Marginal Decrease In March Transaction Figures
The property market remained resilient in March despite the lockdown induced property freeze at the end of the month. There were 99,440 residential property transactions in March, a marginal 0.3 per cent rise from March 2019 and a slight 0.2 per cent decrease on February’s transactions, according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) data. On […]
Equity Release Reaches £4 Billion In 2019
Despite economic uncertainty caused by Brexit and a winter election, £3.92 billion of property wealth was withdrawn using equity release products in 2019. According to the Equity Release Council’s ‘Spring 2020 Equity Release Market Report’, 44,234 customers withdrew £1.81 billion in the final half of last year compared with 41,263 equity release plans in the […]
Learning From Lessons North Of The Border
“Learning from lessons North of the border”, by Jack Spearman, Executive Director, Long Harbour The Government is moving in opposite directions with its efforts to reform the leasehold market on one hand, whilst also strengthening protection for residents via building and fire safety regulations. Removing professional oversight in high-rise apartment blocks will not only leave […]
NLIS Hub Fully Operational During COVID-19 Pandemic
With 318 of the 336 LA Local Land Charges Departments operational during the pandemic, NLIS channels can continue to access search data for conveyancer clients as normal. April 21 2020 Latest figures from Land Data, the National Land Information Service (NLIS) regulator, confirms the vast majority of LA Local Land Charges departments in England and […]
Diary Of A Highstreet Conveyancer – Monday April 20
Monday So after having cleared out my filing cabinet and tidied my desk drawers, I got to thinking about what is going to happen. I am sure that like a lot of firms, I have a lot of clients who are patiently waiting for the restricted movement measures to be lifted so that they can […]
Government Initiatives To Revive Fragile Property Sector
How can the property market most easily recover once lockdown measures have been eased? There is no denying that the world is forever changed by the global pandemic we are all living through. Pressing pause on the world’s market place does not mean that business wakes up, dusts itself down and resumes like the past […]
21% More Property Sector Businesses In Critical Distress
Over half a million businesses are now in significant financial distress with the real estate and property sector amongst the worst hit. 2,289 businesses are now in critical distress, a precursor for insolvency. This figure represented a 10 per cent increase in the opening quarter alone. The research has also suggested that governmental interventions have […]
Future Climate Info’s Data Quality And Processes Praised In External Audit
Independent audit by renowned environmental consultancy reveals robust and secure approach to residential and commercial property risk reporting. Future Climate Info (FCI), the innovative environmental risk report provider, recently invited Ashfield Solutions to undertake a detailed, independent examination of FCI’s reports, data and quality processes. While FCI was confident that reports complied with industry good […]
Baker Ashley Solicitors Choose Hoowla Case Management
Baker Ashley Solicitors choose Hoowla case management to keep them efficient, effective and productive. Hoowla’s legal case management and full accounts functionality have allowed Baker Ashley Solicitors in Pontypridd to focus on business growth while providing a modern and tailored service to clients. As a new law firm with big ambitions, Baker Ashley Solicitors were […]
Diary Of A Highstreet Conveyancer – 16th – 17th April
Thursday The week after Easter is usually really busy – but in this new way of working, it is becoming like any other week. But remember it is an opportunity to catch up on other things. We all have those little jobs in the office that we need to do. After dealing with the emails […]
Will Market Freeze Extend Help To Buy Deadlines?
The market freeze caused by social distancing measures is prompting many to claim that Help to Buy deadlines should be pushed back in order to facilitate many delayed transactions. Help to Buy is scheduled to change next year and will only be available to first-time buyers. However, the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) are concerned […]
Search Activity Increases Slightly After Weeks Of Decline
Although social distancing restrictions have led to difficult but inevitable declines in activity over recent weeks, the last week ended with a number of surprising increases in daily activity. According to Twenty7Tec’s activity monitor, purchase searches had increased by 13.13 per cent and mortgage searches rose by 4.96 per cent when compared with Thursday a […]
Free CPD Webinars For Conveyancers
Stewart Title, a leading provider of Title Insurance products, is pleased to announce that it will be offering a series of complimentary webinars aimed at helping lawyers deal with some of the challenges COVID-19 has brought to residential property transactions. Stewart Title has partnered with Ian Quayle, a renowned speaker on legal topics, to provide […]
Property Searches Unavailable In 24 Council Areas
Property searches are currently unavailable in 24 council areas and some have introduced new charges for providing information remotely to search providers. The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has praised the majority of local authorities and councils for maintaining search continuity despite offices closing and people working remotely. CoPSO has claimed that less than […]
Convey Law’s Commercial Perspective During Coronavirus Outbreak
Convey Law explain how their robust disaster recovery plan and proactive use of governmental support is helping their employees and business thrive in a post-coronavirus property sector. Following the stalling of UK transactions, many people have speculated on the impact the virus will have on the conveyancing sector and wider property market in a post-virus […]
Estate Agents Amongst First Wave Of Businesses To Reopen
The Sun newspaper and Daily Star have claimed that estate agents could be amongst the first wave of high street businesses permitted to reopen as the government look at a workable exit strategy for the UK economy. The report written for government by Conservative peer Lord Gadhia and Sir Jonathan Symonds, GlaxoSmithKline’s chairperson, identified a […]
New Build Developer Barratt Cautious
In a stock market announcement this morning Barratt, the new homes developer, announced that they have completed on 1349 new build homes between 23rd March and 12 April 2020 but they “expect any further home completions and reservations to be very limited.” With their site sales offices and construction sites all closed and 85% of […]
Remortgaging Activity Improving And Stable
Recent indications suggest remortgaging volumes are improving after significant falls following the introduction of social distancing restrictions. Although new case volumes decreased by 14 per cent in the week commencing April 6 from the week previous and 18.9 per cent since March 16, there were signs that remortgaging activity was starting to pick up again, […]
Majority Of Stakeholders Still Looking To Move Post-Virus
A survey looking at consumer sentiment suggests that buyers and sellers are still looking to renew their interest as soon as restrictions are lifted. According to Reallymoving, 75 per cent of property stakeholders in the early stages of planning to move have indicated they will continue to resume the process as soon as they are […]
Landmark Provides Helping Hand To Property Conveyancers During Coronavirus Outbreak
Landmark Information, the property, land and environmental data specialist, has extended a free re-ordering service on all of its RiskView Residential environmental report orders, which is available to property conveyancers up to 12-months after the original order was made. As Landmark’s gold-standard all-in-one legal environment report, RiskView Residential is used by property lawyers to check […]
