell by 1.3% in April leaving prices 0.9% lower on an annual basis. Halifax said that [...]

Up to 98% of new homes, built by private developers, will be sold on the open market despite getting a 'nil rating' for environmental sustainability, the National Housing Federation has warned. Under new building regulations, private developers will have to have their homes rated against the Code for Sustainable Homes, as part of an effort to [...]

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), the residential sales arm of the National Federation of Property Professionals (NFOPP), has welcomed the news in the Bank of England's financial stability report that predicts a resurgence in confidence over the coming months. Peter Bolton King, Chief Executive, NAEA, comments: "It should certainly come as a great boost [...]

CML director general Michael Coogan has echoed Mervyn King's comments to the Treasury Select Committee, when he emphasised that the Bank of England's special liquidity scheme is designed to improve liquidity in the banking system, not to support the housing market. Mr Coogan observed: "If it is used widely, as I expect it to be, [...]

Following the release of the Nationwide house price report Peter Bolton King, the Chief Executive of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), has said that news of a fall in house prices needs to be placed into context. Mr Bolton King said: "This needs to be put into context. We have been experiencing huge price [...]

The weakness in the housing market continued to impact during April, with Nationwide reporting the first year-on-year fall in house prices since 1996. The building society reported a fall in prices of 1.1% in April, which is also down 1% from the levels seen in April 2007. April was the sixth consecutive month that house prices [...]