Politics
Agents urged to sign petition to reverse Osborne’s tax grab on landlords
Petition almost at halfway mark where Parliament will have to debate it
News
Acquisitions
Estate agent group buys majority stake in mortgage firm
Chancellors buys stake in firm with five-year Mortgage Advice Bureau deal
Agency
No overall portals winner, says Martin & Co boss, after measuring leads
Rightmove and Zoopla deliver completely different leads, says property boss, with almost no cross-over
Compliance
Rightmove confirms launch of inquiry into ‘portal juggling’
We do not tolerate reloading of properties, says Rightmove
Finance
Clock already ticking for buy-to-let deals to escape Stamp Duty penalty
We need buy-to-let applications by January 29, says mortgage business – with no guarantee of beating the deadline
Law
Housing and Planning Bill set to raise fines against agents and landlords to £30,000
New Bill now set to make English history as it goes on to third reading
Law
Agency employee in court on allegations of £400,000 theft
Case involving allegations of ten-year theft is referred to crown court
Acquisitions
Countrywide continues on expansion trail as chairman Grenville Turner ‘steps down’
Countrywide confirms purchase of major West Country agent, amid rumours of boardroom rows as Grenville Turner reportedly 'quits'
Agency
Connells gets set to drive growth of Barnard Marcus lettings business
Nick Madan deployed to grow Barnard Marcus as Connells follows strategy to double its lettings business
Agency
Sarah Beeny’s online agent Tepilo launches ‘pay later’ option
Cracks show in online agency industry as one agent accuses rivals of 'taking the money and running'
Law
Evictions specialist Shamplina calls for public blacklist of rogue tenants
Landlords should be protected against rogue tenants – just as tenants need protection from bad agents and landlords
Agency
NAEA claims a ‘nose-dive’ in first-time buyers as agents talk of big increase
Your Move and Reeds Rains say most sales to first-time buyers since credit crunch – but NAEA talks of big fall
Agency
EYE reader does the sums: This is how many offices actually belong to OnTheMarket
Membership of OTM rises by 132 branches in a month, calculates EYE reader
Politics
Only ‘massive’ house building programme will solve crisis, say NAEA and ARLA
Organisations tell politicians more new homes only way to get rents and house prices under control
Politics
House builders say ‘devil will be in detail’ over Cameron’s latest home-building plans
Nothing like this has been seen since Thatcher's day, says Government of shift in housing policy
Finance
Mortgage approvals up as lenders look for growth
But pace of rise in buy-to-let borrowing likely to slow down after tax changes, says Hometrack
Agency
Attacks against OnTheMarket are a reflection of its growing success, claims leading agent
'Numerous inaccurate claims' means that other businesses are worried by OTM threat, says Knight Frank partner
Finance
New Help to Buy scheme could prove a ‘dangerous incentive’ for buyers, warning
They could be getting into property market at exactly the wrong moment, risking negative equity
Law
Agent admits stealing rent and deposit money from tenants
Agent awaits sentencing after telling tenants to pay money into his own bank account