News Archive: Industry News

10, 2008 October:

Planning needed for gardens

Whilst this month has seen the relaxation of planning restrictions surrounding home extensions, as TheMoveChannel.com's news story of October 1st reported; planning permission for garden alterations just got a whole lot more complicated...

Plundering and gazundering

Strict timeframes for property sales reduce exposure to gazundering, says Cluttons...

Infinity delayed

The iconic Infinity Tower in Dubai is facing an 18 month delay and will not now be completed until 2011, it has been confirmed...

09, 2008 October:

Four days for searches

New performance tables have revealed that the national average turnaround for local authority property search is four days...

Dubai overrun with new projects

Optimistic property developers in the Middle East are unveiling billions of pounds worth of new projects in what is seen as a smokescreen to what is actually happening in the region's markets...

Consumer code of practice to come in?

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is conducting a market study into sale and rent-back and is expected to publish it in the next ten days. One of the possible outcomes following the OFT market study could be to point towards a consumer code of practice...

Pain in Spain

Analysts are ridiculing a new index of residential property prices in Spain, which was supposed to bring some clarity to the market...

08, 2008 October:

Money Talks

It's all happening in the financial markets, with the Bank of England cutting the base rate to 4.5 per cent and Alistair Darling's £500 billion rescue plan...

Special agents

Licencing of estate agents has taken a major step forward with the approval by the board of the National Federation of Property Professionals (NFOPP) for proposals to introduce it for its members...

Goodbye MFI?

More than half of MFI's stores are to be saved after the company went into administration this week...

GuestInvest looking back

Johnny Sandelson, Founder of buy-to-let hotel room company GuestInvest Group, is reportedly planning to buy back the company which was recently placed in administration...

Estate agencies will never be the same

A new report predicts major changes by the time the market recovers and the estate agency profession which is battling hard to overcome the effects of the credit crunch, may never be the same again...

07, 2008 October:

New homes not hitting Govt targets

The Government's target of three million new homes by 2020 is looking increasingly unobtainable, with the news that less than 100,000 new homes will be built next year, which is half the amount needed to hit the target...

Cape Verde's new trade body

A new trade body has been launched in Cape Verde to help the property industry vocalise their opinions with the Government and improve the general real estate sector in the country...

Cityscape Dubai opens

Cityscape Dubai, the largest business-to-business real estate investment and development event in the world, opened today amid the shock news that Dubai house prices fell 16 in the second quarter of this year...

Share and share alike

Leading RSLs The Guinness Partnership, Genesis Homes, Affinity Sutton, Midsummer Housing, Downland, Broomleigh, William Sutton Homes and Southern Housing have joined together with online specialist Scout Solutions to create a 'Rightmove' style marketing service for shared ownership properties across the UK...

06, 2008 October:

Third time lucky for Housing Minister?

Margaret Beckett, MP for Derby South, has taken over the position of Housing Minister from Caroline Flint, becoming the third person to hold the top spot within a year, and the eighth since Labour came to power...

Do HIPs need replacing?

Providers of UK Home Information Packs are cutting corners and failing to provide accurate and satisfactory information in a bid to save money, it is feared...

And the winner is...

The winners of the inaugural Association of International Property Professionals (AIPP) Awards have been announced...

03, 2008 October:

Down on the farm

The spectacular value of farmland in England has been brought to a halt by a wet harvest, falling commodity prices and increased costs, according to the latest research...

Liquidity for investors

Property fund managers merge two UK vehicles to provide greater diversity for investors...

02, 2008 October:

New-build code of conduct

The new code of conduct and redress scheme being set up by home builders for unsatisfied homebuyers will increase consumer confidence in the UK housing market, it has been claimed...

Waiting lists getting ever longer

Nearly 700,000 people are now stuck on waiting lists for an affordable home in rural England - the National Housing Federation and Campaign to Protect Rural England has warned...

Govt unveils housing plans for north-west

The Government has revealed details of its new homes building plans for the north-west of England under its regional spacial strategy...

01, 2008 October:

October regulations come into force

As of today, Wednesday October 1st, several new regulations affecting the property market have come into force, including rules surrounding the planning permission needed for home extensions and energy performance certificates for all new residential lets...

