Blogs of author

Just a quick note to wish you a very merry Christmas, and we hope that wherever you are and whatever you're doing, you have a thoroughly enjoyable day!

Off to put the turkey in the oven now!

Newcastle based auction firm iam-sold has announced significant expansion plans for 2015.

The company is expanding into Scotland, aiming for further growth in the North West, and launching a range of new products.

Since its launch five years ago, the company - founded by Jamie Cooke and Ben Ridgway - has sold over 5200 properties and raised in excess of £440m.

“We are very excited about the expansion of iam-sold – it will offer our partners a great range of services that are forward thinking and complementary, and, at the same time, give the public a better range of options to

Tens of thousands of young Britons will be offered the chance to buy their first home with a hefty discount by Prime Minister David Cameron, a scheme he hopes will boost his re-election chances for May next year.

With less than five months to go before what is shaping up to be an unusually close election, Cameron and his Conservatives are keen to show voters that the steady economic recovery they have presided over can, if sustained, lift living standards.

"Under this scheme, first-time buyers will be offered the chance of a 20% discount, unlocking home ownership for a generation," Cameron

West Country auctioneer Symonds and Sampson has announced the results of its final auction of the year, which attracted 247 bids across 16 lots.

Taking place at a packed Digby Hall in Sherborne, the auction boasted a catalogue with an eclectic mix of properties including land with building potential, agricultural land, houses for improvement and investments.

The greatest excitement of the day was for Corner Ground at Hazelbury, a single storey cottage for renovation with outbuildings and gardens in a rural location. 

Symonds and Sampson said that in the run up to the event, it was

Grosvenor Crescent in London has been named as the most expensive street in Britain.

The sweeping Regency street tops a list compiled by Lloyds Bank: its Grade II-listed houses change hands for an average of £16.9m. In May 2013, a house there sold for £15.7m, and a three-bedroom flat is on the market for £11.75m.

House prices rose rapidly in the capital at the start of this year, and the cost of homes on the most desirable streets has risen sharply. Land Registry data shows that prices in Westminster, which includes Grosvenor Crescent, are 18% higher than a year ago.

For the first time

Multi-award winning property auctioneer Auction House has scooped yet another industry trophy – this time, the Silver Award for Best Franchise at the 2014 Estate Agency of the Year Awards.

This is the fourth consecutive year that the group has won an award at the prestigious event, including a total of two gold medals. This year’s ceremony was held on Friday 5 December at the Lancaster Hotel in London.

Commenting on the success, Auction House Founding Director Roger Lake said: “We’re delighted to have received yet another award in what is becoming a far more competitive arena, with the number

1980s John Lautner-designed home in Hope Springs, owned by Bob Hope, is on the market for HALF the original price, but still an eye-watering $24,999,000!

It is totally mind blowing. This modernist icon, which looks like something out of a OTT sci-fi movie, was designed for golf-loving comedian Hope and his wife in 1980, the largest private residence designed by John Lautner.

It sits in 6.18 acres of picturesque land, offering 23,366 sq. ft, of living space. But that’s only half the story. Just look at those curves, those open spaces, the stunning glazing within.

But it has been controversial

The UK’s new property tax rules are set to provide a boost to both the sales market and buy to let market, it is claimed.

The new rates will give the biggest savings to buyers at the lower and middle end of the market and according to Stephen Ludlow, chairman of lettings age Ludlow Thompson, as buy to let landlords usually invest in properties below £937,500 the changes will give almost all investors in this market a boost.

‘The changes in stamp duty will see the biggest increase in net returns for more modestly investments such as smaller properties in Zone three of London, city centre

The Government has announced on 3rd December 2014 that stamp duty reforms are to be implemented on residential property.

George Osborne has announced a radical overhaul of stamp duty to boost the housing market in this week's Autumn Statement.

The current system of a ‘slab’ single rate stamp duty tax on the entire property price will be replaced with a system of tax bands, like income tax. Osborne said the changes will cut stamp duty for 98% of people who pay it. There will be no stamp duty on the first £125,000 of property value.

This is good news for purchasers of most residential property

Bicester in Oxfordshire has been chosen as the site for the coalition's second new garden city, the government has confirmed.

Up to 13,000 new homes are due to be built on the edge of the town, as part of the coalition's plans to help deal with the UK's housing shortage.

"I can confirm the government is putting its support behind Bicester," a Treasury spokesperson told the BBC.

The measure was announced as part of a National Infrastructure Plan.

"New houses support economic growth and are a crucial element of a fair society, so I've prioritised the investment of almost £2bn to ensure we can