Harry Hill, the industry veteran, who also founded Rightmove, made the remark on Twitter after seeing a long and highly critical Sunday Times article about the troubled agency group, which on Wednesday reveals its trading performance for the first half of 2019. The piece threw a particularly harsh light on the chairmanship of Peter Long. Hill tweeted yesterday lunchtime: “The …
New moves on Stamp Duty as think tank calls for tax to be halved on homes over £500,000
A new call is to be issued today for Stamp Duty to be halved on homes which are main residences and are worth over £500,000. Right-wing think tank Onward also suggests that serious consideration should be given to scrapping Stamp Duty Land Tax entirely. The proposed halving would cost £3.3bn, but Onward says this would be covered by taxes on …
New era of regulation for the entire industry is unveiled today
A new era for the entire agency sector begins today, with the publication by the Government of a report calling for minimum standards, a single code of practice, and licensing of agents, with the regime to be overseen by a new regulator. Agents have been urged to start preparing now for the new era. The official report, from the Regulation …
ARLA voices total opposition to introduction of rent controls and begs law-makers to reconsider
ARLA has said it is totally opposed to the introduction of rent controls in Scotland. The body has responded to a consultation on the Fair Rents Bill, which seeks to cap private rents across Scotland so that annually they cannot rise at over 1% above inflation. ARLA says in its response to the official consultation that rent caps will reduce …
Sales slowdown spreads across the south
Sellers urged to be ‘more realistic’ as price and sales slowdown The price and sales slowdown in London has started to spread further across the south of England, Zoopla has warned. Analysis by the portal – which defines southern England as the south-east, south-west and east of England – found that more than a third (36%) of homes in this …



