News

For anyone who’s found it challenging to save for a 15% or 20% deposit over the past year or so, we’ve got some good news to share. Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced in the Spring Budget that the government is introducing a mortgage guarantee scheme to help first-time buyers and existing homeowners. How will the mortgage guarantee scheme work? Under the new scheme, which will launch in April, first-time buyers and existing homeowners will be able to purchase homes worth up to £600,000...

Stamp duty holiday deadline extended in Spring Budget. Today, the government announced that the temporary stamp duty holiday in England and Northern Ireland had been extended until the end of June. Hopefully, the news will come as a relief to those buyers and sellers who have been desperately trying to get their sale completed in time to meet the previous deadline of the 31st of March. What is the temporary stamp duty holiday? The temporary stamp ...

The government is set to announce a new mortgage guarantee scheme during Wednesday's Budget. The scheme will offer incentives to lenders which have "virtually disappeared" during the pandemic, the Treasury said. The scheme is set to launch to lenders from April and will allow both first-time buyers and current homeowners to purchase properties up to £600,000 with a 5% deposit. Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “Owning a home is a dream for millions across the UK and we want to help as many peop...

As the lockdown restrictions start to lift, we are expecting buyer demand to increase. We are already struggling to satisfy demand and urgently need more homes to sell. We now offer 3D virtual tours that enable us to promote homes in a way never seen before. The software provider claims that 95% of buyers are more likely to call about houses with a 3D virtual tour, and although it is early days, we are certainly seeing that buyer interaction is very high. As an example, one tour on Saturday the...

Rightmove reported this week that across the UK, "high demand was outstripping supply and pushing up prices: new seller numbers are 21% down on prior year as owners of family homes delay coming to the market, perhaps due to home-schooling distractions". This also seems to be the case locally, with another 275 potential buyers registered this week to take the total to 651 so far this month. We urgently need more homes to sell in all areas and all property types. Are you thinking of selling? ...