HOUSING NEWS

Four of the UK’s largest housebuilders are being investigated after “troubling evidence” was uncovered over the way leaseholds were sold. Barratt Developments, Countryside Properties, Persimmon Homes and Taylor Wimpey face action from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Buyers have argued that they were caught in a leasehold trap, with rising ground rents and unfair […]

The chancellor’s policy of suspending of stamp duty on the first £500,000 of all property sales in England and Northern Ireland has helped boost house prices. August saw the highest monthly price rise in more than 16 years, says the Nationwide. It describes the housing market recovery as “unexpectedly rapid.” So what has Chancellor Rishi […]

Pent-up demand has led to properties taking less time to sell since the height of lockdown, according to research. In the 90 days to mid-August, a three-bedroom home has typically sold in 24 days, property portal Zoopla said. This is 12 days quicker than the same period a year ago. All types of property have […]

Lenders have withdrawn almost 2,700 mortgage deals since the beginning of March, reducing borrower choice by close to 50 per cent, analysis revealed. At 1 August, there were 2,526 mortgage products on the market, a drop of 2,696 since 1 March and a 202 product decline month-on-month. And as banks’ mortgage ranges shrink, interest rates […]

House prices bounced back in July, climbing 1.7% during the month compared to a 1.5% fall in June, according to the Nationwide. “The bounce back in prices reflects the unexpectedly rapid recovery in housing market activity since the easing of lockdown restrictions,” it said. Activity has been boosted by pent-up demand and the stamp duty […]

The government has extended two key Help to Buy deadlines by two months, but the present scheme is still set to formally end on 31 March as scheduled….   The deadline for homes to be finished to comply with the Help to Buy scheme in England has been extended until 28 February 2021, although the […]

HSBC is no longer accepting furlough workers who have no return to work date or where the return is more than three months away… The lender is the latest to toughen criteria related to employees who have been put on paid leave from their job. However, HSBC is still accepting applications from workers on furlough […]

Summer property sales in the UK were nearly a third lower than last year despite a pick up since the housing market reopened. A total of 68,670 residential properties were sold in June, data from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) shows. This was down 31.5% on the same month a year ago, but up 50% […]

“When I found out that we were going to have a stamp duty holiday, I jumped for joy,” says Sally Stuart. The Salford-based university lecturer reckons the chancellor’s announcement on Wednesday will save her and her husband about £8,000. “We’re in the middle of buying our £346,000 dream home and have agreed a completion date […]

The number of private tenants in England who have fallen behind on rent has doubled during the coronavirus pandemic, new research suggests. Polling for housing charity Shelter estimated 226,785 are now in arrears despite having been up to date in March, out of a total of 442,403. It said the figures showed the need for […]