Blogs

Mortgage payments as a proportion of income have fallen by more than two fifths in Scotland in recent years, from a peak of 38% in the fourth quarter of 2007 to 22% in the same period of 2012, according to new Bank of Scotland research.

Lower house prices and reduced mortgage rates have been the main drivers behind the significant improvement in affordability. The average monthly take home wage in Scotland is £1,954 while the average monthly mortgage payment is £424.

Mortgage payments for a new borrower have remained at their lowest level in relation to earnings for almost a decade, the

Have you designed a daring eco home? What about crafted a super-cool conversion?

Or maybe you’ve added a jaw-dropping extension? The 2013 Grand Designs Awards is now open for entries, and they'’re looking for any homeowners who’ve completed a project, whether it’s a new-build or the transformation of an existing space. You don’t have to be an architect or designer (although, of course, they’re welcome too); the competition is open to everyone and completely free to enter.

The final submission deadline for entries is 9am Thursday 7 March 2013.

http://www.granddesignsawards.com/home

We are currently accepting entries for the first auctions of 2013! We hope to better our fantastic 85% sales record of 2012, with properties all over the UK selling under the hammer. 

So no matter whereabouts in the UK your property is located,  if you have been struggling to sell it on the open market or you're just needing to sell quickly, and are willing to drop your asking price in order to enter it into auction, then contact us today!

We will take away the dilemma of which auction house to approach - given that are so many auction houses in the UK  it may be quite daunting in terms of

Just a quick one to let you know that the first couple of catalogues for 2013 auctions, have been released and are now in our database - almost 100 lots across West Midlands and South Yorkshire.  The majority of the auction houses will start releasing their new year catalogues from next week / the week after, for the February auctions - so keep checking back as from then on, new properties will be added on a regular basis!

Southend experienced the biggest house price rise of any town or city during 2012, say one of the UK's biggest mortgage lenders the Halifax. The Essex town saw prices rise by 15%, compared with a 1% average fall across the UK as a whole.

The Halifax said most towns with big house price increases were in the South East of England. By contrast, the biggest house price drops were in Craigavon in Northern Ireland and Wishaw in Scotland.

The Halifax's figures are based only on its own lending.

Top three risers and fallers
Southend: up 14.8%
Basingstoke: up 14.7%
Rochester: up 13.3%
Craigavon

Just a quick note to wish all our members and our auction house partners, a very merry Christmas, and a happy and prosperous New Year! Although things will be quieter over the festive period, we will have a few ultra dedicated team members working throughout the course of the next week, so if you're thinking about selling your property at auction next year, give us a ring or fill in a few details in our property form and someone will contact you to chat through your requirements further. From 2nd January, our auctioneers will be rolling back full of festive cheer, ready to sell your property

Just a quick reminder that the final property auctions of the year will be taking place this week.  There will be a 3-4 week break over the festive period, whilst the auctioneers start collecting entries for the first auctions of 2013, the majority of which will take place in February (although a handful of auction houses across the UK do begin in late January).

There are still many properties that were unsold at auction across the country, and are available to view in our database. If you see anything that you like, then you'll just need to contact the auctioneer to see if the property is

Venmore Auctions held their auction on 21st November 2012 within Liverpool Town Hall’s Council Chambers. With 56 lots on offer, the Venmore team generated receipts of over £2.65 million.

As the final gavel went down, they confirmed 35 properties sold, but with another 11 lots sold since the auction they have now a sales percentage of 82% overall, proving that this was, by far, the firm’s busiest auction since 2007. In fact 2012 has beentheir best year since 2007 proving that in the auction market at least, they have finally turned the corner.

Acuitus achieved its best success rate of the year - 85% - as it raised £29.27m from its December auction. Of the 53 lots offered, 39 sold in the room with six selling prior.

Auctioneer Richard Auterac commented: "This was an emphatic end to our 2012 auction programme. The increased market momentum that our October auction showed was carried through to this sale as investors locked into the long-term income opportunities on offer.

"In a week when the Autumn Statement gave little cheer to the wider investment market, the auction demonstrated the increasing popularity of property as a medium to

We are currently accepting entries for the first auctions of 2013! We hope to better our fantastic 85% sales record of 2012, with properties all over the UK selling under the hammer.  Last month, we achieved a whopping 90% success rate selling in Newcastle, Kent, London, Essex, Devon and Blackpool to name a few.

SO no matter whereabouts in the UK your property is located,  if you have been struggling to sell it on the open market or you're just needing to sell quickly, and are willing to drop your asking price in order to enter it into auction, then contact us today!

We will take away the