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April 2008

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HIPS 'NOT HELPING THE MARKET'

HOME Information Packs are not enhancing the housing market or meeting the original objectives of speeding the buying process and stopping gazumping, a leading estate agent has claimed...

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Market needs a boost — NAEA

THE National Association of Estate Agents has renewed its call for interest rates to be cut — and for the abolition of first day marketing due next month to be reviewed — following the release of their latest monthly survey of members...

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A record year...

LONDON estate agency Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward have announced a record year with a turnover of £60 million in 2007 — and hope to expand this year despite what their managing director readily admits is a tough market...

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Inspirational Wendy’s fund-raising aim

WENDY Evans-Scott is celebrating a double dose of success — as well as being appointed manager of the Banstead branch of Hamptons International, she has been given the all-clear after a year-long series of treatments for breast cancer...

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Why a look back through history assures me I do not expect the market to crash!

HAVING run into a degree of flak of late, I thought that this month I would look at an even more contentious question – the future of the market, price-wise! ...

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Green homes — media hype or a serious issue?

GONE are the days when the only people to care about ‘green’ issues and environmentally-friendly living were ‘sandal wearing, tree hugging hippies’! ...

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March 2008

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DARLING'S DUTY TO BOOST MARKET

THE NATIONAL Association of Estate Agents are calling on Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling to use this month’s Budget to ease the immediate...

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Rightmove and LSL results reassure

BOTH Rightmove and LSL Property Services issued reassuring figures when they reported their full year profits for 2007 at the end of February...

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Humberts announce £17 million loss

THE troubled Humberts Group unveiled a £17 million loss and revealed plans to ask shareholders for more funds and the possibility of selling some ‘non core’ assets...

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Dump the junk!

A LONDON estate agency have publicly declared that they will never again send out flyers or touting letters...

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Year off to promising start: NAEA

Increase in first-time buyer numbers for fourth month running, claims new survey

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CEOs go amid portal changes

THE chief executives of the Primelocation and FindaProperty internet portals are leaving their posts in the wake of a reshuffle of operations at the Daily Mail group...

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Agency launches first-time buyer month

AN estate agency is specifically aiming to persuade first-timers that maybe the housing market isn't such a difficult proposition for them, after all...

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February 2008

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NEW MINISTER IN FIRST DAY STORM

NEWLY-appointed Housing Minister Caroline Flint has walked straight into a growing storm over plans to change the regulations governing Home Information Packs...

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Changes at top as Humberts feel pinch

CHIEF Executive Max Ziff and executive chairman Tim James have departed as the 80-office Humberts Group has not only fallen victim to last month’s Stock Market...

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No real sign yet of any 'slump effect'

THE doom-mongers have been forecasting office closures on the back of a slump in business for some time now — but there is little sign of that scenario yet.

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Meet your OPG Web Partners!

THE Pay As You Go websites available from EAN’s parent company the Oldroyd Publishing Group are proving extremely popular — and no wonder.

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Are we soon to see the final demise of ‘caveat emptor’?

HOME Information Packs may be in a mess but I fear the new Money Laundering Regulations could be even worse!...

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Goad-en anniversary celebrations!

THE Goadsby estate agency, with 26 offices across Central Southern England, are celebrating their 50th anniversary — and, in addition to hosting a number of events...

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December 2007/January 2008

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LSL hit by sharp drop in business

LSL Property Services, the parent company of Your Move and Reeds Rains, has been closing branches and cutting staff amid a sharp drop in business during the...

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A poor Christmas present, Minister!

THE National Association of Estate Agents have expressed their dismay at the Government’s plans to roll out the final phase of Home Information Packs to cover...

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HIP pioneer Maria decides to pack it in

MARIA COLEMAN, the ‘First Lady’ of Home Information Packs, has decided to retire. Ms Coleman, who ran her own estate agency in Bristol and later founded the...

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Time to celebrate for FBM and Gibbs Gillespie

FBM Estate Agents of Pembrokeshire and Gibbs Gillespie of Middlesex took the main prizes at the Home Sale Network’s 14th annual conference and awards ceremony...

