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New government measures to boost the construction industry were introduced last week. In short: planning permission deadlines will be extended (they usually expire after 3 years if no work has started). This will affect those sites which had an expiry date between 23 March 2020 to 31 December 2020. Planning consent is now extended until 1 April 2021. planning appeals will be speeded up permanently. This will grant the Planning Inspectorate the right to use more than one

Since the housing market re-opened on 13 May, all the signs continue to show that confidence is returning as pent up demand continues. Industry Insight from Dataloft Dataloft are property market experts, specialising in market intelligence. Based on their recent research, 95% of all sellers who were planning to move before lockdown, still plan to do so. This echoes what other industry professionals have shared. On 8 June 2020, Dataloft launched Dataloft Demand Index for the

Rightmove has indicated that the average asking price in England has increased by an average of 1.9% (+£6,266) in June, compared to March data. The average house price in England is now valued at £337,884. Rightmove’s statistics cover 95% of the market and these latest results indicate far more resilience and bounce back than had been expected. Their monthly June House Price Index also highlights the following: There were over 175,000 sellers that could not put their home f

The May edition of Halifax's House Price Index identified that: on a monthly basis - in May prices were 0.2% lower than in April on a quarterly basis (March to May) - prices were 0.5% lower than in the preceding 3 months (December to February) on a 12 month basis - prices were 2.6% higher in May compared with May 2019 The net impact of the above, is that the average house price fell by 0.2% to £237,808 in May. Source: Halifax Source: Halifax Russell Galley, managing directo

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has issued its latest monthly survey for the month of May. This survey polls estate agents and surveyors in England. This survey confirms that the housing market continues to improve since lockdown was lifted specifically for housing on 13 May 2020. The survey reports that near term sales expectations are now broadly neutral while the 12-month outlook improves slightly. In isolation, the metrics reported don't read well, h

We're going behind the scenes to explain what virtual staging is about and the value that this brings. Virtual staging is about digitally adding furniture and accessories to your property photographs so it brings a room to life. It's a very cost effective and swift way of transforming any space within a home or development. Buyer Attention Span Since Covid-19 our world has completely changed - all buyers are searching on-line for their future home or investment. Buyers make

Prior to Covid-19, the housing market revolved around viewings. Since the lockdown was lifted, viewings are now permitted, for those that are not in the vulnerable category. The government guidance to date, is that first viewings, wherever possible should be done virtually. We are constantly in touch with estate agents to understand how the housing market is evolving. Since the housing lockdown has been lifted, it's evident that some sellers and buyers remain reluctant abo