Finance
Mounting barriers escalate Scotland’s housing crisis
The housing emergency, declared in May 2024, has sparked concerns over land availability, slowing approvals, and limited financial viability
News
Tech
Zoopla and Checkatrade announce new strategic partnership
The partnership aims to help consumers when making buying decisions by offering a one-stop solution for finding tradespeople
Agency
Panorama exposes conditional selling by estate agents
Panorama goes undercover at Connells to investigate claims it is not acting in the best interests of customers; reporter also speaks to a whistleblower who worked at Purplebricks
Compliance
Letting agency fined £14k for ‘endangering vulnerable tenants’
The agency was fined £21,000, reduced to £14,000 for an early guilty plea
People
Comings & Goings
Snippets of industry news: Antony Roberts appoints new lettings manager; Oakheart welcomes new area director; New head of residential conveyancing at Gilson Gray
Tech
The top 10 things getting in the way of your content marketing, and how to fix them
The future of estate agency is visible, authentic, and human
Agency
Pandemic-born estate agency opens new office
The move is designed to support the ongoing growth of the agency
Law
Stricter rules for landlords after legal challenge rejected at High Court
Landlords association ordered to pay £10,000 in legal costs
Law
The future of legal technology and workplace efficiency in conveyancing transactions
From digital onboarding and AI-driven due diligence to cloud-based collaboration and real-time updates, technology is now the foundation for modern conveyancing practice
Law
Legalito extends its enquiry management platform to offer legal document analysis
Smart Documents and Smart Reports will be available to a selected number of approved law firms, initially free of charge
Agency
How AI is helping estate agents truly understand their customers
Estate agency has long relied on instinct and experience—still vital today, but now strengthened by data and smart technology
Other News
What is currently happening in the UK property market?
While 26.6k UK residential sales completed this week - up 7.7% year-on-year - fewer than one in two homes listed actually go on to exchange and result in a move
Finance
Stamp duty relief for downsizers could unlock 500,000 homes in a year – claim
Stamp duty is acting as a brake on the housing market, keeping older homeowners in properties that no longer suit their needs and blocking supply for younger families
Agency
New Wimbledon office for United Kingdom Sotheby’s International Realty
This is the business’s seventh location in London and eighth in the UK, including its Cobham base
Law
Is the landlord right to claim expenses for external cleaning of patio?
This is quite a common claim area as often this form of external cleaning is neglected or forgotten about by the tenant
Lettings
Landlords to hike rents ahead of Renters’ Rights Bill
It is inevitable that tighter regulation may cause some landlords to adopt a more cautious approach or adjust their portfolios
Politics
Empty and second homes not the answer to housing shortages
A number of empty homes may not be in use for perfectly legitimate reasons
Law
New laws could push landlords to exit market, association warns
Higher upfront costs are reducing rental returns, making property investment less attractive for landlords and potentially reducing rental supply
Agency
Estate agency brand visibility rankings revealed
New index shows the top estate agencies with the greatest online brand presence
Other News
What Taylor Swift can teach estate agents
What estate agents can learn from fandom—and why 'more leads' isn’t always the answer