New vote on Wallstreet bailout

Yesterday, September 30th, TheMoveChannel.com reported that the rescue plan to bailout Wallstreet had been rejected by the House of Congress, despite having the backing of both presidential candidates. Today, the US Senate will vote on a new version of the plan, reviving hopes that further damage to the global economy can be stopped...

Ditch the estate agent?

Homeowners save a fortune and get the same service with DIY sales, says Briffy.com...

Spanish asking prices

The fall in asking prices for Spanish property accelerated to as much as five per cent in the third quarter of 2008, according to Idealista.com...

30, 2008 September:

Tory stamp duty pledge not enough to save housing market

Conservative party leader David Cameron has pledged to abolish stamp duty for first-time buyers in a radical move which aims to boost Tory election chances...

Is the Cypriot market in recession?

As international investors desert the Cyprus property market as the global economic crisis rages on, sales, especially of holiday homes, drop by 40 per cent and the market heads towards a recession. Despite this, Cyprus remains a good long term investment...

Structural changes to properties

A fifth of British homeowners plan to make structural changes, which is good news for those in England as new planning rules comes into force as of tomorrow...

Egypt shoots up rankings

Egypt has shot up the rankings in Jones Lang LaSalle's latest Global Real Estate Transparency Index, to come 59th out of the 82 countries that were analysed by the property consultancy in 2008...

29, 2008 September:

Sent to Coventry

Coventry unveils billion pound masterplan for the extreme makeover of its city centre...

Romania floods force mass rebuilding

The Romanian Government has announced a £12 million package to help homeowners...

Knight Frank opens in Middle East

Knight Frank has established a permanent Gulf network in the Middle East...

26, 2008 September:

Spain to launch new house price index

Come October the 1st, Spain will no longer be reliant on Housing Ministry figures to track what is happening in the property market. The Spanish Statistics Institute has announced that a new house prices index will be launched in a week's time.

Estate agents covered by ombudsman scheme

The Ombudsman for Estate Agents scheme is reporting membership of their scheme to be 89 per cent of the UK's estate agencies...

Different housing laws for Aborigine communities

New tenancy reforms are being introduced by Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin to help Aborigine communities get improved housing and maintenance...

25, 2008 September:

EPC deadline extended to January

Originally set as October 1st 2008, the Government has extended the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) deadline which means commercial properties now have until 4th January 2009 to get their EPCs.

24, 2008 September:

New land registry scheme for India

India's property market has been tainted by the growing problem of fraud and disputes, and the introduction of a new land registry scheme, similar to that of the UK, aims to ease the problem.

Flint turns to stone

Housing Minister Caroline Flint has said that the Government's target of building three million new homes by 2020 is still achievable.

Australian building firms collapse

According to credit agency Dun & Bradstreet, almost 250 building firms have collapsed in Australia in the past 18 months.

23, 2008 September:

Darling promises to stabilize market

Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling told the Labour Party Conference that he would do 'whatever it takes' to stabilise the UK's financial system and that he could continue to deliver a strong economic framework for the UK.

Australia to ban urban sprawl?

The big cities across Australia are being urged to ban outer suburban housing estates to cut urban sprawl, and to create a more close knit community.

19, 2008 September:

New homes target in jeopardy

The Government's plans to build three million new homes by 2020 are looking unlikely to be reached unless radical action to boost the property market is taken immediately.

17, 2008 September:

AIG lives to fight another day

The world's largest insurance group has been saved from the brink of bankruptcy by a cash injection of £47.5 billion from US authorities. American International Group's last minute revival has brought a measure of confidence back to global financial markets, which have been stunned by this week's events.

Get a slice of American Pie

A Government sponsored scheme encouraging people to invest in regeneration efforts in the southern United States has been introduced for a limited time only.

16, 2008 September:

Meltdown Monday

The credit crunch that began in America's sub-prime mortgage market has erupted into a global financial crisis, affecting everyone from Bradford & Bingley to British bank Northern Rock and US giant Lehman Brothers.

Town planning system revamped

A host of measures to improve the town planning system have been unveiled as part of the British Property Federation's (BPF) Planning Manifesto.