Blogs

Leading local estate agent Aston Mead has welcomed the outcome of the House of Commons vote on banning letting agents from being able to charge fees to tenants.

The proposal was tabled by the Labour Party as an amendment to the Consumer Rights Bill today (Tuesday 13 May) but was defeated by 281 votes to 228.

Responding to the outcome of the vote, Aston Mead Managing Director Charles Hesse said: “This ridiculous proposal was at base profoundly anti-tenant, and I’m relieved that the House of Commons has seen sense and voted against it. It’s a victory not only for the industry, but also for

Anyone wanting to live in Britain’s most expensive new build property on “Billionaire’s row” will need more than the Help to Buy scheme after it was put on the market for £22 million!!

Fairways is a 17,000 sqft eight-bedroom mansion tucked away off The Bishops Avenue, a north London road known as Billionaire's Row due to the enormous neighbouring properties, some of which are owned by celebrities, wealthy business people and members of the Saudi royal family.

Built by luxury developer Albany Homes, the high spec, double-fronted mansion boasts eight bedroom suites, a private detached guest

The number of lots going under the hammer in Auction House’s May sales has reached a new high for the month, with a massive 432 lots listed, compared with just 262 last year – an increase of almost two thirds (65%), and the second highest monthly figure in the group’s seven year history.

The award-winning brand is also reporting that sales are up a full 12% compared to this time last year, with 230 lots sold from 308 offered in April (a success rate of 74.7%), raising a total of £32m, and contributing to a total of 740 successful sales so far this year.

Commenting on the figures, Auction House

A four-bedroom detached house in Magaheracorran, County Donegal will be auctioned with a reserve price of just £12,350 (€15,000).

The average price of a home in Ireland is currently £145,177.

The bargain house includes a front and rear garden and the house itself measures just under 1,800 sq feet.

The house, which is currently vacant, is located between Letterkenny and Ballybofey, and will be auctioned at the RDS, in Dublin, on May 2.

It is 10.2 miles from Letterkenny town centre and 21 miles from the centre of Donegal town.

In order to get in on the action, there is a pre-registration process

The Scottish housing market continues to be "marred" by weak supply and high demand, according to surveyors.

A survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) found demand remained steady in April, with a net balance of 23% of respondents reporting new buyer inquiries were up. But it also suggested the property market was "constrained".

Rics said the "critical issue" for the market remained a lack of second-hand supply. According to its latest Residential Market Survey, respondents across nine UK regions reported declines last month in new property for sale coming onto the market

Award-winning brand Auction House has been joined by Hampshire-based auctioneer Pearsons, increasing the company’s total number of auction rooms nationwide to 37.

Pearsons were established in the year 1900, and are now one of the most successful auctioneers in the area, with a total of 13 agency branches across the region.

Auction House Founding Director Roger Lake, said: “We are delighted to welcome Pearsons to our ranks. They are a significant player in the industry with years of auction experience behind them. This move gives Auction House additional coverage on the south coast – including

Network Auctions' sale on May 1st saw strong signs of improved sentiment in both the residential development sector and in commercial investment.

Toby Limbrick, Managing Director at Network Auctions, said: “Residential sales by auction have been strong for some time but it was noticeable that there was much stronger positive sentiment being shown in regards residential development opportunities at our latest auction.

Two lots in particular, Lot 12 a development site in Hemel Hempstead and Lot 17, a development site in Romford, achieved £387,000 and £690,000 respectively, both prices well above

House sales have lifted to their strongest levels in six years as expectations that property prices are set to lift higher broaden out across the country, surveyors have reported. But there are also signs that the pace of strong house price growth seen in London could cool in the second half of the year, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' (Rics) housing market report for April found.

Some 23 homes were sold per surveyor on average in the three months to April, marking the highest figure seen since February 2008.

Heading into the summer, an overall balance of 33% of surveyors

The cost of renting a two-bedroom flat has topped £1,000 in all but two London boroughs, according to a new study by Zoopla. The only areas where Generation Rent can hope to find a home for less than four figures are Havering in east London and Bexley in the south-east, with average monthly rents of £947 and £928 respectively.

Rent rises in the past year mean that average rents on two-bedroom flats in a quarter of London’s boroughs now top £2,000 a month, according to the study.

It found that in Westminster the average two-bedroom rent stands at £4,174, while rents in the City, Kensington and

New figures published by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) have highlighted a considerable annual reduction in the level of interest-only mortgage debt in the UK. According to CML, home owners in the UK with interest only mortgages are taking action to reduce the risk of not being able to repay their loan when it matures.

Based on a CML survey representing around 96% of the market, at the end of 2013 there were an estimated 2.2 million pure interest only loans outstanding, and a further 620,000 part interest only, part repayment mortgages outstanding on lenders' books. Compared to 2012