Sales

The Government has just launched two consultations on how it could change the property buying and selling process in England and Wales. It has acknowledged that the process is too slow, too costly and too fragile. 

Speculation about property tax reform is building ahead of the Autumn Budget on 26 November. From stamp duty shake-ups to possible council tax changes, higher-value sellers are already feeling the effects. Here’s what we know, what we don’t, and why it matters for today’s market.

New analysis has revealed an interesting shift in the purchasing habits of first-time buyers. Instead of buying a traditional starter home – a studio, a one-bedroom flat or a small terraced house – Barclays found a third of first-timer purchases are semi-detached homes.

Earlier this year, Aviva published the results of its survey on how we use our garages. Of those UK garage owners questioned, 28% said they hardly ever used their garage to park their car. 

And just like that, the seasons have changed. Meteorological summer officially ended on 31st August and wet, windy weather moved in without hesitation. While we’re keeping everything crossed for a return to calmer, drier conditions, there’s no escaping that autumn is here.

Although Labour has long been associated with better rights for renters, it recently showed that it is equally as committed to promoting homeownership. A raft of financial reforms designed to help mortgage borrowers, which will apply across the UK, were announced in July.

The unassailable attractiveness of property as a money-making asset persists. While passive appreciation still exists – that’s when homes gradually increase in value with nothing more than time – homeowners are looking at adding values in other ways.

Despite how morbid it feels, deciding what happens to a property you own when you die is something you need to decide early in the buying process. In fact, you’ll need to tell your solicitor your preferred course of action before you finalise a purchase.

Commonhold is a property term that’s been in the press recently. If the current Government gets its way, this method of owning a flat or apartment is something we could see a lot more off. Ahead of a more widespread adoption, we have answered the most popular commonhold questions. 

We may sound like a broken record but property presentation really does matter when you’re trying to attract buyers and achieve the best price for your home.

Try as we might to adopt a more European attitude and feel totally comfortable with renting our entire lives, many of us aspire to homeownership. It’s an aim that stems back to the 1980s when the then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, set out to create a ‘property-owning democracy’.

Skips. Cement mixers. Brick dust. People with hard hats and high-viz jackets milling about. How do these make you feel? Just like Marmite, homeowners have a love/hate relationship with renovations. What camp do you fall in?