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Money laundering — are you ready for the new regulations?

Stand by — they are now even tougher than they were before.
THE third European Union Directive on Anti-Money Laundering has been working its...

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How Stephen graduated with honours to a glittering 30-year career

From one defining moment as a teenager to a life in estate agency including five more...

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Pay As You Go websites proving popular — and there really is no catch!

THERE really is no catch — that is the message ringing out loud and clear to the estate agents from all over the country who have been eager to find out more...

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November 2007

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HIPS: NAEA ATTACK ‘BLATANT SPIN’

AN update by the Government on how Home Information Packs are faring and affecting the housing market is “misleading and completely lacking...

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Ombudsman: rapid rise in membership outstrips  increase in complaints

MEMBERSHIP of the Ombudsman for Estate Agents scheme has more than doubled in less than two years, from 5,022 estate agency branches at the...

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What a mess our estate agency world is in!

With so many question marks still over HIPs, look what else is waiting in the wings for us...

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Pay As You Go websites - with web partner support - set to become the new industry choice

THE pioneering provider of the first and best quality professional publications for estate agents has introduced an exciting new ground-breaking...

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Small improvements in customer service can make a big difference

Why does our profession still have a bad reputation among homemovers?
WHY, in this day and age, do estate agents still have a bad reputation...

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Andrews’ Project60 charity effort ends up £10k over target

ANDREWS Estate Agents have closed their year-long charitable initiative, Project 60 more than £10,000 over target.

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October 2007

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'STAND BY FOR A TOUGH SPRING!'

COUNTRYWIDE plc, the UK’s largest estate agency with more than 1,000 offices, is warning of a tough spring for estate agency in 2008...

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HIPs 'not to blame for drop'

A LEADING estate agency claims that the advent of Home Information Packs has coincided with a 15 per cent drop in property stock levels across the UK...

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Agents' high street future called into question in new survey

A NEW survey suggests the future for estate agents may not be on the high street...

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Don't knock the Rock!

THERE is no doubt about this month’s excitement — Northern Rock has been dicing with death. Except it wasn’t.

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Vebra owners take over Core

THE Guardian Media Property Services Group, which already owns Vebra, GMW and the Think Property website, has acquired Core Estates Limited...

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Foxtons in trouble Stateside

FOXTONS North America, now a separate company from Foxtons UK, has fallen victim to the US housing crisis and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy...

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Lets diversify!

More agents could move into rentals as market slows down, claims survey...

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September 2007

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THREE’S A CROWD!

Concern over rollout of HIPs to three-bedroom properties coming so soon...

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HIPs: raising as many queries as they answer!

WELL, they may have been a long time coming but, during August, you have all had a chance to get used to Home Information Packs...

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Benefits of new Redress Bill — straight from the Minister

THIS year’s annual report by estate agency Ombudsman Chris Hamer revealed a surge in complaints from buyers and sellers of residential property...

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Rightmove on target to make £30m this year

RIGHTMOVE’S half year profits suggest that unless the housing market takes a severe and unforseen nosedive, the UK’s premier property website...

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NAEA: activity slump ‘concerning’

THE latest survey from the National Association of Estate Agents reveals a distinct and concerning slowdown in the housing market...

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Rural affordability a growing problem

Halifax review highlights price gulf between country and city.
HOUSING in rural areas is characterised by higher prices, far fewer first-time...

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Andrews’ £5,000 donation after horrors of their own.

ANDREWS Estate Agents donated £5,000 to the Gloucestershire Flood Relief Fund as 15 of the company’s own branches were left reeling by the...

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August 2007

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HIPS: DEBATE GOES RIGHT TO THE WIRE

Lords debate defeat for Packs as introduction date for four-bedroom properties looms...

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Tesco storm — ‘Let’s stick together!’

A LEADING estate agent has made a rallying call to the industry in the wake of the supermarket giant Tesco launching its own property website...

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Redress —‘still key issues to address’

THE National Association of Estate Agents has welcomed the news that the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill has now received Royal Assent...

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NAEA’s plea over interest rates

THE National Association of Estate Agents have made a plea to the Bank of England to “seriously consider the potentially adverse effect” of any further...

