The ONS reported the UK gross domestic product has risen by 0.5 per cent. Within this, construction output was marginally weaker, by 0.1 per cent, its second consecutive quarterly fall following the third quarter’s 1.9 per cent decline. Professor Noble Francis, Economics Director... View Article

Commenting on Government’s decision to pause a rent reduction cut for supported housing, Jacob Tas, Chief Executive of social justice charity, Nacro said: “We welcome Government’s decision to exempt supportive housing from a one per cent rent reduction in 2016-17.... View Article

The London Land Commission revealed there are 40,000 publicly owned sites that could deliver a minimum of 130,000 new homes. Charlie Hustler, land director at Essential Living, a developer and operator of homes for long-term rent, outlined a number of issues... View Article

Brian Murphy, Head of Lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB), highlighted the rise in number of remortgage approvals by almost a third annually. He commented: “The remortgage market was left battered and bruised by the recent recession, but 2015 saw... View Article

All residential landlords in the UK must conduct detailed ‘right to rent’ checks from 1 February 2016 when granting new tenancy agreements. Law firm Howard Kennedy warned the checks could be time-consuming and may require landlords to report tenants without the right paperwork to... View Article

Following an analysis of the market, Private Finance believes that buy to let remains an attractive investment in the immediate future. However, the broker has also warned that accessing finance will now be the biggest challenge for amateur landlords in... View Article

The government’s approach towards private landlords risks hurting tenants, a leading London property consultancy is warning, after the government announced an extra £5m towards tackling ‘rogue’ landlords. Julian Goddard, head of residential at Daniel Watney LLP, has warned the government’s... View Article

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced it will sell off a dozen of its sites to raise £500 million and provide land for 15,000 homes. Defence minister Mark Lancaster said the money from the sale will be ploughed back... View Article

The Council of Mortgage Lenders estimated that gross mortgage lending reached £19.9 billion in December 2015. This is 3 per cent lower than November (£20.5 billion), but 23 per cent higher than December 2014 (£16.2 billion). The estimated total for the year is thus £220.3... View Article

Mortgage Advice Bureau commented on the RICS Residential Market Survey, CML Mortgage Lending Figures and HMRC Property Transactions (December 2015). Brian Murphy, Head of Lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB), comments: “There was a rush of buyers hitting the property market... View Article

The governor of the Bank of England has booted an interest rate rise into the long grass and beyond and this will further drive demand for mortgages throughout 2016, affirms the boss of Devere Mortgages. The comments come as Mark... View Article

Brian Murphy, Head of Lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau, commented on the increase in UK house prices as reported by the ONS. “House prices in November saw the biggest annual increase in eight months, despite traditionally being a quieter time in the housing... View Article