Author: Benjamin

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: An estate agent from Cheshire has completed another trip to Ukraine, having travelled to the war-torn country several times to take food to people in need. Gary Fear, who works in Nantwich, says he has raised more than £100,000 for the venture since 2022, with his next trip taking place next month. A concert raising funds for his project will take place at Nantwich Civic Hall on 3 May. The event, entitled Resilient Ukraine, will be hosted by author and former BBC newsreader Diana Mather. “This war is now in…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: Adam Day Hybrid estate agency eXp UK has now signed up more than 700 estate agents with the firm expected to expand further later this year, the company has revealed. Launched in November 2019, the digitally-focused platform initially signed up 50 agents but now has over agents on board, as more agents seek self-employment with a view to managing their own business. The latest announcement comes less than a year since eXp UK launched its brokerage model – designed to convert existing branch-based estate agency businesses to the use of self-employed…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: A man has been sentenced after threatening an estate agent with a paving slab. Michael Beckett, 66, has been jailed for 10 months after picking up the concrete block after warning the female agent that she needed “a good slap around the head”. Norwich Magistrates’ Court heard that he had threatened to attack the estate agent on 16 January 16 during a confrontation as she attempted to help him to put his house up for sale. Josephine Jones, prosecuting, said he later told police “she drove me to it” and…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: Residential properties in England and Wales spend an average of 36 days on the market before a sale is agreed, according to new data from Zoopla. Over half – 52% – of sales are agreed within the first two months of a home being listed, a 3% increase from last year (49%). To complete a sale, sellers and buyers will typically need another 4-6 months, depending on the complexity of the transaction. There are significant regional variations in the time to sell, with available stock, demand and pricing all playing…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has announced a new partnership with waste removal platform Litta, offering its members discounted access to on-demand clearance services across the UK. Litta will provide NRLA members with 5% off all waste removal bookings. The service includes same-day or next-day collections and live tracking of waste, from pickup to disposal. The partnership is designed to help landlords manage issues such as rubbish left behind by tenants, furniture removal, garden waste and DIY debris. Litta also handles commercial waste, white goods and electrical items, and…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: Digital lettings platform Goodlord has reported more than 40% revenue growth for the financial year ending March 2025. The company said it now supports “over 3,500 letting agent brands, hundreds of thousands of landlords, and well over one million tenants”. According to CEO William Reeve, the firm was profitable on an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) basis, and the latest figures reflect long-term investment in product development and a growing demand for technology-led solutions in the lettings sector. Reeve said the business has reached a “milestone moment”,…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: James Cleland Sellers in the UK’s country housing market are being urged to price realistically this spring, as demand softens and wider economic uncertainty weighs on buyer sentiment. According to Knight Frank’s latest Country House Price Index – which tracks urban and rural property markets above £750,000 outside London – supply in the country market was stronger than demand in Q1 2025, with new property listings up 3% on the year, but the number of new prospective buyers down by 7%.  The resulting imbalance kept downward pressure on values, with…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: UK housing market activity is likely to be subdued this spring as global economic uncertainty and fragile buyer sentiment continue to weigh on confidence, according to Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills. Cook said recent developments in global trade – including escalating tariffs between the US and China – have added to concerns around wealth generation and financial stability, particularly at the top end of the market. “It is still highly likely, if not inevitable, that there will be an impact on consumer confidence,” he said, pointing to…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: The asking asking price for a residential property for sale in Britain this month is 1.3% higher than a year earlier, pushing the average price above a previous record set in May 2024, Rightmove revealed this morning. The average price for a property advertised between March 9 and April 5 was a record £377,182, up 1.4% month-on-month. Purchasers had been rushing to complete property purchases before the end of March to benefit from temporarily reduced stamp duty taxes. Rightmove said the number of agreed sales had fallen since the deadline,…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: Cornish MPs are preparing legislation to close a loophole that allows second home owners to avoid paying higher council tax by switching to business rates, The Telegraph has reported. The move follows the introduction of a 100% council tax premium on second homes in Cornwall on 1 April, which has seen some households hit with annual bills of nearly £5,000. More than 13,000 properties in the county are registered as second homes, according to the local authority. Under current rules, second home owners who let out their property for at…