There have been calls on the Government to reduce stamp duty for first time buyers after the extent of the burden on the average London worker has been revealed. The average London home buyer pays the equivalent of three years income tax on stamp duty when purchasing a home, according to figures from estate agent Haart. House prices in...

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid has launched an eight-week review into home buying. He has stated he wanted to “hear from the industry” on how to streamline the process. It is hoped that this will lead to home buying and selling in England and Wales to be “faster and less stressful”. This news comes amid growing speculation that housing will...

In 2016 the cost of a house in London per habitable room – i.e. excluding bathrooms, conservatories, kitchens and utility rooms, was £132,926. This is more than the average cost of an entire property in the North East of England, worth £128,000 in July 2016, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS’s) house price index. London’s house prices have been galloping ahead of the...

According to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) survey of its members a growing number of buy-to-let landlords are likely to exit the private rented sector over the next 12 months. Over half (61%) of surveyors felt landlords would exit the market over the coming year, while only 12% felt there would be a greater number of...

This month a number of new licensing schemes for landlords have been approved or introduced in England for cities such as Redbridge, Bristol and Nottingham. Despite the differences amongst these the main initiative is to improve the rental standards in the private rented sector. As positive as these changes are, Wales has already got a scheme across the country,...