Which?
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Marketing
Estate agencies on alert as watchdog investigates fake reviews
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is looking at whether some major companies have broken consumer law.
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Latest property news
Estate agency accused of paying for glowing Google reviews
Which? says London estate agency and over 40 other businesses all share the same positive reviewer, just one example of third parties gaming Google's review system.
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Latest property news
Which? investigation slams industry over rental break clauses and deposits
Consumer organisation has gathered evidence of letting agents and landlords using underhand tactics to prevent tenants moving out of properties.
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Latest property news
Buy to Let… just got bigger
Coventry Building Society has increased its maximum buy-to-let borrowing limit to £750,000, meaning it now offer mortgages on properties worth up to £1.5m.
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Features
Which? is wrong about tenancy deposits
TDS chief exective Steve Harriott's robust reply to the recent and critical Which? report into the UK system of tenancy deposits.
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Latest property news
A third of tenants have to wait ‘too long’ for deposits to be returned, claims Which?
A new investigation into the rental deposit system has revealed that a third of tenants are forced to provide a deposit to their new landlord while waiting to have their previous deposit returned. Some 31% of these tenants then turn to friends and family to fund their ‘second deposit’ while 9% borrow money off loan sharks or use their credit card, while the rest rely on overdrafts, says consumer organisation Which? It is calling on the government to both review the system to prevent this ‘two deposits’ problem and also tackle the other major area of conflict for tenants; contested deposit deductions. Its report also recommends the recently-launched slew of insurance-based deposit schemes because they “potentially help tenants better transition when moving between rental properties”. Millennial rental deposits The report also found that Millennials get a rougher deal from the renting process and are more likely to encounter problems with letting agents. This includes being asked to pay a holding deposit and be pressurised into making a quick decision about a property. Which? also discovered that among those who had money taken from their deposits, half disputed the deduction. The two most common deductions are for inadequate cleaning of the…
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Latest property news
Digital conveyancing ‘revolution’ imminent, says Land Registry
A major shake-up of conveyancing is about to kick off when the Land Registry starts publishing comparative data on how fast and efficiently conveyancers perform, it has been revealed. The Land Registry says it wants home movers to be given a ‘real picture’ of how well their conveyancer performs overall in the market before engaging them, as well as enabling firms to track their own performance. The news is revealed within the Land Registry’s Business Strategy for the next five years, which also says it wants to prevent so many chains falling apart. Research by Which? last year highlighted how at least a fifth of all sales that fall apart prior to exchange of contracts do so because of a failed chain. The Land Registry says it will begin publishing its data in a way – presumably in ‘real time’ – that will enable conveyancers to develop automated sales progression and chain management tools. Online agents The Land Registry says its ‘digital first’ approach is in response to the increasing digitisation of the property buying and selling process including, it says, the rise of online estate agents, conveyancers and property information providers. And the organisation says it has other ambitious…
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Agencies & People
Which? says over-pricing costs vendors £4.3bn a year
Consumer champion organisation Which? has launched a scathing report on sales agents that will make painful and probably infuriating reading for many. Its research found that of the 370,000 property sales it looked at between October 2105 and September 2016, one in five had been heavily reduced in price between asking and final agreed price, and that the optimistically-valued properties sold more slowly and for less. More controversially, Which? says online-only and hybrid agents sold more homes that hadn’t been reduced in price compared to traditional agents. Also, Which? says its data suggests overvalued properties take 64 days longer to sell than the rest, and that properties that start out over-priced don’t generally later achieve a higher one than an ‘uninflated’ one. The best-performing agents across the UK for selling above the asking price are also revealed, as are those Which? says are the ‘worst’. In London these include Fine & Country, James Pendleton, EasyProperty, Camerons Stiff & Co, Watson Bull & Porter, Faron Sutaria, Chestertons and Marsh & Parsons. Outside London it includes Redferns in the SW, Nick Tart in the West Midlands, Boxall Brown & Jones in the East Midlands, Aldreds in the East of England, Whitegates in…
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Agencies & People
Can you feel the love?
Public mirth about estate agents is now a national trait, and yet serious research finds most people are happy with the process. So, asks Nigel Lewis, what’s going on?
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Latest property news
Mortgage lending hits 7-year high
Mortgage lending has surged to its highest level since 2008 as borrowers rush to take advantage of highly competitive home loan deals. Fresh data provided by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) shows that lenders advanced a total of £21.8 billion last month, up 19 per cent on the £18.4 billion lent a year earlier and 8 per cent on September’s total of £20.1 billion. October’s lending total is the highest since July 2008, when lenders advanced £23.6 billion. The CML said total mortgage lending across 2015 looks likely to top its previous estimate of £209 billion as mortgage lenders continue to compete for business by keeping borrowing rates low. Separate figures from MoneySuperMarket revealed that the average two-year fixed-rate mortgage rate fell to 2.68 per cent in October, from 2.72 per cent in September, while the typical three-year fixed rate on offer dropped from 3.1 per cent in September to 3.08 per cent in October. Bob Pannell (left), the CML’s Chief Economist, commented, “As lending in the regulated mortgage space picked up over the summer months, the pace of recovery has improved. This looks set to continue over the closing months of the year with the factors helping support…
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