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The plight of the first time buyer...

MORE than two thirds of first-time buyers are having to move further out of town, or to a less desirable area, in order to be able to afford their first property...

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Ready, Teddy — go!

FORMER England striker Teddy Sheringham will be kicking off the new football season wearing the colours of Europe’s largest independent estate...

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July 2007

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HIPS: ‘CHAOS WILL REIGN’

HOME Information Packs — due to come into effect on August 1 for properties with four or more bedrooms — could lead to widespread...

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Portals' firm stand on Tesco site

RIGHTMOVE have been quick to move to protect the interests of their estate agent members — as well as their own position at the country's...

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Growing OEA scheme tops 10,000 landmark

THERE has been a rapid and substantial increase in the number of residential estate agency offices in England and Wales covered by...

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£42 billion budget busters

BRITONS collectively overspend by a whopping £42 BILLION when buying a new property, according to new research...

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Rental demand outstrips supply

DEMAND for rented properties seriously outstripped supply and rent levels rose during the three months to the end of May according to the...

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Connells: 3i link ‘groundless’

CONNELLS have strongly refuted speculation that the 3i Group offered to buy the Group after losing out to Apollo in the bid battle for Countrywide...

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June 2007

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WHAT A FIASCO!

Industry rocked as HIPs delayed at the 11th hour.
THE Government is being urged to scrap Home Information Packs altogether...

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HIPS — on the blink again: and here’s why!

COMMENT SPECIAL by DAVID PERKINS
What led to Ruth Kelly’s ministerial climbdown on the biggest change affecting our industry in years...

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Countrywide and Foxtons taken over

CITY analysts are expecting more takeover bids for estate agency chains by equity capital specialists after the recent acquisitions of the country’s...

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No room for complacency: Ombudsman

THE number of inquiries about estate agents to the Ombudsman for Estate Agents rose 41 per cent in 2006 to 8,472, according to the...

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How the smoking ban affects you

FROM 6am on July 1, the smoke-free premises and enforcement regulations in England come into effect.

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The price of the Blair years...

More difficult to enter the housing market than at any time since 1991, say RICS...

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May 2007

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PACKS PUT BACK TWO MONTHS

THE Government have made a shock announcement that the introduction of Home Information Packs is being put back two months — just days...

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Apollo clinch takeover of Countrywide

THE £1.05 billion takeover of Countrywide by Apollo Management LLP has been finally approved in the High Court, after seven months of...

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Hamptons claim first with free HIPs offer

HAMPTONS International, with more than 60 offices across the UK, have announced they will offer clients Home Information Packs for free...

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Next president relishing challenge

STEWART LILLY is relishing what he terms “the unique challenge” of being the president of the National Association of Estate Agents when...

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OEA anger at RICS stance on redress

THE continuing reluctance by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors to join the rest of the residential property industry in backing the independent...

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Sellers ‘underestimate time taken to complete’

ALMOST half the people in the UK underestimate the amount of time it will take to sell their houses, according to new research...

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April 2007

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NAEA: HIP regulations ‘confirm worst fears’

THE National Association of Estate Agents have expressed their dismay that the Government are pressing ahead with plans for Home Information Packs...

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An Independent Voice!

A CAMPAIGN is underway to ‘save local independent estate agents’.
Launched by London estate agent Ray Woolford, of Housemartins...

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Countrywide takeover boost

A LAST minute boost to the takeover terms to 617p per share helped secure convincing shareholder support for the takeover of Countrywide by...

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‘Budget provides little consolation for home-owners’ — NAEA

THE Budget provided little consolation for home buyers and sellers as important issues such as a Stamp Duty and Inheritance Tax were skirted...

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No shortage of energy assessors, say AHIPP

LEADING companies who are training or employing Home Inspectors and Domestic Energy Assessors claim research they have carried out...

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Cost of moving triples in 10 years

THE average overall cost of moving house has more than tripled over the last decade, according to new research. It now stands at £9,486, up from...

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Friday 9th May 2008
Front Page of the Latest Edition of Estate Agency News

May 2008 - Edition 244
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