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First-time buyer numbers in the UK increased throughout February, new research has shown.

Carried out by the Council of Mortgage Lenders, the study revealed this level rose by 3% in the month, which represented the best start to a year since 2008.

It was shown that activity among FTBs was 17% greater in February 2013 than it was in the same four-week period in 2012.

During the month, a total of 16,400 loans were advanced to those looking to get their foot on the first rung of the property ladder, which was markedly more than the 15,900 recorded in January and the 14,000 reported in February

Today (15 April 2013) the Housing Minister, Mark Prisk, announced that the Government proposes to exempt self builders from paying the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). There will be a 6-8 week consultation on the changes which will likely come into effect during the summer.

CIL, which was introduced under the Labour Government but began to be implemented by some councils in January 2012 (and now affects thousands of self builders in dozens of local authorities), raised a levy on new homes set at a standard charge per m2 of new development. On average, self builders and developers affected

Snow and bitterly cold weather nipped what looked to have been a promising spring upturn for the housing market firmly in the bud, reported Estate Agent Today, over the weekend.

According to data from telephone answering service Moneypenny, calls had been up by 25% in early March compared with the previous month. However, once the cold weather struck, the company recorded a drop-off in numbers, and comparing call rates for the same 100 agent clients for the four days to Good Friday, found the improvement had disappeared – with 2,605 calls against 2,624 in the equivalent period last year.

Saman

As of Monday (April 1), local authorities will have the discretion to charge full Council Tax on empty properties. The change will affect properties that have currently been given exemptions and discounts, including properties for sale and rent, and second homes.

Owners of properties that are empty because of building work will also lose the automatic right to be let off Council Tax for up to a year. Many councils have decided to charge the full amount from day one. 

These are the exact changes:

     1.    Exemption class C (properties that are empty and unfurnished for up to six months) has

UK house prices in March were up 0.8% from a year earlier, according to the latest figures from the Nationwide.

The building society said it was the first annual increase since February 2012. Prices were unchanged in March compared with the previous month. The average UK home is now worth £164,630, the survey found.

Separately, the Land Registry said prices in England and Wales rose by 1% over the last year. London saw the sharpest increase, with prices going up by 6.3%. Yorkshire and Humberside saw the biggest annual fall, with prices tumbling by 0.9%.

The Nationwide said demand from buyers

After a fantastic sales rate of 82% in our March auctions, we are now accepting property entries for our next round of auctions taking place in April through to June. If you're thinking about selling your property (residential, commercial, development site, land, mixed use, investment, ground rent), contact us today for your free auction appraisal and to chat with one of our auctioneers in your area.

No matter whereabouts in the UK your property is located or what type of property, site or land it may be,  if you have been struggling to sell it on the open market or you're just needing to sell

Auction House West of England will hold its first out-of-town auction at Thornbury Castle, once home to Henry Stafford, the second Duke of Buckingham who helped to place Richard III on the throne.

The king, whose skeleton was excavated from a Leicester car park and positively identified earlier this year, rewarded Stafford by making him Constable of England.

“We chose Thornbury Castle for our auctions because it is easily accessible from all parts of the region, has ample free parking and, for those who might need it, a helicopter landing pad,” said auctioneer Nick Cragg.

Cragg, who is

If money were no object then most would pack their bags and head to home of cream teas and Cornish pasties, a survey by Prime Location has found, but would only want a “modest” five bedroom home.

The research also suggests that in an ideal world, most people would shun the bright lights of the city, with half of people surveyed aspiring to live in a rural village or a country town and around a fifth choosing a seaside town as the perfect place to live.

Just one in seven of the 3,500 home questioned would choose to live in London - despite house prices holding up relatively strongly the capital

Property investment in the wrong location can lead to low or even negative returns, according to new research which looks beyond gross rental yields. Investing in property can appear to be a very attractive option as in the current economic climate there are few investment sectors that offer both safe haven status and inflation beating yields.

However, the research from the property website Home.co.uk shows that the old adage  of location, location, location could not be more relevant when sinking capital into bricks and mortar.

Looking beyond gross rental yields, their analysts have

The average number of househunters registering with an agent increased from 281 in December 2012 to 314 in January, figures released today from the National Association of Estate Agents’ (NAEA) show. This is the highest figure since September 2007 (average of 326).

NAEA's report also shows a rise in the percentage of sales made to first time buyers. In January, this hit its highest point in almost two years at 25 per cent of overall sales compared with 21 per cent in December, a two year high.

The increase in demand affected the number of sales agreed, which rose from an average of five per