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The new year has started with some bright news from the mortgage lending market. Rates attached to home loans have been steadily falling and in January, some of the most substantial rate cuts were made by leading banks and building societies.

The end of a calendar year gave us a chance to look back at property trends and analyse data to see how the market fared during the last 12 months. December is traditionally a quiet month as people focus on festivities rather than moving home. As such, there was little to report on house prices.  

On the outside, selecting a good tenant may feel as simple as accepting the person who makes the highest offer, especially if the most recent news is to be believed. A survey undertaken for the New Economics Foundation found tenants were willing to go to extreme financial lengths to secure a rental property. As a result, landlords have had the luxury of waiting for the ‘highest bidder’ to emerge.

Although we are almost at the end of 2023, the news keeps coming. November saw the Chancellor deliver his Autumn Statement. Although there were no major changes for home movers, there were some peripheral announcements to note.

If you are looking to redecorate, why not consider Sweet Embrace™? Here are some ideas of how to use the current Dulux Colour of the Year.

The safety of tenants has become of paramount importance in the private rental sector, and rightly so. One of the areas that has been improved immeasurably is electrical safety and now new guidelines have been issued to provide greater consistency when it comes to checks.

On 7th November 2023, the King’s Speech marked the opening of a new session of Parliament. In his first address of this nature, King Charles III announced the Government’s key priorities for the year ahead and with a General Election expected within the next 12 months, the contents were hotly anticipated.

We often talk about seasonality in property and this autumn has been true to form. September saw serious movers enter the market after summer and their intent is already reflected in October’s figures. Firstly, we look at asking prices.

Rightmove’s October House Price Index revealed new-to-market sellers are growing in confidence. The average asking price increased by 0.5% in the last month and is now £368,231. This is £1,950 more than in September.

We have been charting the progress of the Renters’ Reform Bill since it was announced in 2019 during Theresa May’s tenure as Prime Minister. In late October 2023, a little more progress was made and the Bill had its second reading in the House of Commons.

The timing was crucial for two reasons. Firstly, the current session of Parliament is coming to an end. If the Conservative party wants to press ahead, it requires a carry-over motion as the Bill did not pass by the end of the session of Parliament it was introduced in.

How do Artex ceilings, avocado bathroom suites and rotten window frames make you feel when looking at properties for sale? While some purchasers will recoil at the prospect, others relish the opportunity to rip out, refurbish and make their own mark.

We’ve always helped a band of buyers who are in search of their next fixer-up property and now new data shows that more home movers are shunning the perfect property in favour of a project.

The features we assume tenants are looking for and what actually ticks their boxes can be two very different things. To establish the most in-demand aspects, Rightmove examined more than 600,000  property listings, looking at what was mentioned in the property description in relation to the homes with the highest number of enquiries.

How do you tell if a General Election is on the cards? You monitor the news for announcements that may please the masses. Property has long been an area the Government tinkers with and ministers are already repositioning their offering to win votes in England and Wales.