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Almost two-thirds of homebuyers who used the government’s Help to Buy scheme could have bought a home without it, an official report has said. However, they may not have been able to buy the house they wanted without the help, the report from the National Audit Office (NAO) found. It also found that one in […]

Mr Brokenshire said his party should champion economic freedom Calls by the Housing Secretary for people to be able to use their pension savings to get onto the housing ladder have sparked a row within government. James Brokenshire said people who had saved into occupational pensions should be free to spend the proceeds when they […]

A North-South divide has opened up when comparing house prices, according to official figures. Property values fell by 1.9% in London in the year to March, but rose by 3.6% in Yorkshire and Humberside, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. House prices in Scotland recorded a 3.3% increase over the same period, the data […]

UK house prices picked up in April following a fall in values the previous month, according to the country’s biggest mortgage lender. The Halifax, part of Lloyds Banking Group, said property values rose by 1.1% in April compared with March when prices fell 1.25%. The annual rate of growth almost doubled with house prices up […]

This is a sharp rise from the £1.36 million estate agents paid out last year. The largest single payout from an estate agent came to £25,000, while the largest payout from a letting agent totalled £16,291. In its annual report, the Ombudsman revealed it had seen a 22 per cent jump in enquiries from consumers, […]

Home owners trying to take their second step on the property ladder face a typical price gap of more than £135,000 to make the leap, a report has found. The Lloyds Bank Second Stepper report found people who have previously been first-time buyers who are now looking to trade up typically live in a home […]

House prices are lower in England compared with a year ago – the first annual fall in property values since 2012, according to the Nationwide. In the first three months of the year, prices in England were down 0.7% from the same period in 2018. But the building society said that annual house price rises […]

Annual house price growth remained soft at 0.7% in March, according to Nationwide. The average price of properties was £213,102, compared to £211,304 in February. London remained the weakest performing region, with prices 3.8% lower than the same period in the previous year. It also marked the seventh consecutive quarter where prices have been in […]

The UK’s leasehold system has left a number of householders in unsellable and un-mortgageable homes and changes are needed, a committee of MPs says. Often leaseholders in new-build properties are treated as a source of profit, the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee (HCLG) says. It says the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) should investigate […]

Buyers and sellers are “sitting tight” as Brexit uncertainty continues to freeze the UK property market, surveyors have said. Some 77% of members asked by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said that the Brexit impasse was holding back activity. New buyer enquiries, sales, and homes being put on the market all fell in […]