Author: Benjamin

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: Owner-occupiers aged 60-plus now hold a record estimated £2.89trn of net housing wealth in homes worth a total of £2.95trn, according to the latest assessment of housing wealth from property firm Savills. The UK’s largest tenure by value is those who own their homes outright, says Savills. These owners have increased their share of property value in the last decade due to above-average growth in the number of older homeowners joining the ranks of the mortgage-free. In total, owner occupiers over 60 control more than half (56%) of all owner-occupier…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: More than 100 members of London Renters Union (LRU) rallied outside a Foxtons branch on Saturday as part of the Global Day of Housing Action. The protesters campaigned against soaring rents in London, demanding that more is done to tackle the growing housing crisis in the capital. The LRU wants the government to take immediate action by implementing urgent rent controls and reinvesting in social housing. LRU spokesperson Jae Vail said: “Labour was elected on a platform of fixing the housing crisis, but under its leadership, the…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: The Home Office sparked fresh controversy over the weekend when it formally called on landlords to house asylum seekers to help cope with a record number of migrants. Serco, one of the three private contractors working for the Home Office, has offered landlords five-year guaranteed full rent deals at the taxpayers’ expense if they agree to house asylum seekers, according to reports. More than 8,000 migrants have arrived in the UK this year after crossing the English Channel in small boats reached, according to the Home Office. Serco, in a…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: Paul Smith We’ve been talking about the lack of women in senior estate agency roles for years – but depressingly little has changed. Walk into any branch and you’ll find talented women running the show. Look up at the boardroom, and it’s still a sea of men. I hold my hands up – that includes Spicerhaart. Despite more than half our workforce being women and some of our best-performing agents being female, there’s just one woman on our board: Samantha McLoughlin, our HR Director. So we’ve been asking the hard…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: Property purchasers paid out £1.4bn in stamp duty deadline rush, as the Treasury cashed in on homebuyers flocking to complete before the March 2025 deadline. Higher transaction levels prior to the change to residential Stamp Duty Land Tax thresholds from April 2025 and higher rates of SDLT surcharge for additional properties fuelled the sharp rise in receipts in February to March 2025. The £1.4bn in stamp duty in March, represented a £357m – 34% – increase from February, and a £544m – 63% – hike from March 2024, according to…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: First-time buyer mortgage completions increased by 131% year-on-year in March 2025 as buyers raced to finalise purchases ahead of the stamp duty threshold rollback on 1 April. The spike underscores the urgency felt by first-time buyers determined to avoid the looming tax increase, according to Moneybox, which provided the data. Felicity Holloway, head of mortgages at Moneybox commented “This significant spike in March completions shows just how determined first-time buyers were to cross the finish line before the stamp duty changes came into effect. It’s a powerful…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: Jared Kilgarriff appointed as lettings regional director at John D Wood & Co. Jared Kilgarriff John D Wood & Co in London has announced the appointment of Jared Kilgarriff as lettings regional director for central London. In this key role, Kilgarriff will drive the lettings strategy across the region, reinforcing the strength of the John D Wood & Co. brand and supporting its growth ambitions. Kilgarriff brings with him 23 years of extensive experience in lettings. Prior to joining the business, he was a Partner at Knight Frank, where he…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: Avocado Property has reported its strongest financial quarter to date, as buyers dashed to beat the March 2025 deadline. The self-employed estate agency brand says that several of its self-employed partner agents earned more than £60,000 in a single month, with one even approaching £80,000. “It was a phenomenal quarter for the brokerage,” said Ian Macbeth, founder and managing partner at Avocado Property. “And it wasn’t just a flash in the pan – many of our agents followed up big months with back-to-back performances. This is a signal of sustained…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: EYE has just been informed that Upad will be closing down soon. The online letting agency has faced difficulties in recent years after being forced into liquidation in October 2019 after founder James Davis said ill health had led him to discontinue the business. The company was recused by online lettings platform Howsy who acquired the business for an undisclosed sum, with a view to operating the firm as a separate business, Upad was later taken over by Dexters, as part as part of a distressed sale after…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: The Lettings Hub has launched its latest product, a Professional Guarantor solution designed to help letting agents and landlords secure tenancies faster. The new tenant guarantor product launched by the PropTech specialist aims to provide a viable alternative for tenants who may struggle to provide a suitable guarantor. Heidi Shackell, CEO of The Lettings Hub, said: “We’ve listened to our agents, who told us that missing or unsuitable guarantors were holding up deals and costing them time, and their tenants more anxiety over securing homes. Our Professional Guarantor product solves…